CHARLIE BAKER

When my brothers and I were young, my mom, a Democrat, and my dad, a Republican, used to lead freewheeling discussions at our dinner table. The only rule was paying attention when others were talking, and no interrupting.

I'm a big believer in what I call demand-style workforce development. It looks at what kinds of skills are in demand out there in the workplace. It takes that approach to skill-building.

I'm a proud product of the Massachusetts public schools.

I saw 'The Sting' about 35 times and 'Jeremiah Johnson' and 'Billy Jack' about 50 times.

The most important thing you need to make one of those incubator/accelerator type projects work is to have some people who understand how to do it and want to do it in a particular place.

Massachusetts is a global community.

Across Massachusetts, there are many talented and inspiring educators doing for their students what their predecessors did for me.

Do I miss Harvard? Not for a second. With a few exceptions... those four years are ones I would rather forget.

I've said for a long time that the governor and the mayors should be far more engaged in this conversation at the federal level. I mean, the consequences and the impact of the federal government's broken immigration policy do not land on the backs of the people in Washington. They just don't.

There's value in checks and balances. And there's value in having independence in the governor's office with respect to the legislature.

A strong Commonwealth is built on a foundation of strong communities. Friendly, welcoming, bustling neighborhoods and downtowns. Great schools. Safe, accessible, attractive places to play. Growing local economies. And a belief that anything is possible.

When a mom or dad can stop worrying about where they will lay their head each night they can start climbing back on their feet and out of poverty.

I've said a thousand times I want every community to be a place where people believe tomorrow is going to be better than today. I say that not just because I believe it, but because I believe in it.

I've said many times that people are policy. And to be truly successful in any big organization you need to put people into jobs where they have relevant experience, relevant subject-matter expertise and the capacity to actually perform.

Balance is a good thing - checks and balances are a good thing.

I think people are kind of tired of the really amped-up rhetoric that passes for a lot of political dialogue, and they appreciate the fact that that's not the way we are participating in this process.

I think I've got a track record and an experience brief that I'll put up against anybody's.

Nobody wants to see someone's life ruined over a small-time lapse in judgment.

One of the advantages of getting elected governor when you're 58 instead of 38 is you have some mileage on you and part of that means some history and some relationships with people who have spent a fair amount of their career in the public and in the private sector.

How well we spend education dollars is just as important as how much we spend.

The biggest difference between the private sector and public sector is in the private sector, there's a sense of urgency because you have customers and you have competitors. Whereas in government, one of your major objectives is to not make any really big mistakes.

I don't think it's appropriate for people who are citizens of Massachusetts to be waiting in line when folks who aren't citizens access benefits.

I'm obviously a huge Bill Weld fan.

There are exceptional schools in many of our most disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout the Commonwealth. Proving they can get it done for kids, no matter what their circumstances.

Our obligation to the people we serve is too important to place politics and partisanship before progress and results.