Current State Treasurer Steve Grossman is seeking the Governor’s seat in the upcoming statewide election.

By Jeremy F. van der Heiden

This is the second installment of a three-part series of our interview with Massachusetts State Treasurer Steve Grossman, who is currently campaigning in the gubernatorial race.

Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman is running in the forthcoming gubernatorial race, and recently stopped by The Somerville Times newsroom for an interview. In the first segment of this series, we discussed some of the ways in which he is approaching the job market, leveling the playing field for all residents and fighting poverty at its source.

In this portion of the series, we will discuss Treasurer Grossman’s perspective on the state’s prison system, drug policies infrastructure, crime and more. The conversation picked up where he began to commend Somerville’s government for its use of performance metrics and data-driven decision-making.

The gubernatorial candidate also noted the lacking state of drug courts and rehabilitation in the state, as well as the problems that low-level, non-violent offenses are hurting the economy, citing the fact that Massachusetts will spend $1 billion on jails and prison developments over the next seven years. Treasurer Grossman stated that he would suspend all new prison construction projects through an executive order to take a step back and see how the system can be improved.

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The Somerville Times: How do you feel about the full legalization of marijuana?

Treasurer Steve Grossman: I’m open to it, but I want to see what happens in Colorado and Washington State, before I come down on any side of this issue. I’m not for it now, I don’t support it right now, but I would be prepared to take a different look at it with some hard facts and evidence of how it plays out.

Look, part of my problem is two years ago we overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana. This implementation of medical marijuana has been a fiasco. I mean, where in any business would you award 20 provisional licenses and then vet the people after you awarded the provisional licenses and then have to take almost 15 percent of them away because they didn’t vet?

Last time I looked, you have applicants, you pick you finalists, you vet them all, you check out to see if they have any criminal issues, tax issues, any issues with truthfulness, any people on your board of directors that you’d be concerned about, then after you’ve done all your vetting, then award your licenses – that’s the way I would do it.

Again, I think the governor has built a phenomenal foundation for economic growth. He created more jobs last year – 55,000 jobs – than any year since I think 2000, so they have a great foundation for growth. But implementation of medical marijuana has been an absolute disaster.

If we can’t get that right, I want to see what happens in Colorado and Washington.

TST: And there still isn’t a dispensary?

TSG: Two years later, still not one. You know, there are some other hot issues that we are going to face here which is the whole issue of driver’s licenses. There are some areas in which the Attorney General [Martha Coakley] and I are very different, not just in term of our backgrounds – she’s the prosecutor, I’m the job creator.

I picked up the phone and called Joe Curtatone the day after I read what he did around Secure Communities and I said, “Thank you Joe, I think you did the right thing.” I mean, more than 50 percent of the people who have been deported are people who have been deported without a criminal record.

You tear families apart. I know Secure Communities is the law of the land, but sometimes leaders have to be courageous and step up to the plate, as Joe has done and Marty Walsh has done. The Attorney General was all in for Secure Communities. I always thought it was something that would undermine security, make us less secure, tear families apart, and it has done exactly that.

Martha Coakley does not support driver’s licenses for all immigrants, and I say this is a public safety issue. Do we want somebody driving around – and people are going to drive – people who have no driver’s license because they’re undocumented are going to drive. So give them driver’s licenses, give them driver’s education. Give them a license, get them insurance, and save lives on the streets of Massachusetts.

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Treasurer Grossman went on to explain that the federal government is eventually going to need to step up to the plate on the immigration matter, but that the state will need to take steps to ensure that those living in the state have access to the services they need.

The conversation then switched to public safety with respect to gun control laws. Since 1998 when Massachusetts passed comprehensive gun reform, gun crimes have gone up significantly.

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TST: With crimes rising, is this a sign that the people who passed that legislation messed up? What are your thoughts, what do you think needs to be done?

TSG: Look, we have some serious societal challenges; high levels of unemployment, high levels of economic deprivation, poverty, lack of hope on the part of young people, gangs that are in a very robust drug trafficking culture – we have some serious problems.

But it has been pretty clearly demonstrated that the tougher your gun control laws, the fewer gun fatalities take place. We have the third-lowest level of gun fatalities for all reasons – of any state in the country – but we can do better.

When Doug Wilder, the Governor of Virginia, signed gun limitations in 1993, it was on the books for 19 years. It reduced the incidence of guns coming from Virginia to Massachusetts, which were used in crimes, by 72 percent. So, fewer guns on the streets, better results, fewer lives lost.

If you ask me what I would do as governor, No. 1 would be limiting gun sales, because limiting gun sales will save lives. No. 2, smart gun technology. And third, the six governors of the six New England states plus the governor of New York really need to get together, recognize the ATF is not getting the job done. We have this highway from Vermont into Massachusetts with guns and drugs. We have to find a way to deal with that crisis.

Do I have all the answers? No, but I think as governor you have to be relentlessly engaged in trying to find ways to interdict the flow of guns – illegal guns – into Massachusetts from outside, as well as drugs. Can’t tell how successful we will be, but you have to use every tool you have got because right now you can buy an unlimited number of guns in Massachusetts and then sell them illegally. Unless you’re arming a militia, I don’t see the reason for an unlimited number of guns being sold.

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In the final part of this series, we will discuss what Treasurer Grossman plans to do as governor with respect to matters such as collaboration with other governors, as well as several other matters of note.