The Hiller Instinct: Meet Barbara Johnson

Barbara Johnson
"I am Barbara Johnson. I am your next governor. I have common sense and creative ideas."

Johnson, a 67-year-old attorney and grandmother who runs her campaign from a cluttered home office, has no trouble naming her creative ideas, which focus on industries she says can't leave Massachusetts:

Barbara Johnson, Independent Gubernatorial Candidate
"We have the ocean here, it's not going to go to Georgia, mari-culture, fish farms, fish farms, aqua-culture, another name for it - ocean management, artificial reefs."

But she does have trouble supporting her other claim:

Andy Hiller
"Prove you have common sense."

Barbara Johnson
"Put the camera off and give me time to think."

But Johnson knew what she thought of her major opponents when she debated them last week:

Barbara Johnson
"These people are in la la land…absolutely la la land."

Andy Hiller
"Describe Mitt Romney in three words."

Barbara Johnson
"Boring, boring, boring."

Andy Hiller
"Shannon O'Brien?"

Barbara Johnson
"Incompetent, incompetent, incompetent."

I can't resist asking her to describe herself in three words:

Barbara Johnson
"Feisty, fantastic, and fat..."

And full of heart:

Barbara Johnson
"I care. I truly care."

You can't miss Barbara Johnson when she campaigns, because she's the only candidate who comes in an antique fire truck.

Barbara Johnson
"I needed a gimmick. I got it so I could use it to douse the flames of corruption in the court system."

But she insists there's nothing gimmicky about her campaign. She's running...

Barbara Johnson
"To win. To win. At first, it might have been to make a point, but with time and the reaction I've gotten from people, it's to win."

Barbara Johnson is on the ballot because she collected signatures from more than 14,000 registered state voters. She proves that political parties here can't control who gets to be a candidate, and that anyone with ambition, patience, and a platform can run. In the long run, that's more important than where she finishes in this election.