Andover League of Women voters Candidate Forum

It was a new notebook when I started tonite. I finished with it mostly full. I don’t know shorthand, so I only got a lot of the highlights. If any candidate wants to elaborate, feel free.

Some of the Candidates at the Andover Candidates Night

The Andover and North Andover League of Women Voters hosted a forum tonite for the candidates for State Senate in the 2nd Essex and Middlesex districts.

The Democrats in the race are State Representative Barry Finegold, Deb Silberstein and Jack Wilson. All are from Andover. All are lawyers.

The Republicans are Jamison Tomasek of North Andover and Patrick Rahilly from Tewksbury. Tomasek is a CPA, Rahilly a law student who will hopefully be a lawyer in a month or two (having just taken the bar exam).

It has to be understood that in this race, which is to fill the seat being vacated by Senator Sue Tucker, Barry Finegold is considered the incumbent. He has been a State Representative for a good number of terms, and is running on his accomplishments there and states that his “public and private experience” is an asset in his race. The “common sense” reformer, he called himself.

He says tonight, as he has to me in the past, that the number one issue in this race is jobs.

I agree. His method of getting there is to focus on expansion on the higher education system. Expanding the Northern Essex College in the District, and trying to focus the others (the vocational schools, community colleges and Universities) on developing students that have skill sets that are needed by our local businesses.

Deb Silberstein says that “We can do much better.” Having been on the Andover Finance Committee and School Committee she understand how the cities and towns are falling behind and being “asked to do more and more with less and less.”

She refuses to accept the low graduation rates and high dropout rates in Lawrence, and believes that “Government can make a positive diffference.”

“Status Quo politicians are failing us,” she says. “Barry Finegold has not brought common sense in 15 years, why would he now?”

I however, want to hear more specifics.

She speaks to being a “community activist” and that solutions need to come from a “comprehensive plan” put together by a coming together of all the stakeholders at all levels.. business, municipal, union, state and federal.

It feels a little hopey-changey to me.. but then again, I tend to see things through those glasses.

Now, Jack Wilson comes from outside the system. He notes the specifics of how our budget has grown exponentially in the last few decades.. and he speaks to accountability.

There is a lot of “outside the box” thinking here, that I’m sure would take a lot of support to make happen.

He asks you “do you want more of the same [focusing on Finegold], or a new direction?”

“The economy is broken, and there is a widespread mistrust in government”, he says. There is a bit of that outsider, Scott Brown campaign going on here that you don’t usually hear from a Democrat in Massachusetts. “Solutions won’t come from the same old incumbents,” he concludes. You almost get drawn right in while listening to him.

He finished by saying “Safety, education, and health should not be compromised”

Patrick Rahilly is focussed like a laser beam. He has made his campaign smart and tight.

Lower taxes, less intrusive government. Always ask, “should the government handle it.”

His focus is on support of “public safety, and education” and is trying to keep from being sidetracked from that goal.

As a CPA, Jamison Tomasek is seeing that there is a need to go through the numbers. “I’m sitting up here next to a lawyer, a lawyear and a lawyer,” he said. The government needs to be “streamlined,” and he says it should be an expert on finance that taxes on that role.

“We need fresh faces and ideas,” he said, “and you won’t get that from that table” as he pointed to the democrats.

And now to the issues..

On the topic of Elderly needs

Tomasek stumbled at first. He came out saying that the “its not huge an issue in Andover or throughout the district.”

But he went on to explain that of all the Elderly he interviewed over the months, he never found any asking for anything for themselves. They were all interested in how to make the country a better place.

Rahily said that he believed that the elderly were most concerned abou the increase in taxes, and that he wants to fight for that.

“Do no Harm,” Wilson began, “the Legislature turned a deaf ear to elderly on fixed income while increasing all these taxes, they need to be more attentive to people on fixed incomes.”

Note to self.. all the non-incumbents are focussed on taxes, and most are for tax cuts.

“We need to look at a more comprehensive solution,” SIlberstein tried to explain, “their housing is deterioriating and we don’t have the resources as a state.” She went on to discuss the need for volunteers to get inovlved in elderly housing issues.

“I am not,” she declared in closing “a proponent of repealing 40b.”

Finegold changed the topic from taxes to prescription drugs, and said that the state should work towards allowing coupons (like all other states do) to help cut the costs of drugs for those on fixed incomes.

“The drug industry should not be spending millions on advertising.” he said.

Many would like to stay in their homes and towns, but can’t because of high property taxes, he notes. He would like to find a way to defer taxes at low interest, and encourage more 55+ developments in the district and allow the cities and towns.

Health care plan design…

SIlberstein would support it as a last resort, but the “solution has to rest with the people on the insurance and care.”

She perfers health care solutions done “collaboratively,” and if not she would support plan design.

“In certain situations, “ Finegold said, “its a good idea.” He noted that Lawrence was given this when they accepted the backing for a loan recently. (makes you wonder, do you only get help from the state if you let your town or city fail?)

He prefers to encourage the use of local hospitals, which are much more cost effective than people going into the expensive Boston hospitals for things that can be done locally.

“Small businesses should be allowed to do some group pooling as well,” he said.

Wilson was of the opinion that it should be a last resort as well.

“Don’t circumvent collective bargaining,” he emphasized. “Health care is just one part of municpal costs, and we need to get all the stakeholders to the table.”

He finished by saying that going to the GIC insurances should not also limit your coverage.

From the Republicans we hear support from both Rahilly and Tomasek for plan design at the town and city level.

“Treat them like they are their own businesses,” Rahilly said. “Different towns have different priorities, let htem each plan their own. Give them the flexibility.”

Tomakek noted that on this issue the “Legislature is to the left of the Boston Globe and Menino,” who have both editorialized in support of this issue.

“State employees are subject to this, why not town employees?” he asked.

Immigration..

“Papers please?” is what Tomasek calls the Arizona law.

He says we should treat immigrants like foreign tourists. The current system penalizes those here following the rules and puts employers in a bind without able to prove proper id.

“Enforce the laws we have, then look to immigration reform.” he says.

Rahilly made a quick response to this one “I don’t support benefits for illegal immigrants,” he said. “And I support the Perry amendment.”

Finegold made a quick answer on this one as well. “I don’t support in state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants,” he stated. “The same with children from New Hampshire.”

As for Wilson, he starts with conviction “Citizenship matters.”

Forcus on the path to citizenship he says, and emphasized that it must be followed.

“Citizenship has value,” he says, “and should not be given freely or easily.”

SIlberstein also emphasized the need to “preserve the path to citizenship,” but went on to say that she opposed the Arizona law, saying that it caused economic insecurity.

“Immigrants made this country strong.. more people, of diversity, working together.”

If Tax Cuts succeed, where to cut?

Wilson: so far there has been accounting at the state level.

“We need to do a better job analyzing dollar one, before asking for another.”

“The legislature” he said, looking at Finegold, “should never have raised taxes before justifying the spending increases over time via a thourough, transparent analysis.”

Finegold says that there will need to be across the board cuts. “Unlike the federal government, we can’t borrow our way out. We would have to make unpopular choices.”

He then said there needs to be a focus to move forward on pension reform, and you would see more local aid cuts.

“Its a fallacy to believe that we can continue to do more with less,” Silberstein says.

There will be significant cuts.

This is an opportunity to look at consilidation and regionalization.

“And look at what we’ve just seen in just the probation department” she said, “there must be other areas for innovative improvements.”

Rahilly says that we “should be starting at the bottom, and funding education and safety first.”

“Limit welfare benefits,” says the man understands the issue, as he was raised poor in subsidized housing, “and consolidate state departments.”

Tomasek wants the audience to understand that the state budget is not 26 or 28 billion, but 52.

A cut of the size caused by question 3 will have a much smaller percentage impact than we are being told.

“We’ll have to make do, “ he said. “But the first they they do “ implying FInegold, “is cut local aid.”

And on Education.. MCAS vs the new Federal standards..

Tomasek does not support the reduction from the MCAS standards.

He adds that teachers need incentives to take on tougher challenges and improve the state of education.

“Pay more for teachers willing to take risk,” he said

Rahilly makes the point that MCAS is already not serving many. He has a plan that he refers to on his website that takes GPA into account in determining student success.

Silberstein emphasizes that we are all still looking at things in old terms.

“We cant continue to do business as we have done it,” she says “The world is in a state of transformation and we should take advantage of it.”

In terms of specifics, here she gives a couple saying we need a longer school day, and the state should provide more support for incentive based funding (taking initiative by towns into the funding calculations).

Wilson says that Massachusetts is the birthplace of education in this country, and should not give that up.

“We’ve got money, the point is we’re not spending it on the right priorities,” he says.

We need prioriies in state spending. He supports MCAS, with additional standards.

“We should continue to lead the nation on education, and let them follow us.”

My own view..

As I was listening, I noted to myself that Finegold is at a disadvantage here, because any one of these proposals he is talking about he could have already proposed while a state representative.Legislative proposals are not a good move for him in this kind of race because any challenger could ask “Why haven’t you already dont that?” His proposals are good, and I would support them.. but the others say “he’s had his chance.”

All the other candidates are challenging Finegold on taxes (being a state rep, he is being held responsible for all the tax increases over the last few years).

Each has their own ideas.. be it cosolidation and collaboration from Silberstein, optimism and an emphasis on frustration with a legislature that is not succeeding by Wilson, Rahilly laser guided on cutting taxes and focusing on the issues of education and safety, and Tomasek’s ability to bring in financial skills that can see the forest for the trees.

Again, this is what I got, and what I remember. Any candidate who wants to send in an update or explain an answer is free to do so (especially if I got something wrong here). That’s the nature of the internet.. things can change.