Campaign Corner: Aug. 1-8

It's campaign season, which means candidates send out a deluge of photos, op-eds and press releases announcing endorsements, events and candidates' stances on current issues. Each week, Melrose Patch will provide a round-up of these releases in the Campaign Corner. Everything below is taken directly from material provided by each candidates' respective campaign and may be edited for length.

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Mike Day on the Final Hours of the Legislative Session

The final hours of this legislative session illustrated again the failed leadership and broken politics of Beacon Hill.

The results of this Legislature's inaction and missed opportunities have hurt our communities. The Legislature failed to pass bills that would have created green jobs by streamlining the permitting process for wind energy. Our elected leaders said that we would have to wait until next year to adopt legislation that would address the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. And political posturing over expanded gaming has needlessly put in jeopardy thousands of new jobs and added revenue for our cities and towns.

The people of Massachusetts deserve leaders who get things done throughout the whole year and do not wait to start their work until the final hours of their session.

Instead of more of the same, we need independent-minded leaders who will not simply "follow the leader" in the State House, but who will push to create jobs and fight for the public interest.

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Monica Medeiros: Casino Debate A Sleight of Hand

Monica Medeiros, Melrose Alderman and State Representative candidate, today blasted the legislature for using the casino debate to distract from the FY '11 budget problems, especially the need for cost-cutting reform at the state level to fix an unsustainable budget that relies heavily on funds that will not be available in the future.

"Despite receiving more than $1.5 billion in increased revenue from new and increased taxes, the legislature was still not able to balance its budget without cutting our local aid and Chapter 70 education funding this year," said Medeiros.

Last year, the legislature voted for a 25% increase in the state sales tax and began to apply the tax to new items including alcoholic beverages. These new and increased taxes have yielded more than $1.5 billion in increased revenue to the state. In addition, the FY '11 budget relies heavily upon federal stimulus money and rainy day funds which will not be available next year, thus creating a substantial structural deficit.

"Relying on funds that won't be available next year sets us all up for serious problems," said Medeiros. "The boys on Beacon Hill should have been focusing on fixing this problem instead of playing a game of political poker with the governor," said Medeiros in reference to numerous reports of closed door meetings on Beacon Hill as lawmakers worked out deals for the passage of the new casino bill.

If Governor Patrick signs the bill, it will allow for the creation of three resort-style casinos and an additional two racetrack slot parlors called "racinos" for the first time ever in Massachusetts.

"Now more than ever, we need open discussions, not more closed door meetings and backroom deals," said Medeiros who hopes to win the 32nd Middlesex district seat to represent Melrose and Wakefield at the State House.

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David Lucas: Casino Debate Highlights Need For New Faces On Beacon Hill

Over the last 3 months, our Legislature proved to the voters, once again, that their concerns for re-election far outweigh our concerns for affordable living and open government. The casino debate highlighted for us everything that is wrong with Beacon Hill and why there has never been a greater need for new faces in state government this November.

In March of this year, one of the local newspapers of our district published an interview with me. Among the many questions asked were my thoughts on casinos in Massachusetts. I stated at that time that, if gamblers are going to gamble, I would prefer that they keep their money in Massachusetts rather than send it to our neighboring states. I want to see businesses grow in Massachusetts and prosper, hire permanent employees and become investors in our communities. However, one casino — or three, or a hundred — will neither cure nor temporarily fix our 9 per cent unemployment rate or our tremendously high cost of living.

One month ago, our newspapers reiterated my concerns about the amount of time our Legislature has dedicated toward the to-gamble-or-not-to-gamble debate, while important bills affecting small businesses, healthcare costs and illegal immigration sat idle. Casinos will not instantly create 15,000 jobs overnight, as some trade unions would like us to believe. They will not instantly bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to cities and towns, as some politicians would like us to believe.  Will property taxes in Melrose and Wakefield be lowered? Will our education aid increase? Will our daycare costs, college tuition, nursing home fees or health insurance premiums decrease? The answer is a simple "no".

The difficulties which we, as homeowners, parents and business owners, face on a daily basis will not be affected by casinos.

Rather than tackle these important issues, our government took months to negotiate how to spend potential casino money; negotiations which took place behind closed doors between three leaders on Beacon Hill, all of the same political party, with lobbyists and special interest groups waiting in the wings.  Just imagine:  if the Legislature had spent a fraction of the time over the last three months openly debating ways to lower healthcare costs, as it spent in closed-door casino negotiations, how much would your health insurance cost you next year?  What if they spent a fraction of that time developing ways to make Massachusetts more attractive to businesses, so that our companies can afford to hire more workers?

Ask yourself why these issues weren't discussed and debated.  The answer is that our legislators took a big gamble themselves, before a single casino-shovel ever hit the ground.  They promised us months ago that this would be the cure-all for our economy, the most important bill to be discussed this year, and therefore they needed to produce something – anything – before the end of the Legislative session to present to us, rather than be accused of accomplishing nothing.  In other words, their concerns about re-election trumped the daily living concerns of the voters.
The political spin over the next few weeks will be tremendous, as the casino-buck has now been passed to the Governor, who also hopes to be re-elected.  There will be cheers and jeers, back-patting and finger-pointing, all while our monthly household bills continue to rise.  Every politician promises us "change", and every politician promises us a more "open" process, election year after election year.  It has been said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same," and until we, as voters, truly begin to demand something better of our elected officials, our legislative process will certainly stay the same.

As I said, there has never been a greater need for new faces in our government.

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Mike Day Op-Ed: Bringing Our Voice Back To Beacon Hill

As a candidate, I spend most of my time meeting with people in their homes, around town squares, and at local gatherings.  I am fortunate to be able to listen to the ideas and concerns of our neighbors.  Those of us who grew up in these towns understand the deep pride, strong values, and sense of community we feel about our cities and towns.  Yet what I hear too often is that the values we share are not being reflected by our own Legislature, and that people are looking for a new approach.

Record numbers of foreclosures have rocked our neighborhoods.  I have met a number of families who have been forced to move back in with their elderly parents and grandparents because someone in the home lost a job and they could not make their mortgage payment.  They are welcomed back without hesitation, and are thankful for the help as they find their way through this rough patch and get back on their feet, but they want to make their own way.

Our downtowns are pock-marked with vacant storefronts where landmark shops and restaurants used to flourish.  Business owners tell me they'd love to rehabilitate the historic property on our main street, but the state's regulatory hoops make it easier to develop green space and build new, if they decide to open in this district at all.  As a state, we are simply missing opportunities for this new revenue.

Faced with growing budget deficits, our local governments are repeatedly cutting services and increasing fees.  It can cost parents up to $900 if they have a child who wants to play high school sports.  Parent groups crop up and respond with bake sales, car washes and raffles that bring us closer to our neighbors but don't address the real issue.

We are looking for answers to these problems that are eroding the identities of our hometowns, and we are rightfully looking to government to provide some of the solutions.  Yet too often we are met with inaction and a lack of urgency on Beacon Hill.

During my time in Washington, I worked to cut through government red tape and give our communities the flexibility they needed to redevelop hazardous waste sites and abandoned lots in our downtowns back into valuable and productive commercial properties – helping both our environment and our economy.  Later, while I studied law at nights, I fought with and for workers during the day who stood up to multinational corporations and demanded fair pay for an honest day's work.  Now I regularly work with businesses, small and large, to help them navigate complex legal waters and keep them afloat in these, their most difficult times. 

We need leadership in the State House now, more than ever.  Yet too many of our elected officials are afraid to act and afraid to lead.  We have an opportunity, right now, to reshape the way government delivers services to us: to get rid of government programs that are not working and to enhance the ones that are; to create good-paying and permanent jobs; and to provide an education for our children that will enable them to have success in their lives. If we are going to pull ourselves of this recession and move forward, we must vote for and support leaders who understand the needs of our cities and towns, and who will fight against the status quo.

I am running for the State Senate because it is time to change the way our government works.  It is time for the pride we all share in our hometowns to be reflected and rewarded in the State House. And it is time we got our neighborhoods back on their feet, so that when our children do grow up and move away, they will want to come back to raise their children here too. 

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Christopher Dent to Deploy to Africa with Marine Corps Reserve, Proposes Debates with Sen. Tom McGee

Republican State Senate Candidate Christopher Dent of Nahant will deploy to the southern African nation of Mozambique with his Marine Corps Reserve unit in support of Exercise Shared Accord 2010. Dent, a military intelligence analyst and combat veteran of the Iraq War, will spend three weeks supporting his unit's mission of training the Mozambican Army. Dent's campaign staff will continue their
efforts throughout the district in his absence. The Committee to Elect Christopher
Dent can be contacted at (781) 584-4786, dentformasssenste@gmail.com or at
DentforMassSenate.org.

Dear Sen. McGee,

I hope this letter finds you well. In the interest of conducting the most fair and open campaign possible I would like to propose a series of debates between us to take place in the weeks prior to Election Day. I feel that a public, moderated exchange between us on the issues facing the Commonwealth and this District would serve the public interest.

As this district includes the whole or portions of six communities, I propose that we have six debates, one each week between the primary and general elections. Each debate, held in a different community would be moderated by a three member panel of journalists from local media outlets and would feature questions from the media as well as the voters. I propose that these debates would last two hours and be broadcast on local television and radio stations where available.

I will be deploying to Africa tomorrow with my Marine Corps Reserve unit and will be unavailable until August 20. However, my campaign staff will be available in my absence to determine the further details of these debates. Please find the attached contact information for my staff. If I do not receive a response from you by August 31, I will assume that you decline this proposal and do not wish to discuss the issues facing this district in a public forum. I look forward to your reply.

Very Respectfully,
Christopher Dent

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Katherine Clark Attends 'Making Reading Better' Forum

State Representative Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) recently spoke with Reading town residents and businesses at the monthly Making Reading Better forum. While at the forum, Representative Clark opened the floor up to questions from the audience in order to listen to and to learn more about the concerns and issues important to the Reading community.

"The Making Reading Better forum was a great opportunity for me to sit down with Reading residents and businesses, and to discuss the issues that are of daily concern to them," said Representative Clark. "These collaborative discussions play an important role in implementing plans for job creation and economic growth.  As their next State Senator, I would be a strong advocate for the Reading community and would continue to listen to their concerns."

"We thank Katherine Clark for taking the time to speak with our organization and for providing very thoughful responses to a wide array of questions," said David Mancuso, Reading resident and member of Making Reading Better. "Equally important, Katherine listened to what we had to say and showed a keen understanding of the intersection of state and local issues that are very important to the community."