Resident throws hat in Rep. race against Casey
Published on March 24th, 2004
STONEHAM, MA - Armed with a variety of tools, Stoneham resident John Prindiville has just about all the standard weapons needed to launch his Republican campaign for state representative against Democratic incumbent Paul Casey.
The ink has dried on the 150 plus signatures from registered Stoneham and Winchester voters in the 31st Middlesex District, more than enough citizen endorsements to meet the state's requirements. His website, peppered with the slogan that his candidacy will "campaign for Beacon Hill reform," is complete with a photograph of himself standing in front of Old Glory, the 24-year-old dressed in his best and donning an ear to ear smile that would pull just about anybody's patriotic heart-strings.
And a necessary need in any election race, Prindiville's Website leaves nobody guessing as to where to send donations for his grassroots campaign. But before you whip out your checkbook and drop your contributions in the mail box, you might want to click on the "issues" section of Prindiville's Internet site, which requests that visitors, "Please stay tuned! Coming soon."
Asked to comment on three state-level issues that Stoneham's Selectmen have unsuccessfully lobbied for, including authorization to move forward with the proposed Stoneham Executive Center, demands that the state offer some type of financial agreement or payment of lieu of taxes for its ownership and use of more than one-third of Stoneham's land mass, and calls for a settlement or apology that acknowledges that the creation of the Fellsway's Jerry Jingle Park was inappropriate, Prindiville claimed he wasn't prepared to comment.
"I'd like to research the issues a little more before I answer," answered Prindiville. "I believe that if you don't have anything intelligent to say about something, then you should do your homework and then comment."
However, while ultimately noncommittal about the Stoneham Executive Center, Prindiville did seem to lean towards some type of compromise where the Gutierrez Company would propose a project more in line with the surrounding Fells Reservation, a battle call of many of the office park's opponents.
"I want to make it very clear that you can't just take into consideration the dollar signs, you have to focus on the quality of life issues that such a project affects...Once you tear those woods down, they don't grow back," said Prindiville of the SEC development.
Although Prindiville's reluctance to comment specifically on those issues appears to indicate that he might be out of touch with Stoneham's local needs, the candidate has met and spoken with several town officials including Selectman Tony Kennedy and Superintendent Joseph Connelly about a variety of issues including Chapter 70 aid. Highlighting a central focal point of his campaign, Prindiville also believes he has the solution for the financial plague that has left Stoneham stricken with a deficit in excess of $4 million in FY05. Endorsing the financial solutions of reform-minded Massachusetts' Governor Mitt Romney, the Pond Street resident believes that if the state streamlined its functions and eliminated wasteful spending, the Commonwealth's cities and towns would witness the return of local aid funding, which has been cut by $2 million over the past two years in Stoneham.
"We are focused on the local issues too, but when it comes down to it, we need to focus on the state level to bring about reforms that allow local aid to flow back to communities," Prindiville commented, listing the combination of Mass Highway and the Mass Turnpike Authority as one such reform that would save millions upon millions of dollars.
"It's saving the taxpayers' money so it can be devoted to the things that matter. It just doesn't seem like we have our priorities in order [on the state level]. The legislature isn't putting the people's concerns first before its own concerns," Prindiville added.
According to Prindiville, his upcoming race with Casey isn't about Republican or Democratic issues. It's about eliminating a one-party voting block lead by Thomas Finneran, the current speaker of the house.
Labeling his opponent as a Finneran lieutenant whose voting record illustrates his willingness to ignore overwhelming citizen demands voiced through ballot questions, such as the recently approved campaign reform and English immersion initiatives, Prindiville also charged that Casey constantly ignores the needs of his constituents so he can perpetuate a political patronage system that promotes wasteful and unnecessary state spending.
"Regardless of how cordial and friendly people find their state representative, he's not acting in their interests...The legislature has become such a one-party system that it doesn't matter what political party you're from. The Speaker of the House has become more powerful than the governor and that's not the way it's supposed to happen," Prindiville charged.
"My opponent votes with the speaker 93-95 percent of the time. He's a speaker lieutenant and he just blindly follows the speaker on every issue...He's [Casey] cutting local aid and increasing funding to the patronage system. And it's just not right. Whenever the Commonwealth's in a bind, he [Casey] backs raising taxation while I'm for implementing reform," the candidate furthered.
The former Suffolk University student also implied that Casey very rarely acts in Stoneham's interests and instead primarily champions the causes of Winchester, where the current state representative resides. However, Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello challenged Prindiville's assertion that he would be an advocate for Stoneham, claiming that the candidate could hardly be more familiar than Casey with town issues when he's only lived in the community for a year.
"The governor's trying to knock off all the Democratic candidates he can and that's not fair. To have somebody from out of state or out of town who now wants to run for you and represent you, that's wrong. He doesn't know anybody in town and he hasn't done his time here," Ciccarello commented.
"He's a carpetbagger, that's all he is," said Ciccarello.
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