Patrick pays a visit on locals
Published on May 17th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick (D) pledged to revamp the state’s economy by piping more revenue into local cities and towns during a town meeting style discussion at the Stoneham Theatre this Monday.
Directing his comments at a couple dozen residents who braved the deluged roadways to meet the former Clinton administration appointee, Patrick insisted that he would fight to jump-start economic growth by pushing for more affordable housing, better educational opportunities, and a restored faith in state government.
According to the former Milton Academy graduate, too many people had lost hope in the American Dream and in the government’s ability to alter people’s lives for the better. A large reason for that general distrust, Patrick argued, lay with politicians themselves.
“Even as I have lived the American Dream in multitudes, people all over the country wonder whether the American Dream is still possible,” the Democratic governor’s race hopeful remarked.
“When people think of politics, they think of two screaming heads on TV. It’s as if principal and vision is for the naive,” Patrick added. “I offer this candidacy as an opportunity for the Democratic party to stand for something this time.”
Specifically, the Chicago-native proposed returning more local aid to municipalities in an effort to jump-start economic growth.
Arguing that true economic growth could only occur on the local level, Patrick argued that creating small and mid-sized business would need to be preceded by the restoration of public services — which have been hit hard in Stoneham over recent years due to reoccurring budget woes.
The former Coca-Cola executive further insisted that better housing opportunities needed to exist for the state’s population of young-professionals, who have been leaving the Commonwealth in high numbers on an annual basis.
“I think the number one job of the next governor is to help the economy. And I believe local cities and towns are going to be the engine of that growth. But you can’t do that if you starve cities and towns of money,” said Patrick, who also believed that some local government services needed to be streamlined through regionalization.
Although Patrick pushed for rebuilding the state’s economy by encouraging small business growth and affordable housing projects, one resident questioned the logic of tacking on density within cities and towns.
Specifically, the citizen - who didn’t identify himself — referred to the rampant flooding throughout the state in recent days, which he partly attributed to outdated infrastructure.
“We live in a part of the country with some of the oldest infrastructure in the country. Yet we’re constantly pushing for this higher density. I really want to know what you’re talking about in terms of planning,” the attendee said.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!