Candidates for Rep. seat promise change on the Hill
Published on October 22nd, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - All three candidates vying for the vacant 31st Middlesex District state house seat insisted that they would bring change to Beacon Hill during a tumultous economic period.
Last Sunday, Democratic candidate Jason Lewis, Independent Chad Riley, and Republican contender Brian O'Connor all vowed to reform the state's education formula, break an impasse over the redevelopment of the former Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC), and reduce waste in the state budget.
The debate, the first of two being sponsored by the Winchester League of Women Voters, was held in Stoneham Town Hall last weekend.
The three Winchester residents are seeking the state house seat being vacated by State Rep. Paul Casey (D-Winchester), who announced last April that he would not be running for re-election.
According to Riley and Lewis, they would both make Chapter 70 reform their top priority, if elected to office.
“We've shifted too much of the burden for paying for education on property taxes. It's regressive,” said Lewis. “Our state government has to take a lot more responsibility and accountablility for funding education.”
Riley later pointed-out that the formula, as currently written, provides a huge influx of funding for large urban school districts, many of whom oppose Chapter 70 reform because they would stand to lose that money.
According to the former prosecutor, Stoneham and Winchester's next state representative needed to engage in some serious consensus building before any meaningful change to the education formula would occur.
“That formula isn't going away anytime soon,” said Riley. “And that's because the urban areas are overfunded. They're not going to give up that money anytime soon.”
O'Connor also supported that cause, but he pointed out that the state's current budget crisis would likely force legislators to abandon the education funding proposal currently supported by Gov. Deval Patrick.
According to the Winchester Selectman, given the state's current economic crisis, he doubted that Beacon Hill legislators could impose any type of Chapter 70 reform.
The republican also pointed out that under the proposed changes, Stoneham would receive only a modest increase in funding, as the reform would base education aid on population.
“I don't want to be negative, but you really can't look at any old plan. You have to start all over again,” said O'Connor, who believed the entire issue needed to be revisited.
Touting his municipal experience, the Winchester Selectman later contended that he could help break the impasse over the future of the former BRMC property, which has been vacant for nearly a decade.
Burlington's Gutierrez Company wants to redevelop the site to include 225,000 square feet of office space and 405 housing units, some of which would be designated as affordable.
However, environmental activists, as well as city officials from neighboring Melrose and Medford, have repeatedly objected to the plans, citing traffic impacts and concerns over potential damage to the surrounding Middlesex Fells Reservation.
According to O'Connor, he helped bridge a similar divide in Winchester, when the community struggled over the future of the former Hamilton Farm property on Ridge Street.
“Stoneham is faced with the same dilemna here. You have to work with the conservation groups and the [developer] to get the compromise you need to get it done,” the Vietnam veteran said.
Lewis advocated for the redevelopment of the parcel, but in a “responsible” way.
According to the former software company owner, the developer needed to properly mitigate the impacts of the project, particularly the traffic associated with the proposal.
Riley voiced his complete support of the town's right to redevelop the property as it saw fit. According to the independent, Stoneham has sacrificed much of its development potential, as nearly one-third of its land mass is dedicated to open-space.
The lawyer believed that the site in question, which had housed a very busy and fully operational hospital, was more than appropriate for the uses being proposed by the Burlington developer.
“You can't buy a condominium on Brookline Avenue and then complain that the lights from Fenway Park are bothering me,” said Riley. “The state isn't allowing Stoneham to control its own destiny.”
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