POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
The following news items were supplied by the candidates’ campaign organizations.
Healey backs Lewis for re-election
State Senator Jason Lewis is proud to be endorsed for re-election by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. Healey is also the Democratic nominee and frontrunner to be the next Governor of the Commonwealth.
“I’m proud to endorse Senator Jason Lewis for re-election because we can count on him to advocate for strong public schools and work to grow our economy,” said Attorney General Maura Healey. “I’m looking forward to partnering with him to deliver results and make housing, healthcare, and childcare more affordable for all.”
“Maura Healey has been incredibly effective as our Attorney General and I’m thrilled at the prospect of her serving as our next Governor,” said Lewis. “We have built a strong relationship and I’m very much looking forward to working together to expand opportunities for all our residents and continue to tackle the challenges facing our communities.”
Lewis serves as the Senate Chair of the Education Committee, and led the effort to pass the Student Opportunity Act, landmark legislation that dramatically increased state funding for our public schools in order to ensure that all students have the resources they need to thrive. Senator Lewis was also named a Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe in 2018 for his leadership in creating the strongest Paid Family & Medical Leave program in the nation. This means that Massachusetts families don’t have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for a newborn baby or a sick family member.
Lewis has represented the Fifth Middlesex District in the state Senate since 2014. He is facing Republican Ed Dombroski, a Wakefield Town Councilor, in the upcoming election. Senator Lewis has been endorsed by all the other members of the Wakefield Town Council. He has also been endorsed by State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian, Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur, Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, and many other local elected leaders in Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester.
To learn more about Senator Lewis’ positions on issues and his accomplishments for our communities, please visit electjasonlewis.com.
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Dombroski calls for ‘long overdue’ tax relief for taxpayers
State Senate Candidate and current Wakefield Town Councilor Ed Dombroski has called upon state lawmakers to pass long overdue tax relief for Massachusetts residents. “Every day I speak to residents across our district who are finding it harder to just keep financially afloat,” Dombroski said. “The impact of 40-year high inflation on every aspect of daily life – from gas prices to the cost of food at the grocery store or at restaurants to another brutal home heating season not far off – residents are having to pay more to get less, if they are even able at all.” “With each day that passes, people are feeling the squeeze on their wallets that much more – it’s simply unsustainable,” Dombroski added. “The vast majority of our seniors are living on fixed incomes that are not keeping pace with the astronomical increases in the costs of basic essentials they need every day. And, many middle class families are paying more than they were just a year ago and getting less.” Dombroski supports a comprehensive tax relief proposal filed by the Baker-Polito Administration earlier this year that would provide impactful, long-term sustainable tax relief that benefits everyone across the Commonwealth. The plan would include doubling the maximum Senior Circuit Breaker credit and lower the tax burden for lower-income homeowners over the age of 65, increasing the rental deduction cap for renters, doubling dependent care credits, increasing the thresholds for adjusted gross income (AGI) providing immediate relief to low-income tax filers, raising the estate tax threshold, and lowering the short-term capital gains tax rate to 5%. “This proposal has needlessly stalled in the Legislature for months now. It’s long overdue. For far too long there’s been a culture on Beacon Hill to act quickly to find ways to take more tax dollars from hardworking Massachusetts residents and small businesses. But, when there’s an opportunity, like we have here, to return people some of their money, legislators could not move any slower or with any less certainty. That’s a problem.” Dombroski said. Dombroski added, “The Commonwealth is enjoying a multi-billion-dollar tax surplus on Beacon Hill, while at the same time most taxpayers are facing financial shortfalls at home. This tax relief proposal is a fiscally responsible, commonsense approach to address the immediate issue of inflation, while setting us on a path towards future prosperity through sustainable, long-term tax relief. I fully support this plan, which would provide significant benefits to the residents I am running to represent across our district.” Dombroski is running for the Fifth Middlesex State Senate seat that represents Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester. He is an attorney and small business owner and has served on the Wakefield Town Council for six years, following three years serving on the Wakefield Finance Committee.
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Dombroski: Expand access to voc-tech learning opportunities
WAKEFIELD – State Senate Candidate and current Wakefield Town Councilor Ed Dombroski today called for expanded access to vocational-technical school opportunities for students interested in pursuing that educational path. “We need to reimagine and re-prioritized our approach to a 21st Century Education,” said Dombroski. “I support individualized education paths for each student to realize their full potential. An important part of this includes vocational-technical education. I believe every child who wishes to pursue a vocational-technical education should be granted enrollment, period.”
Dombroski points to the many student applicants to Northeast Metro Tech High School – the vocational-technical school for students living in Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester, the district Dombroski is running to represent in the state Senate – where student demand currently far exceeds capacity. “Right now, there are more than 600 students who have expressed interest in enrolling in Northeast but cannot be accommodated,” said Dombroski. “Students from schools like Northeast graduate with a skillset that makes them immediately highly employable in a wide range of trades as well as many sectors that will dominate our economy going forward. At a time when we are seeing unprecedented labor shortages, failing to keep pace with developing a skilled labor force is a failure for our students and our state’s competitive edge. We need to do better by our students.” Northeast Metro Tech recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $317 million facility that was overwhelmingly passed in a special election this past January across all 12 of the member communities. “The landslide vote in favor of the new Northeast Metro Tech school shows the commitment of our communities to the importance of vocational-technical education,” Dombroski said. “However, all indications are that even with the expanded capacity of this new school, ever-increasing interest in enrollment will mean students will continue to be shut out of this opportunity.” Dombroski proposes that any student, as a matter of right, should have the opportunity to attend a vocational-technical school, just as one is given the opportunity to attend a traditional high school. “For too long the Legislature has failed to make vocational-technical education the priority that it deserves. I am disappointed that my opponent, Sen. Jason Lewis, in his position on the Joint Committee on Education, has failed the students of our district by not making vocational-technical educations a priority.” Dombroski has made expanded vocational education a top priority in this race. “From the day we launched our campaign, I have been steadfast in my commitment to expand these important educational opportunities. Speaking with residents across our district, they make clear they value the need to do more for our students, with vocational education a top priority,” he said. Dombroski is running for the Fifth Middlesex State Senate seat that represents Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester. He is an attorney and small business owner and has served on the Wakefield Town Council for six years, following three years serving on the Wakefield Finance Committee. Dombroski is endorsed by Governor Charlie Baker. More information can be found at www.EdforMA.com.
