State Representative hopefuls address priorities

Published February 3, 2020

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD – The Daily Item asked the candidates in tomorrow’s Special Primary Election for 32nd Middlesex District State Representative to talk about what they see as the most important issue facing the district and how they would address it if elected.

The vacancy was created when Paul Brodeur was elected mayor of Melrose last November. In Wakefield, only precincts 4, 5 and 6 are voting. The 32d Middlesex District consists of Melrose, Ward 5-2 in Malden and Precincts 4, 5 and 6 in Wakefield.

The three candidates on the Democrat ballot are Mat Helman of Malden, Kate Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose and Ann McGonigle Santos of Wakefield.

Republican Brandon Reid of Melrose will not appear on the ballot, but has announced his intention to mount a write-in campaign for the seat.

Helman, a Malden resident, is a well-known, self-described “progressive Democrat,” having worked in the offices for multiple state legislators, including State Sen. Jason Lewis of Winchester, Sen. Karen Spilka of Ashland (now Senate President) and Rep. Ruth Balser of Newton.

Lipper-Garabedian has been a Melrose City Councilor-at-Large since January 2018. After graduating from Harvard Law School, she worked as a judicial clerk in the federal courts and as a consultant for states, school districts, colleges, and universities, and nonprofit organizations. She is currently Chief Legal Counsel at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education.

A graduate of Wakefield High School, Ann McGonigle Santos attended Brown University and then Northeastern University School of Law. After graduating from law school, she joined the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor. In 1998 she joined the faculty at Suffolk University Law School, becoming an Associate Professor of Legal Writing and in 2014, Associate Dean of Students and the Law School Disabilities Officer.

The candidates shared their ideas on the most pressing issues facing the district,

ANN MCGONIGLE SANTOS

SANTOS: I believe one of the most pressing issues our District faces is Transportation and how it affects so much of our daily life: The ability to get to work via an efficient and timely public transportation system; present carbon emissions that contribute to pollution and their deleterious effects on climate and public health; its role in supporting not only our residents in Wakefield, Melrose, and Malden but our small businesses; and how increased traffic affects our quality of life.

As someone who has taken public transportation from this District via the Commuter Rail and Orange line for the better part of 22 years, I understand the frustration of my fellow riders. Additionally, as my husband drives into Boston each workday, I have also seen him leave earlier and earlier each morning (4:45 am!) to avoid a 90-minute commute to travel 15 miles.

As State Representative, I believe the band-aid approach to fixing Transportation in our District and the State cannot be the answer and we must look to other states and countries to find the best practices to cure the problems in our system. While doing so, we also must examine pricing, incentives to take public transportation, and we must make sure that any improvements examine unintended effects on some of our lower income neighbors. It will take a bold initiate, like the TCI, that will address the environmental concerns as well as infuse the system with funding.

I know that this will not be an easy fix, but we must have a detailed plan that is wholly bipartisan. Massachusetts can set the tone for working together, regardless of party, to accomplish critical projects that affect all our residents. Finally, as a working mom who has experience working on more than one major issue at a time, I also am committed to working with fellow legislators to pass the Roe Act. For myself but more importantly for my teenage daughter and her contemporaries, I am passionate about protecting the reproductive rights and health of the young women our District.

KATE LIPPER-GARABEDIAN

LIPPER-GARABEDIAN: In addition to public transportation and the climate crisis, continued state leadership in supporting public education is critical. I’m proud to have played a role in drafting and reviewing provisions of the recently enacted Student Opportunity Act, the law that updates our school funding formula with a commitment to invest $1.5 billion additional state dollars over the next seven years. The legislature must deliver on this commitment in the annual budgeting process. It also must ensure that districts have the resources and support necessary to develop plans that direct the extra dollars to effective use in the classroom, benefiting teachers and students, and that enhance student access to resources like guidance and psychological services. Further, education is not simply a K-12 proposition. As State Representative, I’ll prioritize issues of family access to quality early education; college affordability and protection for students and faculty, drawing on my work on the new Massachusetts statute and regulations addressing sudden college closures; and credentialing opportunities for mid-career adults eager to participate more fully in an inclusive innovation economy.

I am uniquely positioned to focus on public education at the State House, not only as a product of public schools and a Melrose Public School parent but also as someone who has dedicated my professional career to public education, first as a public school seventh-grade teacher and now as the Chief Legal Counsel at the Executive Office of Education. I also serve on the Massachusetts Safe and Supportive Schools Commission. I’m proud to be endorsed by Malden School Committee Member Adam Weldai, who represents the portion of Malden in the 32nd Middlesex District, and Melrose School Committee Members Jen McAndrew, John Obremski, and Jennifer Razi-Thomas.

To move effective policy and necessary state investment forward, I’ll draw on my experiences as a classroom teacher, a parent, and someone who has worked in the field of public education (early education through higher education) for more than 15 years. I’ll identify and partner with allies in the House to support and strengthen coalitions. I’ll work with municipal leaders, administrators, educators, and advocates to highlight best practices and innovative efforts. And I’ll remain mindful that the policy decisions we make will impact our students’ and teachers’ daily experiences.

MAT HELMAN

HELMAN: The most pressing issue facing the district right now that can be addressed by state government is our public transportation crisis. In recent years, reaching a dangerous crescendo in 2019, our public transit systems saw several derailments, track fires, and breakdowns in the heat of summer and cold of winter, not to mention routine overcrowding and capacity deficiencies for commuters during rush hour. With countless residents in Wakefield, Melrose, and Malden relying on the MBTA and commuter rail – or stuck in traffic on I-93 and Route 1 because our public transit can’t handle more rush hour riders, forcing more people to commute by car, increasing automobile traffic – we have a vested interest in making our public transit safer, more reliable, and more accessible.

The public transportation crisis came into starkest relief nearly two months ago, on Dec. 9, when the Boston Globe ran a pair of stories with the headlines: “Safety ‘is not the priority’ at the MBTA, panel finds” and “MBTA’s new fare system will be years late, and cost a lot more money.” The MBTA, and our public transit systems broadly, require new leadership, more oversight, more public engagement, better long-term planning, and more investment.

First, I would like to see an independent, ombudsman-type role added to the MBTA that tracks and makes public every service delay, every dangerous incident, every daily problem. This will allow the public, the media, and others to better see the enormity of the problem that impacts our local economies, our public safety, and our quality of life. Imagine if we could more accurately calculate to enormous number of work-hours lost every week to our dysfunctional MBTA.

I would also like to see both our state Auditor’s office, as well as independent third-party auditors, be engaged to conduct performance auditing on our public transit systems. Further, I want to see resident organizations like Transportation for Massachusetts have a more direct line with decision-makers at our transit agencies and in the legislative and executive branches of our state government, and I want to see representatives from the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) be compelled to conduct more frequent and more routine public engagement efforts. These organizations’ leaders and representatives should be visiting our communities so that they can hear directly from us what our concerns and challenges are.

If we want to make our communities more senior-friendly, if we want to combat brain-drain across the greater Boston region, and if we want workers to simply be able to get to their jobs on time, we need safe, reliable public transit systems. And we need leaders in the legislative and executive branches to be much more proactive in making this happen. If elected as your State Representative, I will be a regular thorn in the sides of these leaders to make progress happen.

BRANDON REID

REID: I think if you asked this question to each individual in this district, you would get very different answers. This community faces multiple issues, and all of them are pressing. Among these issues, the financial health of this state and district must be examined, as reckless spending continues to be a problem. Quite frankly, a lot of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars are being squandered. Transparency and accountability are lacking in state government and at the local level. As State Representative, I will ensure the effectiveness of existing state-run programs is measured, and make sure that every dollar is accounted for and being put to good use.

Other issues that must be addressed include improving transportation and infrastructure, revamping education where necessary (getting rid of MCAS testing is just one thing I’m advocating for), and better supporting seniors and veterans. There are many items that must be addressed, but I’ll refrain from writing a book in response to this question. Stay tuned.

 

Candidates weigh in on transportation, climate

Published February 3, 2020

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD – Tomorrow’s Special Primary Election for State Representative for the 32nd Middlesex District will feature three candidates on the Democrat ballot. Mat Helman of Malden, Kate Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose and Ann McGonigle Santos of Wakefield.

Republican Brandon Reid of Melrose will not appear on the ballot, but has announced his intention to mount a write-in campaign for the seat.

The vacancy was created when Paul Brodeur was elected mayor of Melrose last November. In Wakefield, only precincts 4, 5 and 6 are voting. The 32d Middlesex District consists of Melrose, Ward 5-2 in Malden and Precincts 4, 5 and 6 in Wakefield.

The Daily Item asked all of the candidates to discuss their positions on the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), including its estimated initial increase in gas prices of up to 17 cents per gallon.

Helman is a well-known, self-described “progressive Democrat,” having worked in the offices for multiple state legislators, including State Sen. Jason Lewis of Winchester, Sen. Karen Spilka of Ashland (now Senate President) and Rep. Ruth Balser of Newton.

“The climate change crisis requires solutions that meet the size of the challenge we face,” Helman said. “The climate change crisis also requires unprecedented collaboration. That is why I’m pleased to see environmental organizations and business groups, Democrats and Republicans, including Charlie Baker, coming together to support the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a regional effort across the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states to reduce transportation-based carbon emissions.

“I join them in their support for TCI. As the Environmental League of Massachusetts summarizes: ‘policy created through TCI could mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, invest in much-needed public transit, alleviate congestion, and generate a revenue stream to fund future transportation improvements.’ This is a win-win, reducing fossil fuel emissions and generating desperately needed resources to improve our public transportation systems, including the MBTA.

“In addition to the TCI, I also support legislation to transition Massachusetts to 100% renewable energy in the coming decades and legislation to compel the Commonwealth to work with other states to increase wind-based energy procurement in the coming years. Further, I support legislation to promote green infrastructure, oppose fossil fuel pipelines through Massachusetts, and ban single-use plastic carry-out bags statewide.

“Massachusetts used to lead on so many issues, from public education to civil rights to combating gun violence. We don’t lead on much anymore. In addressing the climate change crisis, the Commonwealth can once again be a national leader and a state government role model for the other 49 states,” Helman concluded. “If elected as your State Representative, I will be a voice for urgent action and ongoing collaboration to address the climate change crisis.

Lipper-Garabedian has been a Melrose City Councilor-At-Large since January 2018. After graduating from Harvard Law School, she worked as a judicial clerk in the federal courts and as a consultant for states, school districts, colleges, and universities, and nonprofit organizations. She is currently Chief Legal Counsel at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education.

“I support the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), Lipper-Garabedian said. “Investment in our public transportation system is an economic and environmental imperative for the 32nd Middlesex District.

“The Massachusetts legislature in 2008 passed the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), which requires the Commonwealth to reduce climate pollution by 25% by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050. In that law, the Massachusetts legislature empowered the Governor to enter a compact like TCI without further legislative action.

“TCI will lead to increases in gas prices to create revenue to be used for efforts to deal with the climate crisis. In our region, vehicle emissions contribute more than 40% of our global-warming pollution and, as I understand it, are the only growing contributor to our carbon footprint: even as vehicles have become more energy-efficient, we are driving that much more. Half of all TCI revenue will be directed to public transportation. Much of the strength of Wakefield, Melrose, and Malden rests on our abundant access to bus, commuter rail and subway infrastructure, but that infrastructure needs significant investment.

“During this campaign, I have heard from countless residents in the District, including as I personally visited more than 1,000 doors, that their biggest desire is improvement in our mass transit system. In Wakefield, I met with residents who live within walking distance of both commuter rail stops but who commute by car because the trains do not run frequently enough, including for reverse commutes, to meet their families’ needs. As a daily commuter on the Orange Line, I personally share their desire for a bold, comprehensive, forward-thinking framework that embraces mass transportation as a critical lever in ensuring the economic and environmental health of the region.

“If the Commonwealth participates in TCI and depending on the scale at which other states engage (e.g., New Hampshire’s Governor has indicated he will not), the initiative has tremendous potential to improve the accessibility and quality of our public transportation corridor. I appreciate the concern for the costs that families will bear in higher gas costs. (Separately, the state income tax rate decreased on January 1.) But drivers – as well as their families, employers/employees, and residents located daily next to thousands of idling cars – currently bear real costs for the exhausting traffic gridlock in the Boston region. Plus, in the longer term, we will bear significant costs associated with climate change, needing to pay for adaptation and resilience efforts, including with respect to health care costs,” Lipper-Garabedian said. “I generally will remain supportive of initiatives aimed at addressing a significant challenge that my constituents prioritize where a proposed revenue stream is clearly connected to an investment intended to address that challenge.”

A graduate of  Wakefield High School, Ann McGonigle Santos attended Brown University and then Northeastern University School of Law. After graduating from law school, she joined the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor. In 1998 she joined the faculty at Suffolk University Law School, becoming an Associate Professor of Legal Writing and in 2014, Associate Dean of Students and the Law School Disabilities Officer.

“I support the bi-partisan, regional collaborative effort to combat the urgent issue of climate change,” Santos said. “The TCI is a regional effort that includes most of the Northeastern states and D.C. and it boldly attempts to decrease carbon emissions from the effects of present-day transportation, improve upon transportation with a wide lens, and to develop a clean energy economy. I appreciate and do not take lightly that the TCI comes with a price tag, but I also believe the time for acting slowly to address climate change has passed. While the regional plan would result in an increased 5-17 cent tax on gas, proponents of the plan including Governor Baker and Kathleen Theoharides, the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, believe that the benefits to our health, the environment, and our economy, far outweigh the costs. Specifically, it is projected that the TCI will restore billions of dollars in transportation funding, improvements to public health with the reduction in carbon emissions and hundreds of millions in avoided climate-related costs that our children and grandchildren would face.

“I believe one of the most important tasks the TCI delineates is to grow the clean energy economy and lower transportation sector emissions, which make up 39 percent of the carbon pollution in the region, according to the Federal Energy Information Administration.

“What is most attractive to me is the bi-partisan and collaborative nature of the TCI. If we are to finally address climate change and its effect on our communities – both locally and globally – the initiative must be robust, aggressive, and supported by data, Santos stressed. “The Transportation and Climate Initiative does this in my opinion.”

Brandon Reid took a different view of the TCI.

“I do not support the current draft of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, Reid said. “However, I do believe in the mission of initiative. Climate change is real, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while investing in infrastructure and new technologies is imperative.

“As for TCI, the estimated 5-17 percent increase in gas prices that this plan would bring, while not a “tax” in legal terms, is essentially just that. The real problem I have with this initiative is that it places a burden on certain populations, such as residents in rural areas with long communities and lower income residents who may struggle to afford these higher prices, Reid said. “Unfortunately, there are equity issues with this TCI, which makes it hard to support at present.”