“Jobs, local aid are key issues in Senate race”

Jobs, local aid are key issues in Senate race

Posted: 07 Aug 2010 07:06 PM PDT

Candidates for state senator are pledging to work for job creation, financial relief for local cities and towns, and a more efficient state government as a wide-open race to succeed retiring Senator Susan C. Tucker kicks into gear.

Six aspirants are campaigning for the 2d Essex and Middlesex seat that Tucker, an Andover Democrat, has held since 1999. The candidates have been energetically sounding their messages across the district communities of Andover, Dracut, Lawrence, and Tewksbury.

"We have to find good paying jobs for people,'' said seven-term state Representative Barry R. Finegold, one of three Democratic contenders

To help achieve that, Finegold said he would help advance Northern Essex Community College's plans to build a new allied health center in Lawrence, a project he believes would not only train people for jobs in the field but help revitalize the downtown.

He said he would also try to ensure the state moves ahead with plans to construct a new interchange on Interstate 93 — which is expected to open up land for development in Andover, Tewksbury, and Wilmington — and help Dracut expand its commercial tax base.

Debbie Silberstein, a former Andover School Committee chairwoman, and Jack Wilson, a lawyer, are vying with Finegold in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary. Both pledged to help change the way state government operates. John A. Kelly of Dracut will also on the Democratic primary ballot, but he has dropped out of the race.

"I think one of the key things I will bring is the ability and willingness to solve problems, which we have not been doing,'' Silberstein said. "I think the Legislature has failed to act in a comprehensive manner.''

Silberstein said she would work with her Senate colleagues to help local government keep from "falling further and further behind.'' Closely tied to that effort, she said, she would also focus on creating jobs and supporting education.

"I think they're all inextricably linked,'' she said.

Wilson, who like Finegold and Silberstein is from Andover, said he wants to bring more efficiency to state government.

"We need to analyze every dollar in the budget and make sure we prioritize so those core services so long identified with the Democratic party — public safety, public education, and public health — remain as top priorities in the budget,'' he said.

Wilson said he also wants to see greater accountability in decision-making, citing his support for the creation of a state financial control board in Lawrence as an example.

Improving the workings of state government will also be a priority for Jamison Tomasek of Andover, who will face off against Patrick J. Rahilly of Tewksbury in the Republican primary.

Tomasek, a certified public accountant who works as director of internal audit for a Chelmsford printing and publishing company, said he would work to help institute reforms Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker has proposed.

"It's not just about cutting but about being more innovative,'' said Tomasek, who also promises to push for tax cuts.

Rahilly, a recent law school graduate who just took the bar exam, said he would work to reduce the state sales and income taxes. He also wants to give communities authority to design their health care plans outside collective bargaining, saying the savings realized could help stop municipal layoffs.

"I want to see towns act more like private employers in being able to pick and choose their health plans. . . . There can't be one size fits all,'' he said.

Jodi B. Oberto, an unenrolled candidate from Andover, will contest the Nov. 2 election against the Democratic and Republican primary winners. She runs a small manufacturing sales business and said she would be an advocate for education, lower taxes, and addressing "out-of-control spending.''

Oberto said she offers the perspective of a "small-business owner and a mom. We are all trying to survive and get through these tough times.''