September 15, 2006
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Radio forum lets rep race hopefuls air their views: 2 Republicans running in 12th Plymouth District square off on WATD (By KAREN GOULART, The Patriot Ledger )
MARSHFIELD - After announcing his candidacy in March, Plymouth Redevelopment Authority member Paul Curtis had a lock on the Republican nomination for state representative of the 12th Plymouth District.
But a race developed last week when former Kingston Selectman Olavo deMacedo launched a sticker campaign for a shot at the House seat formerly held by Democrat Thomas O’Brien. Last night, Curtis and deMacedo voiced their views during a forum on radio station WATD.
DeMacedo stressed his 12 years of municipal experience as a Kingston selectman, saying it gave him firsthand knowledge of municipal finance and awareness of the kind of assistance towns need from the state.
Curtis, a Coast Guard veteran, said he has developed leadership skills and a strong work ethic as an elected member of the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority. He said the State House needs someone to be a voice for veterans, especially those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Curtis and deMacedo will face each other Tuesday in the Republican primary. The winner will run against a Democrat chosen by party leaders, probably Silver Lake Regional School Committee member Thomas Calter of Kingston, whom O’Brien has endorsed.
DeMacedo’s name will not appear on the primary ballot. People who want to vote for him will have to write in his name or add a sticker with his name on it. DeMacedo will be on the ballot as a county commissioner candidate; he entered that race before O’Brien vacated his House seat. He would refuse the county commissioner nomination were he to defeat Curtis in the primary, deMacedo said.
The 12th Plymouth District consists of Kingston, Plympton and parts of Duxbury, Halifax, Plymouth and Middleboro.
Both Curtis, who works in the Woods Hole Steamship Authority’s engineering department, and deMacedo, manager of Lawrence Ready-Mix, have sought the House seat before. Both were defeated by O’Brien.
Curtis said he can relate to the average taxpayer who works hard and needs relief, and he emphasized a desire to see the state income tax reduced to 5 percent. 'We have a duty to reduce it," Curtis said. "Six years ago, the 12th District voted to do this." He said there are places in state government, most notably in inflated salaries, where savings are possible.
DeMacedo said rolling back the income tax has been promised and should be done. Whether the reduction would work would be a fiscal-responsibility question, he said. DeMacedo said the 12th District is being "shortchanged" when state aid is distributed. "The population is coming down (to this area), and the money does not follow," he said.
Asked whether the proposed $199 million Proposition 2˝ override for a Plymouth school building project is a good idea, the candidates differed slightly. Curtis said he did not consider it a good idea. Sometimes new schools are built when existing buildings could be improved, he said. Curtis also said the state’s formula for helping pay for school construction projects needs changing. DeMacedo said he agreed with the override request, in the sense that a taxpayer has to consider how such a construction project would affect the town’s ability to provide quality education. "You need to be responsible," he said. "It’s not how much you spend, it’s how you spend it.’’
The candidates agreed that a lack of affordable housing is driving people, especially younger ones, out of Massachusetts. Curtis said he supports so-called smart-growth zoning practices and thinks towns should use them. As a selectman, deMacedo said, he encouraged his fellow board members to push for reform of the state’s Chapter 40B affordable-housing law. He said he still believes the law should be "revamped."
In a ‘‘lightning round’’ of questions, in which the candidates were limited to one-word or one-sentence answers, Curtis and deMacedo said they were pro-life, pro-death penalty and opposed to stricter gun control laws. Curtis is against gay marriage and civil unions. DeMacedo is against gay marriage but in favor of civil unions.
Info@PlymouthCountyGOP.com
