NORTH ANDOVER — It was two against one in the battle of the Democrats looking to take over state Sen. Susan Tucker's seat.
In a debate yesterday at The Eagle-Tribune, Jack Wilson and Debbie Silberstein voiced the need for new elected officials, targeting their opponent, state Rep. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, because of his 13 years on Beacon Hill.
Wilson, an Andover businessman with experience helping state and local economic development offices, called Finegold a "Beacon Hill insider."
"The time has passed for anyone who has been in office to say that they have the right solutions to the state's economic problems," Wilson said. He ran for the same seat in 1998, ultimately losing to Tucker.
Silberstein said she has "a new voice, new blood," something the other two candidates cannot offer.
"If you're happy with the way things are, you should vote for Barry, and if you think solutions from the past are what we need today, you should vote for Jack," said Silberstein, an Andover attorney who has spent six years on the Andover School Committee.
Finegold trumpeted his record as a state representative, recalling by name constituents he has helped and pointing out times when he broke from party leadership. He said he would push for initiatives to create jobs, including finishing the Interstate 93 interchange in Andover and the Northern Essex Community College expansion in Lawrence.
"The challenges are great but I have the experience, the will, the common sense and no one will work harder to get this job done for you," Finegold said.
The Eagle-Tribune hosted the debate among the three, who are seeking the Democratic nomination in a contest to fill the 2nd Essex and Middlesex District seat, representing Andover, Lawrence, Tewksbury, and Dracut. Incumbent Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover, is not seeking re-election.
The three candidates answered questions on methods to manage Lawrence's budget problems, reducing state health care costs, targeting programs for budget reductions, and other issues.
Seeking solutions for Lawrence
Finegold shepherded legislation through the state House of Representatives that allowed Lawrence to borrow $35 million and instituted a financial overseer to manage Lawrence's efforts to close a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. Since then the City Council and the mayor have made large cuts to the Police and Fire departments after disputes with unions.
Wilson said he believes the cuts have put the city's public safety at risk, describing Lawrence as "completely unsafe."
"It allowed for the evisceration of public safety," Wilson said. "If that is what it takes to balance the budget, then balancing the budget is the wrong objective to begin with."
Wilson said he supports a state-backed financial control board and believes provisions for a control board should have been included in the original legislation.
"At a minimum that's what is needed in the city to bring the state in ... to be at the table to force the unions back to the table to negotiate the concessions that need to be negotiated to restore those cuts."
Finegold acknowledged concerns over public safety in the city, but said a control board would take away the city's elected City Council.
"The people elected a City Council, six out of the nine people were new and I don't think giving Governor Deval Patrick the control of the city is the right thing to do right now, where basically you have a City Council working along with the mayor making some very difficult decisions."
The discussion over Lawrence's situation grew heated, with Wilson challenging Finegold over his role in the situation.
Silberstein characterized a control board as a model of the past and said she believes Lawrence deserves more than just a control board.
"There are people in the city that care so much about where they live. They want to be destigmatized, they want to live in a place with good schools and safe streets," Silberstein said. "A control board is not going to solve the problems."
She would push for a collaborative plan that brings together the mayor, City Council members, and state and federal government officials to create a strategic vision for the city.
Targets for savings
Finegold expressed support for transportation and pension reform but advised against cutting too much.
"I don't want to disproportionately cut, say, mental health. I don't want to disproportionately cut, say, higher education," Finegold said. "So when we have to make cuts — which we've done a lot of cuts — I believe you have to do that across the board."
Silberstein said she would sit down with other newly elected senators to identify areas of waste in the first 60 days. She said she would target the Probation Department for cuts and said she believes she could find more areas to trim.
Silberstein also said she supports ending unfunded mandates and using "regionalization" to save money.
Wilson sharply criticized the state budget, which has increased substantially over the last 20 years, he said.
"To my mind, we need to look at every dollar that's being spent in the budget in full and take a zero-based budget approach to every budget that we have in this state so that in fact we justify every dollar and make sure it's spent efficiently," Wilson said. "The state does a terrible job of spending money efficiently on behalf of the taxpayers."
