Medford Hears from State Rep Candidates

– Allison Goldsberry

In just one week voters in West Medford will be casting a ballot for a state representative in addition to a presidential candidate.

Three Democratic candidates are squaring off in a primary scheduled for Tuesday, February 5, with the winner facing a Republican and independent candidate in a special election on March 4.

Each of the five candidates seeking the seat formerly held by newly-elected State Senator Jim Marzilli made their case to the public in a forum co-sponsored by InsideMedford.com and the Medford High School Social Studies Department on Tuesday night.

All of the candidates hail from Arlington, which makes up about three quarters of the district.

Three of the candidates are elected officials. Sean Garballey, the youngest candidate in the race at 22 years of age, has served as a Town Meeting member for five years and has spent three years on the School Committee, of which he is the current Vice Chair. Jeff Thielman, who has spent much of his career in the non-profit sector, has been a Town Meeting member since 2001 and has been on the School Committee for the past five years. John Worden, a lawyer for more than forty years, served as Arlington’s Town Moderator for nearly two decades.

Two of the candidates have never run for public office before- substitute teacher Andrew O’Brien and business owner Robert Valeri.

O’Brien, Garballey, and Thielman are all running as Democrats and the winner of this Tuesday’s Democratic primary will face Worden and Valeri in the March 4 special election.

There were several instances of agreement amongst the candidates as they fielded audience questions during the forum on everything from the Green Line extension to the MCAS exam to improving the quality of life in Arlington and Medford.

The candidates mostly had the same take on extending the Green Line to Medford. They agreed upon the benefits of increasing public transportation but were wary of neighbors’ concerns of eminent domain, increased congestion, and a perceived lack of information about the project.

One candidate said the project was being forced upon the city.

“I do believe this has been pushed down the throat of the people of Medford,” said O’Brien.

Thielman said the public should get as much information as possible about the project, and Valeri pointed out how Davis Square blossomed after the Red Line came to town. Both Worden and Garballey identified themselves as frequent users of public transportation and said the Green Line extension needs to be examined carefully.

Another issue the candidates agreed upon was the dire need to increase local aid to Medford and Arlington, both of which have seen a dramatic decrease in aid since 2003. Each of the candidates mentioned the issue as the single most important way to improve the quality of life in Medford and Arlington by continuing to fund important services such as education and public safety.

One area of difference amongst the candidates was how to increase local aid and other revenue to cities and towns.

Thielman and Garballey supported proposals that have been made by Governor Deval Patrick such as increasing corporate taxes and allowing communities to impose meals and hotel taxes. Valeri and Worden said they opposed tax increases, while O’Brien said communities needed to think “outside the box” when trying to increase revenue.

The candidates also agreed that the MCAS exam should not be the sole requirement for high school graduation and that multiple assessments are needed to determine students’ competency.

Thielman said schools need to “educate the whole child” and that the MCAS exam has led to “over-testing.”

Garballey noted that he is the only candidate to have had to take the exam to graduate high school, and Valeri said the exam was very stressful for his son, who graduated from Arlington High School last year.

“I can tell you from first-hand experience, the MCAS is an unbelievable stress,” said Valeri.