Audience members listen to state representative candidates Dan Allie and John Velis during a Meet the Candidates hour at the Westfield Senior Center yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – If you remove the words “Republican” and “Democrat” from beside their names, Dan Allie and John Velis are actually quite similar.
The two candidates running in the April 1 special election for the 4th Hampden District seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives are both military veterans and self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives.
In a small gathering of just over 30 community members at the Westfield Senior Center yesterday. Allie, a small businessman and recently inaugurated At-large City Councilor, and Velis, a city attorney, spoke of their goals and ambitions for the 4th Hampden District, which is composed entirely of the City of Westfield.
Westfield Council on Ageing Executive Director Tina Gorman, right, introduces candidates for state representative John Velis, left, and Dan Allie, center, during a Meet the Candidates hour at the Westfield Senior Center yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
The candidates were both given ten minutes to introduce themselves and they spoke of the experiences and beliefs which lead them to seek office.
Velis spoke of his membership on the City’s Commission for Citizens with Disabilities, which he referred to as “probably the most rewarding thing I do right now”, as well as coaching a youth basketball team with the Westfield Boys and Girls Club, and serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army reserves, which he said inspired his run.
“There was an incident that occurred in southern Afghanistan, a serious firefight between two tribes,” he said of his most recent deployment. “We went into the aftermath, and tried to get both of these tribes to put down their weapons and to work together to build concensus for a better Afghanistan.”
JOHN VELIS
The Democrat mentioned a tribal leader who taunted him, saying “all of that talk about concensus and doing what is best for your country, how’s that working out for you guys in America?”
“We have a political climate in America today where both major parties refuse to talk to each other,” he said. “There’s no constructive dialogue. They are not talking to each other, and that leads to government shutdowns where nothing gets done. I don’t care about a political party. If something is good for Westfield, I will support it.”
Velis added that he would form a commission of seniors, business owners, teachers, public safety officers and veterans which he would check in with on a monthly basis should he be elected.
DAN ALLIE
Allie then took the microphone for his intro, and spoke to the seniors of his own political track record and vision. For Westfield.
“I’m a father of three, a grandfather of three, a small business owner and manager, and a concerned taxpayer,” said Allie. “I believe my depth of experience has prepared me to work in unison with State Senator Don Humason to make a positive difference for the people of Westfield.”
Allie also implored the events attendees to continue making their voices heard in Boston.
“When we stand up and start squawking, they start paying attention,” Allie said of a state government he referred to as a ‘bloated bureaucracy.’
“When we stand up, we have an effect on government,” he said.
Allie spoke of his work collecting thousands of signatures to repeal Beacon Hill taxation efforts, such as those on software services and one on gasoline indexed to inflation.
“Our taxes in Boston have been going up every two years, while there’s nearly a billion dollars in waste,” he said citing welfare fraud, a drug lab scandal, the state health connector website, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which he said wastes $250 million alone, as examples. “Our state budget has grown by $6 billion in the last five years, and at the same time, local aid has been cut. Westfield has lost a million dollars a year for five years straight.”
After their introductions, Council on Aging Director Tina Gorman opened the floor for questions, and the seniors took the opportunity to query the candidates.
“I’ve promised that I’ll give up my full-time private sector job, a business I built six years ago, to serve the people of Westfield full time'” Allie said when asked of how his potential House seat would impact his work as a city councilor. “I’ve accepted no chairmanships (on city council). I juggled three jobs, three kids, a wife and a mortgage (while at STCC). If I didn’t think I could do it, I wouldn’t do it.”
During the Q&A, an audience member identified himself as the man who made the complaint to the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance about six checks Allie wrote to city chiropractor Kevin Pighetti with campaign money earlier this year, and confronted Allie, who handled the questioning calmly.
“As soon as we discovered the mistake, we did take care of it,” Allie said. “We are working with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. It was a mistake and I take full responsibility for writing those checks.”
Allie added that he reimbursed the campaign soon after the mistake was made, and that there was “no malicious intent.”
“I knew what I was doing. We notified the Office of Campaign and Political Finance,” he said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t realize what checkbook it was. I knew it was the wrong checkbook. I had every intention of reimbursing it.”
Regarding where he would set up his office in the city should he be elected, Velis stated that he didn’t know, but that he would be posting it in a public forum or capacity.
“One thing I’m priding myself on is my claim that I’m going to be the most accessibile and approachable politician this city has ever seen,” he said. “So you’ll know where to find me.”
Both candidates found common ground on their opposition to the new fee increases imposed by the Registry of Motor Vehicles for licenses and inspections, and decreases in local aid to municipalities statewide.
“Property taxes have been on the rise, and one of the ways that you prevent or contain it is by getting an increase in local aid,” Velis said. “There has been a 36 to 38 percent decrease in local aid. The western Mass. legislative delegation needs to get together, go down to Boston, and say ‘enough is enough. We need this money.'”
“I’m very upset about them raising fees and closing offices,” Allie said of the RMV increases. “Years ago, before the Patrick administration, it was actually enjoyable to go to the RMV. It’s just another area where the state has been so mismanaged. It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s something we all have to live with.”
“It was excellent, I think it was a healthy debate,” said Velis after. “I think there is a lot of issues that Mr. Allie and I agree on — me being a fiscal conservative, him being anti-tax — but theres also very clear areas of disagreement which will come out in the next few weeks.”
“I’d like to acknowledge all the people who were here,” Allie said. “I think they had great questions, and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to people.”
