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I am very disappointed to see supposedly conservative Senator & Mayoral Candidate Don Humason as proud as a peacock for blowing our taxes on PORK projects. He’s been bragging on Facebook about all the pork he’s bringing home. What he’s not saying is for every $10,000 he gets, he has to vote for hundreds of thousands more for other Senator’s and Rep’s projects across the state. That’s the way the system works. Tens of millions of dollars blown. How about just saying “NO!!”? Stop raising our taxes for your PORK! Fix our LOCAL roads and bridges! The Westfield News reached out to Sen. Humason for his comment:
Dear Pulse Line Caller, You’re darn right I’m proud of the local projects I’ve been able to advocate for in the recently passed Senate budget!
I’ve worked hard to steer state resources to Westfield and Western Massachusetts. That’s my job! If I wasn’t bringing home tax dollars you would be the first to complain I wasn’t getting it done on Beacon Hill for my district.
I represent nearly 170,000 people in 11 Western Mass communities. I don’t know about you but I’d rather the money be spent in Western Massachusetts if its going to be spent at all.
By the way, your call was political and aimed at my run for Mayor of Westfield. How do I know? 2 reasons. I’ve been doing the same thing as State Senator for the past 6 years at budget time and you’ve never complained before. And one month ago Representative John Velis did the same thing in the House budget and we didn’t hear one peep out of you.
Just so you know, this budget doesn’t raise any broad-based taxes and only increases over the last fiscal year by about the rate of inflation.
With respect to fixing our roads and bridges I agree 100%. It will be a priority of mine as Westfield’s Mayor.
And just last week the Senate approved the annual $200 million bond bill for Chapter 90 road and bridge money for our cities and towns. I serve on the Senate Bonding Committee and I want you to know some of us in the Senate have been pushing for a $300 million multi-year bond bill. But there are people in the House of Representatives that balk at that.
Finally, I have been endorsed by Citizens for Limited Taxation and Government (CLT) every time I’ve run for office for being fiscally conservative and a watchdog for the taxpayer. I’ve also received an award from Common Cause for my work to make government more transparent and open. I don’t hide behind anonymous calls. I invite people with questions or concerns to reach out to me at my Westfield district office at 413-568-1366.
Now I’m going to get back to work. Have a nice Day!
