WESTFIELD – Last night’s candidate forum for the two men running to represent the 4th Hampden District in the state House of Representatives – Democratic incumbent John Velis and Republican challenger Dan Allie – touched upon everything from taxes and local aid to the four statewide questions on next Tuesday’s ballot.
Sponsored by The Westfield News Group and moderated by WNG President Patrick Berry, the two candidates answered questions and ran through their talking points, all the while lacking much of the fiery rhetoric that defined their previous special election race last spring, in which Velis, a city attorney making his first run at elected office, defeated Allie, a first term at-large city councilor, by taking 53 percent of the 5,051 votes cast.
This time around, both candidates took decidedly different approaches in trying to convince voters in attendance at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School last night to support them.
Allie attempted to convey himself as the doggedly determined grassroots warrior for lower taxation with a far gentler tone than what marked his previous run for the seat, while Velis spoke with the calm, cool and collected demeanor of a man now armed with the most valuable of assets – a voting record.
“Every single vote that I took was what was in the best interest of Westfield – nothing more, nothing less,” said Velis. “I’m happy to report that now that I have a record that I’ve done exactly what I said.”
“I don’t look at a vote through the prism of what would a Democrat do? What would a Republican do? It’s how do I help the people of Westfield,” he said.
Velis stated that his voting pattern since April – in which he voted against tax increases – has made him one of the most independent legislators in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, Allie stressed his acute business acumen and his experience as a family man, a city councilor and a veteran.
“I’m deeply concerned with what our politicians are doing at every level of government and the direction our state and country are going in,” said Allie. “I’m concerned about the economy and I have the practical and fiscal experience of making budgets and meeting payrolls.”
When asked of what he made of state Sen. Don Humason, Jr. declining to answer who he would be supporting in the race, even after he endorsed Allie for the special election last spring, Allie took it in stride and said he would still be supporting Humason in the state Senate race against Democrat Patrick Leahy of Holyoke.
“I’ve found that, with Don, he’s open-minded, even when we disagreed on things,” said Allie, before listing Westfield’s rich tradition of Republican State Representatives.
Velis took a page out of Humason’s book and declined to answer the question, saying instead that he would look forward to working with whoever wins the election.
At times, it seemed as if the two candidates found little to disagree on, until it came time to discuss the four questions that will be appearing on the same ballot as their names will be on Tuesday.
Asked if he voted to increase taxes to support the 2015 city budget as a city councilor, Allie replied that he did not.
“We worked our tail feathers off to cut $3.8 million off the city budget,” he said. “We did everything we could to put ourselves in a position to not raise taxes. We’re only a city council, so all we can do is cut. We’re not the Mayor.”
Allie also stated proudly he voted to dissolve the Westfield Business Improvement District, which he said was taking about $1.5 million from businesses.
Velis also said that he hadn’t voted for tax increases at the state level, bucking the party elites in doing so.
“At a point right now when the economy is still so fragile, it doesn’t make sense to vote for any tax increases,” he said. “We need to helping the taxpayers as much as we can.”
Velis trumpeted his efforts in helping to push through a CPR bill out of bills in the third reading, along with helping to make Paper Mill Road a state public way and bringing home $165,000 to various district projects.
“I’ve seen better roads in southern Afghanistan, blown up by IEDs, than Paper Mill Road and I was very happy to make that a public way,” said Velis, a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.
“$100,000 for Noble Hospital, $50,000 for furnishings in the new senior center, $15,000 for Westfield on Weekends… I did all of that in less than three weeks as your State Rep.,” he said.
Velis and Allie both pledged to vote no on updating the state’s bottle bill, expressed concerns over the formulas that will be used to grant workers earned sick time, and yes to repeal the state’s automatic gas tax law – a question Allie himself helped gather thousands of signatures for to get placed on the ballot.
“Indexing seems to be the new buzzword… to me it is unconstitutional and should be illegal,” Allie said of the gas tax and bottle bill, which will index deposits every five years.
“Our legislators should vote on taxes. They’re accountable to the people,” he said.
“To me, it’s not only wrong but outright cowardly to allow a tax to go up with me, as your elected State Rep., to go to Boston and, when roll call is called, go there and vote yes or no,” said Velis of indexed taxes. “Hold me accountable.”
The two differed sharply on question three, regarding casino gaming in the Commonwealth, with Allie pledging to vote to repeal the casino law and Velis saying he would vote in favor of keeping it.
“I don’t think casinos are an economic engine and have proven not to have long-term benefits or positive impact,” said Allie, citing a business trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where five casinos have recently closed. “Let the people vote and respect that vote. But ask the people of Atlantic City what permanent jobs really mean.”
Velis agreed with Allie that the arrival of gaming in Massachusetts wouldn’t have an impact on state lottery revenue, claiming that the person who plays the numbers isn’t necessarily a person who goes to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun.
“The best part of the law is that it provided for local control and it is working how it is supposed to be,” he said. “Palmer, West Springfield… We said ‘do you want a casino in your community?’ and they said ‘absolutely not’, so they aren’t getting a casino.”
“I see jobs numbers, 3,000, 5,000 people. These are legitimate jobs,” Velis said. “Are they short term? I don’t know, but something is better than nothing.”
“If something ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Velis in closing. “I’m not hindered by the political process. All I care about are the people in this room and the people of Westfield.”
“I believe we can do better and we have got to do better in order to give our children a future that includes a quality education and economic opportunities,” said Allie. “Massachusetts doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending and priorities problem. We need to stop wasteful spending, expecting poor administration and practices and hold government accountable,” he said. “We come into this world naked and we leave naked. It’s what we leave behind that matters.”
