Democrats in 5th district square off in Congressional debate
By Matthew Stone
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOXBOROUGH, JULY 31, 2007…..The five Democrats competing in a special primary election to fill Massachusetts’ vacant Fifth Congressional District seat struggled to distinguish themselves from each other last night in a forum on environmental issues hosted by the Boxborough Democratic Town Committee.
Former Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Lowell) resigned from the seat in early July, setting off a battle for the first open Massachusetts Congressional seat in six years.
Calling them “green peas in a pod” at the start of the debate, moderator Lee Ketelsen acknowledged the candidates’ challenge to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
“Let’s see if there are differences,” Ketelsen, New England Director of the nonprofit group Clean Water Action. “Let’s shell these peas.”
A few areas of difference did emerge.
Reps. Jamie Eldridge of Acton and Barry Finegold of Andover disagreed throughout the debate on which sources of renewable energy offered the greatest promise for transitioning the United States away from a dependence on fossil fuels.
Eldridge repeated a pledge to focus efforts on developing solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy sources.
“The focus is on sustainability,” Eldridge said, adding that the amount of energy required to develop hydrogen fuel cells outweighs the benefit.
Finegold called for a “hydrogen-based economy,” referencing a Rt. 495 corridor dominated by high tech companies as an area where hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers can flourish, bringing jobs to the area.
“I want…the Fifth Congressional District to be the fuel cell capital of the world,” Finegold told the News Service following the debate.
Lowell City Councilor Eileen Donoghue called for the appointment of a “renewable energy czar” to oversee the federal government’s movement away from reliance on fossil fuels.
Another rift emerged during the candidates’ discussion of Chapter 40B, the state law that allows easier approval of residential development projects if 20 to 25 percent of the housing included qualifies as affordable housing and if cities and towns have not already met state-set affordable housing thresholds.
Wilmington Rep. James Miceli said he was “unequivocally” opposed to the statute.
“I think that’s the single worst law we’ve ever put on the books,” Miceli said.
While echoing Miceli’s concerns that developers have manipulated the law in their favor, the other four candidates agreed with the general mission of providing more affordable housing.
“Affordable housing is in short supply” in the Fifth Congressional District, Donoghue said.
“[Chapter] 40B is a worthy model,” said Niki Tsongas, dean of external affairs at Middlesex Community College. “It needs some fine-tuning.”
Few differences came to light when the candidates discussed federal fuel economy standards, nuclear energy and corn-based ethanol as alternatives to oil, and residential development that prevents suburban sprawl and facilitates use of public transportation.
Candidates agreed that the federal government has moved too slowly to improve fuel economy standards.
“It’s a sad statement,” Eldridge said.
The candidates also said that sport utility vehicles should be required to meet the same fuel economy standards as passenger cars.
“That is one of those loopholes and we have to close that loophole,” Donoghue said.
Despite the rapid growth of corn-based ethanol production in the Midwest, all five candidates last night said they were opposed to relying too heavily on ethanol as a principal alternative to oil. Candidates said the environmental impact of the production process is too high and the final product is “inefficient.”
“The impact on the land is too great,” Tsongas said.
“It makes no sense whatever,” Miceli said.
Nuclear power as an alternative energy source garnered no endorsements either.
“The by-product is too dangerous,” Donoghue said.
Miceli called attention to “too many security problems with nuclear power.”
On environmentally sustainable development, candidates called for development concentrated around commuter rail stops and for more options in public transportation.
“If we were funding our transportation needs in this country, I think we would be able to do that,” Finegold said of expanding commuter rail service in the district.
Donoghue criticized the absence of public transportation development from the state’s $14.8 billion Big Dig project.
“That’s a huge problem,” she said. “We have the Big Dig but we don’t have the other half to go with it.”
Candidates also discussed what they have done on a personal level to lead more environmentally sustainable lives. Answers ranged from Tsongas’ use of “squiggly” energy-saving light bulbs to Eldridge’s participation in local environmental groups.
Questions during the first half of last night’s debate came from Ketelsen while candidates answered audience questions submitted to the moderator during the second half.
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