Gobi challenger calls taxes a top issue

Comtois says Beacon Hill spending upsets voters

By Bradford L. Miner, Worcester Telegram & Gazette

October 25, 2006

SPENCER— Voters in the 5th Worcester District are most interested in personal issues, state Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, said yesterday.  “And they expect their elected representative to find a way to help them.”

The Nov. 7 election is two weeks away, and Ms. Gobi said that among voters she spoke with recently a vast majority were more interested in their own challenges and problems than in taxes, gay marriage or the availability of hypodermic needles.

Republican challenger Stephen J. Comtois II, 34, of Brookfield, said the people he’s talked with in the district, which stretches from Spencer to Phillipston, are interested in the same issues that prompted him to challenge Ms. Gobi, 43.

In a prepared statement, Mr. Comtois, who owns a carpentry business, said, “Over the past eight months, I have had the opportunity to knock on doors and introduce myself to thousands of people living in the towns that make up the district.  I’ve told them about myself, my political views and what I hope to accomplish once I’m elected.  Time and time again, I have found that my views and the views of those I talk with are very similar.”

Mr. Comtois cited his endorsement by Citizens for Limited Taxation and the interest of constituents in an immediate rollback of the state’s income tax to 5 percent.

“I entered this race to make a difference in the lives of the men and women who reside in this district.  My opponent has lost sight of the fact that the tax dollars she is frivolously spending on Beacon Hill is our money,” he said.

Ms. Gobi, citing a North Brookfield story in yesterday’s Telegram & Gazette, said there is nothing frivolous about obtaining a $50,000 grant to help the North Brookfield Fire Department build a tower at its training center on East Brookfield Road.

While there’s no doubt district residents have strong opinions about the broad issues of interest to all state voters, she said, her focus is always on issues affecting their health and welfare.

“I think this is because I’ve been a representative now for nearly three terms, filling the balance of former state Rep. David H. Tuttle’s term, and subsequently elected to two two-year terms,” she said.  She is a lawyer by profession.

“They want to know about MassHealth and benefits issues; they want to discuss the DOR (state Department of Revenue), and issues they’re having with child support payments.  If there is one local issue of interest in the northern part of the district it’s just how soon the reconstruction of Route 101 from Phillipston to Route 2A in Templeton will be completed, especially with winter fast approaching,” Ms. Gobi said.

She said she was more likely to hear about a local school or neighborhood issue than about concerns over tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike, because most of her constituents do not use the highway on a regular basis.

Another issue on people’s minds is the definition of marriage, Mr. Comtois said.  The people of Massachusetts have demanded, through the petition process, the right to be able to vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage in Massachusetts.

“Our current Legislature recessed the Constitutional Convention until Nov. 9, two days after the upcoming elections.  Obviously, this was not a coincidence.  No matter what a person believes, it’s my belief that all citizens should be able to vote on how we want marriage defined,” he said.  “And once we have voted, I will carry your voice to Boston to uphold the outcome of the vote.”

Ms. Gobi voted against the recess, according to the Web site VoteOnMarriage.org.

Mr. Comtois said in his statement that he and Ms. Gobi are on the opposite side of several issues, one of which is allowing intravenous drug users to buy hypodermic needles without a prescription.  He said Ms. Gobi also voted against an amendment that would allow local pharmacists not to sell needles at their discretion.

“If you have noticed, the weapon of choice is no longer a knife or gun, but a dirty needle.  Our children do not need to find any more dirty needles that have been carelessly discarded in their playgrounds and beaches.  Further, our police officers should not have to worry about an increased risk of getting stuck with a dirty needle while patting down a suspect,” he stated.

Mr. Comtois said the state cannot effectively wage war on crime while legally increasing the access to drug paraphernalia, as it recently did by decriminalizing the sale of hypodermic needles.

Ms. Gobi said Massachusetts was one of only three states not to allow over-the-counter sales of hypodermic needles.

“Virtually all law enforcement was in favor of this, because the experience of states that have adopted this legislation is (that it results in) a drastic reduction in needle-stick injuries,” Ms. Gobi she said.

“Connecticut found, within a year of passing a similar law, that needle-stick injuries to law enforcement personnel dropped by 60 percent,” she said.  Based on the experience of other states, she said, there is no evidence that the legislation increased the number of illegal drug users.

“From a public safety standpoint, this was clearly the right thing to do,” she said.

Ms. Gobi said a local issue among sportsmen is the requirement by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation that all man-made dams be inspected by the end of the year.

“How many sportsmen’s clubs throughout the state have man-made fishing ponds with dams on the property?” she asked.

“I’m working on this issue right now, to see if the DCR would be willing to extend the period for inspection because, in some cases, there are ownership issues that have to be determined,” she said.

Mr. Comtois said that if elected he would work to revamp the current Chapter 70 formula for state reimbursements to school districts.

“I will fight to bring back the $700,000 that the town of Ware lost in this year’s state budget.  I will also fight to bring more money back to our communities so that towns like North Brookfield will never again have to lay off 11 teachers as they did this year,” he said.

Ms. Gobi said she stands by her voting record and has the endorsement of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Central Massachusetts Labor Council.

Both candidates have either direct endorsements or high ratings from the Gun Owners Action League and the National Rifle Association.