Gloves Come Off in Rep. Race
Gobi, Comtois in Fierce Primary Fight

By Justine Murphy, Ware River News

September 7 , 2006

REGION – With state primary elections just around the corner, the race between an incumbent from Spencer and a newcomer from Brookfield continues to heat up.
     Rep. Anne Gobi, a Democrat from Spencer, is being challenged by Republican candidate Stephen Comtois II, a native of Charlton who has lived in West Brookfield and now Brookfield, in the race for state representative for the Fifth Worcester District.  This district covers precinct A in Ware, precincts two and three in Spencer, and the towns of Barre, Brookfield, Hardwick, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Petersham, Phillipston, Templeton, and West Brookfield.
     The only contested race in this area, several issues have come to the forefront.  Among them are state taxes, energy, healthcare and education.  While newcomer Comtois, currently chairman of the Brookfield School Committee, believes changes are needed in this portion of the state Legislature, Gobi, who has served in the seat since winning a special election in 2001 and the regular election the following year, is confident that she and others at the statehouse are “on a good course.”
     “I really enjoy what I’m doing here (in the state Legislature),” she said.  “I think we’re on the right course right now, there are a lot of new initiatives.  There’s a lot happening, this is a very exciting time.”
     Gobi noted that healthcare statewide is improving and proposed changes to state Chapter 70 aid, which “provides state aid to support school operations” and “establishes minimum spending requirements for each school district and minimum requirements for each municipality’s share of school costs,” are expected to make that system more efficient and fair.
     “I want to get Chapter 70 to a more equitable level,” she said, noting that the Legislature approved a fiscal year 2007 budget in June that included a $216.6 million increase in Chapter 70 aid.
     Additionally, Gobi cited early childhood education and community partnerships as areas to be looked at and improved.  They should also be more readily available to residents, she said, as many don’t even realize they’re eligible for participation in such programs.
     “When it comes to education, we need to start as early as possible,” she said.
     Comtois said last week that if elected he would be dedicated to “fighting for quality education,” and “ensuring that (the Fifth Worcester District) receives its fair share of funding for quality education.”  He has also said that he would work to curb un-funded school-related state mandates.
     Of equal concern to Comtois is the issue of state taxes.  He said he supports an immediate rollback of the state income tax to 5 percent, from its current 5.3 percent.  He noted that in 2000, voters statewide approved lowering the income tax rate gradually from what was then 5.85 percent to 5 percent.  According to information from the state’s Web site, a fiscal crisis two years later prompted Legislators to “freeze the rate at 5.3 percent.”
     “I believe that we must continue to cut taxes and manage tax dollars we pay more efficiently,” he said.
     Comtois has also spoken out against Legislators’ decision not to approve Republican sponsored House Bill 5200, which would have established a permanent sales tax-free weekend every August.  Gobi voted against the measure in order to obtain more information about the “true costs and benefits” it would have on the economy as well as business owners.  Legislators expect that an analysis report by the Department of Revenue regarding that information will be completed by the end of the year.
     A professionally licensed educator who has owned Custom Changes, a construction and carpentry business, for 16 years, Comtois believes defeat of that amendment will make smaller businesses suffer.  He added that this and many other issues within the Legislature show the statehouse has become ruled too much by one party that “is not addressing the concerns of all its constituents.”
     “I think we need a change in this district,” Comtois said.  “I really want to make a difference.”
     According to Gobi, issues such as energy conservation should also be at the forefront of everyone’s thinking.  She said state officials need to begin looking more closely at innovative ways to conserve energy, and subsequently money, across the Commonwealth.
     Gobi also hopes to address the current job market if re-elected.  She noted that far too many of those who come to western and central Massachusetts to attend college do not stay here, leaving a number of good jobs vacant, she said most notably in the “high-tech field.”
     “The issues are changing,” Gobi said.  “Times are changing.  We can’t remain stagnant on these issues.”
     The state primary is set for Tuesday, Sept. 19.