Fig City News spoke with the three candidates running to succeed retiring State Representative Ruth Balser, to learn about their conversations with voters as they canvassed the 12th Middlesex district before the September 3 Primary election. Did talking with several thousand potential constituents change their perspective about what they would bring to the State House?
Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey, who represents Newton’s Ward 5, said that the climate was the most consistently mentioned concern of 12th Middlesex House District voters. People told him that they wanted “to go green,” but said they needed financial assistance to convert from fossil fuels to other forms of energy. He chastised the Legislature for neglecting to pass bills dealing with climate and energy. Reiterating one of his reasons for running, he criticized the “bottleneck in procedures piling up on too few (Legislative) desks.”
Housing was second among voters’ priorities. Commenting on Governor Healey’s recent signing into law the Affordable Homes Act – at Newton’s Golda Meir House – Mr. Humphrey criticized the Legislature for failing to include the transfer tax credit option in the bill, which would have provided additional funding for the Affordable Housing Trust. Since the Affordable Homes Act is a bond bill, he underscored the necessity that the money be appropriated and spent on building more affordable housing. He emphasized the importance of applying the allocation to actual housing development. He advocates establishment of a public bank to fund public/private housing development, since a public bank does not need to make the same kind of profit that motivates private lending institutions. And, he said, development will increase the tax base.
Transportation was third on the list of voter priorities. Public transportation requires more money to hire more employees; more money for basic immediate maintenance; and more funding for longterm repairs. “If people can’t rely on public transportation, they won’t take it,” he said. Modernization of the system will yield a worthwhile the return on the funding, and electrification is the answer to sustainability” according to Mr. Humphrey.
On his list of voter priorities, Mr. Humphrey included education and the high cost of child care. He expressed dismay that childcare can cost as much as college tuition. The state has to supply sufficient funding to provide for students who have particular needs and help to underwrite childcare. Unlike Massachusetts, Oklahoma has universal pre-K. The cost of child care is out of control, he said.
Mr. Humphrey estimated that he has knocked on about 10,000 doors. Asked if his priorities have changed in the course of the campaign, he explained, “I was strongly plugged into the community before the race, and those are the issues I will pursue. It’s not a single issue race and it’s important to have the breadth and depth of understanding of the issues.”
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