Candidates for the Middlesex 12th district gathered virtually Thursday morning to talk about an array of issues related to housing and economic development, for a debate organized by the Charles River Regional Chamber.
It was the latest in a string of debates between city councilors Rick Lipof and Bill Humphrey and former City Councilor Greg Schwartz, the three Democrats vying for the Democratic nomination for the seat.
Here are some highlights from Thursday’s debate.
Northland Project
Chamber President and CEO Greg Reibman, moderator, asked whether Schwartz regrets voting no on a development that would’ve created 800 housing units on Needham and Oak Streets in Newton.
Schwartz said he doesn’t regret his decision because the development would have created car traffic instead of supporting public transportation.
“This project, from the start, was challenged by both its size and the fact that it was nearly a mile away from the T and it was on an already congested traffic corridor,” Schwartz said.
When asked what he thought about Schwartz’s choice, Lipof said he was blindsided and disappointed by Schwartz’s vote at the time. He also countered that since the development would have been close to a village center, it would have been walkable.
“This was a unique opportunity to plan a whole new neighborhood, several streets with supportive retail and restaurants and walkability,” Lipof said.
Humphrey also said he disagreed with Schwartz’s vote on the Northland Project because other proposed developments for that area would’ve added traffic as well, plus Newton needs more housing stock.
“I did think this was an appropriate project,” Humphrey said. “Not only is it one of the most environmentally, sort of innovative projects that’s been done in the country, and, you know, is going to bring a huge amount of housing and affordable housing.”
Schwartz responded, saying he puts the interests of his constituents ahead of those of developers, which he said set him apart from his opponents.
“It’s a really good distinction between the three of us,” Schwartz said. “I mean, I am not beholden to the developers. I’m not taking money from the developers. I’m not trying to please them.”
Humphrey responded that he doesn’t cede to developers, and that he disagreed with Schwartz making allegations against himself and Lipof.
“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not prepared to just say anything to get elected, and I don’t think we should be making these kinds of attacks on each other,” Humphrey said.
Lipof added that politicians must cooperate with developers to some extent in order to create
housing.
“You can’t vilify people that work with developers to build the real estate that we need,” Lipof said. “The developer is not the big bad wolf.”
Endorsements
Reibman then asked candidates about their respective endorsements and how they reflecton the candidate’s priorities.
Reibman said that Schwartz has been endorsed by city councilors that tend not to support
development. Reibman asked Schwartz, given his endorsements, how voters can believe that
he is in favor of creating more housing.
Schwartz replied that he makes his political decisions independently, and he voted against
development in the past only when he believed that it would harm his constituents.
“You take support where it comes from,” Schwartz said. “People are supporting me because they think that I’m more moderate than these two guys. Of course, I am.”
Lipof said that he is endorsed by many city councilors with whom he’s formed professional relationships.
“All of the seated counselors that are on my endorsement page, Greg I worked with together, and they all are endorsing me,” Lipof said “And the ones who are on the council now, who’ve never worked with Greg, are endorsing him.”
Reibman then asked Humphrey—who is endorsed by many state-level labor unions—if voters and businesses should be concerned about him being indebted to those unions.
Humphrey said no. He emphasized that any state representative would have to collaborate with labor unions and other interest groups at the State House.
“I don’t see this as being in conflict,” Humphrey said. “I think again, anybody that is at the legislature has to be able to work with the labor unions because they’re up there all the time.”
New ideas for housing
Reibman asked what new approach each candidate would take to the housing crisis, excluding actions contained in the newly-passed housing bond bill, a sweeping state law aimed at making housing more affordable in Massachusetts.
Lipof said the government should buy unused buildings to convert to housing.
“I think we’ve got to expand that and extend that to any office building downturn with people working from home, we could reposition some of those buildings for needed housing,” Lipof said.
Humphrey suggested an affordable housing program that would allow seniors to turn their unused family homes back to the state if they downsize. He said this could make room for young families to move into expensive areas more affordably.
“I think that missing piece, for seniors to downsize and stay within their communities, and then in turn free up the family homes for young families to get started, I think could be really critical,” Humphrey said.
Schwartz proposed that the government allow colleges and universities with large endowments to loan money to the government in order finance construction of affordable housing.
“If we create a program that enables them to loan these monies to construction contracts that would provide them with higher rates of return, then we should be able to get the capital that we need to help fund infrastructure development,” Schwartz said.
Standardized testing
The moderator asked Humphrey what he thinks about eliminating the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement in the state, a question that will be on the ballot in November.
Humphrey said MCAS shouldn’t be necessary to graduate from high school.
“I understand that it’s a diagnostic tool, but there’s no need for it to be a diploma requirement,” Humphrey said.
Schwartz disagreed, saying that until there is an alternative standardized test in Massachusetts,
MCAS passage should remain a requirement.
“As someone who you know went through a lot of years of education, I understand how important it is to have benchmarks and milestones, and we need to set our standards and achieve them,” Schwartz said.
Lipof agreed with Schwartz, saying that he doesn’t like MCAS, but Massachusetts needs some standardized testing regulations.
“I’ve talked to teachers,” Lipof said. “I support them in getting rid of this, but it has to be replaced
with something effective where we can gauge our children’s education.”