State Senate candidates discuss illegal immigration, education in debate on cable TV

The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA)
August 25, 2010
Braintree, MA

The four candidates running to replace longtime state Sen. Michael Morrissey appeared together for the first time publicly Tuesday, staking out positions on issues including illegal immigration and education funding.

State Rep. Stephen Tobin and Quincy City Councilor John Keenan, both Democrats, joined Republican Daniel Dewey and independent Laura Innis at the one-hour event, which took place in Braintree's public-access cable TV studios.

The four Quincy residents are seeking to replace Morrissey, who has held the Norfolk-Plymouth Senate seat since 1993. Morrissey is running for Norfolk County district attorney.

Keenan will face Tobin in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.

Although he's seeking a new office, Tobin, who has served in the House since 1989, caught flak for his incumbency.

Opponents tied him to wasteful Beacon Hill spending and accused him of not straying often enough from House leadership in his votes.

Keenan was critical of Tobin for his attendance record, including in 2007, when Tobin had the fifth-worst attendance in the House.

"I'm one of his constituents, and with all respect, the record doesn't match what we heard here tonight," Keenan said.

"In the last five years and beyond, he has the worst attendance record of legislators on the South Shore."

Tobin did not respond to comments directed at his record Tuesday night.

In 2007, he said he missed 20 budget override votes because personal issues took him away from the State House.

Tobin had an 86 percent roll-call attendance in 2007; 98 percent in 2006.

"I want to be able to constantly and on a regular basis share your concerns and your ideas, listen to you, always find out what you're thinking and feeling and vote the way you want me to vote," Tobin said Tuesday.

"That's all it's about. I don't have a political agenda."

All of the candidates support strict penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Dewey and Keenan chided Tobin for voting against, and later for, an amendment banning illegal immigrants from getting public housing, unemployment and all other social benefits.

Keenan and Tobin differed sharply on whether cities and towns should accept federal "Race to the Top" grant money and accompanying education-standards reforms.

Keenan said the spending will leave structural budget deficits after the grant money runs out.

Tobin said times are too dire to pass up the opportunity.

"I don't want to go to Abington, where people are talking about a high school that might be losing its accreditation, and tell them I turned down $250 million in money that's here and available now," he said.

Most of the focus was on state finances and how to stem local-aid cuts.

"If you get a new governor in there, there's little he can do unless he has enough Republicans in there to sustain a veto," Dewey said.

"I want to go up and help the new governor cut back on spending at the state level, reorganize and send more money back to cities and towns."

Innis took a dig at Keenan for recent teacher layoffs in Quincy and said the ratio of government budgets need to match the priorities of residents.

"What's harming our communities the most is not the budget crisis, it's the allocation of funds crisis," she said.

Reach Jack Encarnacao at jencarnacao@ledger.com

Debate telecast

The forum will be shown again at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday on Braintree Community Access Television (channel 10 or 1.

Dewey, Tobin, Keenan, Innis, Candidates for the Norfolk-Plymouth District state Senate seat prepare to debate in the Braintree Community Access Television studio.

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/En ... 62&start=4