PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In the second of back-to-back debates Thursday night, the three candidates for the Democratic nomination for state Senate reiterated their viewpoints and fielded an array of questions.

 

Rinaldo Del Gallo, Adams Hinds and Andrea Harrington are all seeking the nomination on Sept. 8; the winner will face Republican Christine Canning-Wilson in the general election. The seat is open because Sen. Benjamin B. Downing of Pittsfield has opted not to run for re-election after a decade in office.

 

The Berkshire Brigades held two debates Thursday at Berkshire Community College — the first being between the two candidates for the state House of Representatives. Moderated by former Judge Frederic Rutberg, now owner of New England Newspapers Inc., the parent company of The Berkshire Eagle, the candidates continued their efforts to try to distinguish themselves. 

 

Del Gallo has been vocal about putting as much money as possible toward treatment programs for those suffering from opioid addiction, including methadone clinics. 

 

"I'd like to place 100 percent of our emphasis on treatment, not enforcement," Del Gallo said. 

 

Rutberg asked Del Gallo, an attorney, what to do with those who aren't committed to recovery. Del Gallo said relapse is "a natural part of getting well" and that many people relapse year after year and shouldn't be given up on. He says it takes years for treatment for some. If all else fails, then eventually Del Gallo supports enforcement and trying a person for those crimes.

 

What Del Gallo doesn't support is drug courts. He says drug courts require the person charged with a crime to plead guilty to gain treatment, and that they have a "bad attitude toward relapse" and typically oppose clinics. 

 

Del Gallo stands alone among the candidates with that position. Harrington said a court opening in Berkshire County in September will support ongoing treatment such as methadone or Suboxone, won't require a guilty plea, and will connect those in the system with support to address the "underlying issues."

 

Hinds says the state needs to "take advantage of the crisis moments" and that's where drug courts play a role. He supports clinics as well but says the issue needs more to address it. And he has been working on addiction through his previous role with the Pittsfield Community Connection and with the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition.

 

When it comes to economic development, Hinds said there are 2,000 available jobs in the county but many people unemployed. He said that gap between what the employers want and what the prospective employees are trained to do needs to be closed.

 

"It's making sure there is a pathway for those trying to find that job can make their way to that job," Hinds said.

 

He also supports state programs like one Blue Q took advantage of that brought in a consultant to find operating efficiencies. Within a week, the company sais production increased by some 30 percent, he said.

 

"That was a great public-private partnership spurred by that grant," Hinds said.

 

Harrington said her role would be to fight for state dollars to fund economic development programs. But she would also like to see programs to support agriculture and food products from the Berkshires. That includes changing procurement laws to allow for colleges and other institutions to purchase food products from Berkshire County.

 

Meanwhile, Del Gallo said the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority is "failing" and that the proper way to address economics would be to follow in the footsteps of Fort Devens or Albany, N.Y., with nanotechnology — and not Walmart. Those communities were able to build modern economies centered on educational institutions and training tailored for the jobs those companies need.

 

He reiterated that stance when asked about how to attract young workers.

 

"I don't have a very unique idea. I just look at Fort Devens or the Albany nanotechnology and bring it here," Del Gallo said.

 

Del Gallo asked Hinds about his statement from an earlier forum saying the city of Pittsfield has to make the decision on a proposed Walmart at the William Stanley Business Park.

 

"I am generally and personally opposed to Walmart. I don't like what it does by pulling money from the local economy. I don't like how it suppressed wages and benefits. But there is a reality here that the city is in a jam," Hinds said.

 

Hinds said attracting young works needs an "all in package" which includes lowering energy costs, creating quality jobs, expanding housing, and improving schools. Hinds also supported the expansion of broadband across the state but says it is still a long way off. He promised to continue to push for the "last mile" to be completed. 

 

Harrington called broadband "essential" and that parts of Western Massachusetts doesn't have it, shows how little the eastern part of the state cares about the Berkshires. She promised to support each town's plans to roll out broadband — with changes to the Massachusetts Broadband Program the unserved towns can now access a variety of options to do so with the most recent example being Charter Communications receiving a grant to expand to unserved parts of Lanesborough, Hinsdale, and West Stockbridge.

 

"We are tired of waiting for high-speed internet," Harrington said.

 

Rutberg responded by asking Harrington what qualifies as high-speed internet.

 

"High-speed internet to me means people can come and do business, small businesses can be at their home and do what they need with film and creative things," Harrington said.

 

Del Gallo said the state just needs to do it.

 

"This is like rural electricity. I think the government has to come in and do it because it isn't getting done. We need to raise the revenues to do it," Del Gallo said.

 

Harrington said attracting young families is mostly based on providing quality education but also includes housing. She added that she supported an effort in Richmond to place agricultural restrictions on land to help young farming families afford to stay here.

 

 "It is very expensive for young people to find suitable housing, that will attract people to move here," she said, adding that there are young doctors who have trouble finding the housing they need.

 

The area's inability to retain its younger generation has led to population decline and a significant drop in school-aged children. However, the cost of education continues to rise. An educational task force had recently floated the idea that the county needs fewer school districts. 

 

"Schools are still stuck with their X costs and aging buildings so that conversation and supporting the educational task force is important," Hinds said.

 

However, the educational task force isn't currently looking to close schools and the work is still ongoing. Hinds said he'd be supportive of the finding that group eventually makes and help craft a path forward. Beyond that, Hinds said in the districts are paying 140 percent more for health care for retirees and 60 percent more for special education. He said to help the school districts, it comes down to money.

 

Harrington said the state's educational system is in a "perfect storm" between a ballot question to raise the cap on charter schools to municipalities struggling financially to teachers being forced to comply with testing requirements. She said she'd like to change the Chapter 70 education formula to give more support and to advocate for increase transportation funding — the state previously paid 100 percent of regional school transportation in an effort to push for regionalization but that reimbursement has since dropped significantly.

 

"I am very interested in that idea and I would fight for money from the state to further regionalize," Harrington said.

 

Del Gallo said every candidate will say that Chapter 70 needs to provide more support or there needs to be more money allocated to the system. But, the problem is that there is no revenue to do so. He says in order to help the education system, the state need to change its tax system to pull more from the wealthiest in the state.

 

"We need to be able to go and get the wealth that the wealthy have otherwise we don't have the money to increase the funding for Chapter 70," Del Gallo said. "You have got to get the money from the rich folks to pay for education and transportation."

 

The "fair share" amendment being proposed would tax those making more than $1 million and Harrington and Hinds both said they would support that. 

 

"It's what is fair. We have a tax system that is not fair right now. It heavily impacts folks of a lower income," Hinds said.

 

Rutberg, however, questioned what proof the candidates have that shows the rich won't simply move to another state instead. 

 

"Massachusetts, our economy is very strong, it is growing at a faster rate than other states and the rest of the county. We offer a quality of life in Massachusetts where a tax structure won't cause people to run away," Harrington said.

 

Hinds agreed saying "Massachusetts collects less tax revenue than 21 other states" and the reputation of being "taxachusetts" simply isn't the case anymore.

 

"To me it is basic economics of what are we going to do so that it is fair.," Hinds said. "A progressive tax structure makes sense."

 

Del Gallo said he has attended seminars on progressive taxes and that there have been cases where they have been implemented and there hasn't been an "exodus of people." He said a 4 percent increase on income made over $1 million isn't going to drive people out of the state.

 

Income inequality has been a growing issue not only in Massachusetts but nationally. Harrington said the wealth gap is "reaching a crisis point" and she supports adjustments to the tax code to become more progressive.

 

Hinds said, "We have a revenue problem in the state and we have a fairness problem in the state. We have a flat tax, which is ultimately a regressive tax. There is an element of fairness we need to get serious about."

 

Culling more money from the wealthiest in the state could help support Del Gallo's proposal for tuition free and debt free college. 

 

"The reality is, in most of Europe, college tuition is free or very very low," Del Gallo said.

 

Rutberg responded by asking how much revenue the state needs to raise. Neither Harrington nor Del Gallo had a dollar figure. Hinds, however, gained a laugh from the audience when he said $1.8 billion. While the comment was witty, Hinds said the estimated total to help reform the educational foundation budget and to right the 140 percent on retiree health care and 60 percent for special education was between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. He added that is exactly the amount estimated to be raised by the fair share amendment. 

 

However, Hinds added that would only take care of educational needs so more would be needed.

 

Rutberg then asked if the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority could help education costs by serving a role in transportation. All of the candidates said at this point, no. 

 

"At this point it seems impractical for public transportation to transport our school students," Harrington said.

 

The following question asked if the candidates would support making changes to the way the Legislature operates so as to take power away from the speaker of the House and Senate president and give more to the "rank and file" senators. 

 

Harrington said under Senate President Stanley Rosenberg's leadership, there is a "bottom up" approach so there aren't any changes needed. To be effective in the Senate the attorney, she'd advocate just the way she advocates for her clients. 

 

"It's important to make alliances but it is also important to be strategic. It is important to know when to get along and when to throw elbows," Harrington said.

 

Hinds said he would draw on his background of bringing communities together to solve problems in a collaborative way. While Del Gallo said he would push for a rule that ensures every bill filed receives a vote from all of the senators. Del Gallo would also push to restrict the number of bills a senator can file in a session.

 

The debate moved to the cost of electricity. Rutberg asked if the price of natural gas impacts electricity rates. 

 

Harrington said she is "extremely suspicious" with the way electric companies set rates. The rates jumped right at the time when natural gas companies were pushing for a new natural gas pipeline, and she doesn't believe that is a coincidence.

 

"The power of the utilities companies is one of the biggest forces we have to deal with," she said.

 

The cost of utilities is an issue. Harrington said the store her husband owns pays some $2,000 a month in electricity and that can jump without any notice. She supports renewable energy and programs to offset the cost for manufacturers, who are high uses.

 

Hinds said other states are often trying to recruit Onyx Specialty Papers to move there and one of the benefits for doing so would be to escape the high electricity costs in Massachusetts. 

 

"This is the time to be accelerating our transition to green energy," Hinds said. "There is a need for the legislature to get serious about a comprehensive energy plan and one where we need to protect our manufacturers."

 

Del Gallo said he wants the state to invest in wind and solar energy. 

 

"We need to do that with green energy. I know solar and wind is lower than nuclear and if we invest in it, we can bring the cost down," Del Gallo said."We need to create supply and we can do that through the investment of green renewable resources."

 

What is the purpose of a minimum wage? Rutberg asked. All three candidates responded by saying it is in place to ensure that workers can survive on the wages an employer pays.

 

"To me the purpose of a minimum wage is to just get to the living wage point. We are not there. Our minimum wage is poverty," Hinds said.

 

Hinds said if wages followed inflation, the minimum wage should be more than $18 an hour but that's not feasible for many businesses. Hinds supports the $15 minimum wage as has been passed in other states. 

 

Del Gallo said he supports the $15 minimum wage, or even maybe $16. 

 

"It should be at least $15. They have a $16 minimum wage in Australia and they haven't had a recession in 20 years," he said.

 

Harrington says she too support the $15 minimum wage because right now 70 percent of the people on food stamps are working. The minimum wage should be enough for somebody to provide the basics for their families, she said.

 

"My campaign is really about helping working families," Harrington said. "People are not able to afford those basics. Clearly we need a change and a living wage."

 

Thursday's debate was the third among the three. The most recent was held in Lenox last Sunday.