GOP pushing to capture Harkins seat

Published by The Boston Globe

Five candidates — three Democrats and two Republicans — are locked in primary races to decide who takes the place of state Representative Lida Harkins of Needham, who is leaving the Legislature after 22 years.

In a year of political surprises and voter discontent, Republicans are hoping to take the 13th Norfolk District, which covers Needham, Dover, and part of Medfield. But Democrats say they are confident they can head off a GOP gain by retaining the seat.

Harkins, a Democrat, tried unsuccessfully to win Republican Scott Brown’s state Senate seat, which became vacant after his upset victory in the US Senate race to replace the late Edward Kennedy. She was defeated in a bruising primary by a fellow Needham resident, emergency room physician Peter Smulowitz, who then lost the special election to Republican state Representative Richard Ross of Wrentham.

Despite the emphasis this year on outsider candidates, only two of the five people running in the 13th Norfolk primaries on Sept. 14 are political newcomers; all of them are from Needham. Two are selectmen in town, and one of the Republican candidates held positions in the Romney administration. The issues raised in both party races have centered on the economy, health care, and education.


The candidates for the Democratic nomination are fellow board members Jerry Wasserman and Denise Garlick, and Gary McNeill, a sales executive.

The Republican candidates are Joshua Levy, a medical researcher, and John O’Leary, a research fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, who worked in three state agencies under Governor Mitt Romney.

The candidates have campaigned door to door and by telephone, have posted signs, and have promoted their agendas at community forums. Needham’s League of Women Voters chapter will host two debates for the candidates, split by party affiliation, tonight starting at 7 at Broadmeadow Elementary School, 120 Broadmeadow Road, Needham.

Brown has injected himself in the race by endorsing O’Leary and sponsoring a fund-raiser for him, hoping in a year of electoral dissatisfaction to help their party gain a seat long held by Democrats.

Harkins said she thinks Brown’s endorsement may have some effect on the primary, but she’s not sure it will sway voters in the general election in November. She said Needham residents, the largest bloc in the district, tend to favor Democrats, but have switched to the other party in gubernatorial races.

As chairwoman of the Needham Democratic Committee, she said she couldn’t take sides in the primary, but all of her party’s contenders are “very good candidates, very qualified candidates.’’

Tarah Breed, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Republican Party, pointed out that Ross won 51.8 percent of the vote in Needham for the special election to replace Brown this spring.

“I think there’s a strong chance’’ for the Republicans to pick up the 13th Norfolk seat, she said.

But John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said he does not think that Ross winning the state Senate seat indicates how voters will choose their state representative. He said he believes that Democrats can keep their seat, and added that the Democratic primary race has created a good discussion and helped voters understand the issues.

“This is the district very well served by Lida Harkins in the House of Representatives for many years,’’ he said. “Right now, Democrats are in a very good position to have a number of good candidates to choose from.’’

In the primary campaigning on the Republican side, O’Leary, 48, is emphasizing his experience in local and state government and promising to make Massachusetts run more efficiently. He ran the Division of Unemployment Assistance, chaired the Civil Service Commission, and served as chief human resources officer under Romney, who was governor from 2003 to 2007. He has been on the Needham School Committee for 3 1/2 years.

O’Leary recently coauthored “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon: Getting Big Things Done in Government,’’ a book that analyzes how business management concepts could help improve government operations.

Levy, 23, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University, says his policy research has helped him understand the most effective methods of government. Levy said his limited political experience, as a Town Meeting member, and his youth give him a different perspective.

“I’m not seeking to diminish its impact for me,’’ said Levy. “I think it’s an advantage because I see things differently.’’

O’Leary and Levy said they would work to cut state debt and make more cost-effective choices when spending state funds.

O’Leary said he would streamline the state’s regulatory system, and eliminate waste by overhauling or eliminating laws that prevent state agencies from outsourcing work to private companies. He also said he would seek to cut the state income tax from 5.3 percent to 5 percent.

The state is “cutting local aid to balance its budget,’’ said O’Leary. “The state should have to make changes on its operation,’’ he said, and not “directly or indirectly take money away from what should be priorities.’’

Levy said he would help reform the state pension system, possibly by changing the retirement age, making cuts across the board, and eliminating unnecessary programs. He cited a program that requires hospitals to secure approval from the state before purchasing necessary equipment as an example of inefficient government.

Both Republican and Democratic candidates agree that job creation and education funding are top priorities. All candidates said they would work to get more state funding for education, but Levy said he was the only candidate to pledge more funds for charter schools in response to rising demand.

On the Democratic side, Wasserman, 63, an independent management consultant, said the state is working its way up to a funding floor for public schools that he established while chairing the Suburban Coalition. In addition to his statewide experience, Wasserman said, he has been a Needham selectman for 11 years, and served on the town’s School Committee for nine years. Wasserman is also a member of Green Needham, a community-based energy conservation group, and helped promote a test wind turbine proposed for town that has won zoning approval.

Wasserman mentioned green technology as one of the most important issues. He said he would work to create a market for alternative energy by offering grants or low-interest loans to companies and municipalities, and help neighboring communities make joint purchases to switch over to clean energy.

“To municipalities, it’s a win-win because we get ourselves less dependent on fossil fuels, but we also help the environment,’’ he said.

Wasserman has been endorsed by various environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, and by the American Federation of Teachers.

Garlick, 56, a community outreach educator at Wellesley College, is finishing her first two-year term as a selectwoman, and is also cochairwoman of the Senior Center Exploratory Committee, which is seeking a site for a proposed new center. A former president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, she has been endorsed by the organization and by the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Garlick, a former chairwoman on the Needham Board of Health and founder of the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention, said her experience as a registered nurse has shown her the necessity of containing health-care costs. One of her first acts as state representative would be to streamline health insurance forms, suggesting a common application similar to the one now in use by many colleges, she said.

Garlick also said she would create jobs by promoting infrastructure projects, and pointed to her work revitalizing the Needham Business Park near Interstate 95. She said voters don’t want a “career politician’’ but someone who understands their concerns

“What they want is a sense of independence in a state representative who will decide issues on the basis of the issue, and that their state rep will have the courage to change things,’’ she said.

McNeill, founder of Environmental Safety Products and Services, said being an outsider would allow him to independently represent voters.

“I have no vested interest, no counterparts,’’ said McNeill, 47.

McNeill said his business experience would help him balance a budget and attract small business growth. He said he would offer tax credits for job creation and job training grants for certain industries. He also pledged to form a working group on health care involving all sides of the issue.

McNeill said voters not just in his local communities but across the state are looking for a candidate who can best handle the economy, health care, and education. He also said he wants to make living in the area more affordable.

“Some people are struggling to stay in this community, and it’s not right,’’ he said. “I want to make this a better place for me, my kids, and everyone else."