State House candidates debate Thursday

Published by The Boston Globe

As the campaign to replace longtime state Rep. Lida Harkins in the 13th Norfolk District enters its final weeks, the candidates will square off in three debates - one in Dover and two in Needham.

Democrat Denise Garlick and Republican John O’Leary will debate on Oct. 21 at the Dover Town House. The session will begin at 7:30 p.m. and last one hour. Former Dover selectman David Heinlein will moderate and media representatives from Boston.com/needham, Needham patch, and the Community Newspaper Company will form the panel that will question the candidates.

The debate is being sponsored by the Dover Republican and Democratic Town Committees and the Dover Board of Library Trustees.


The candidates will also debate at the Broadmeadow School at 120 Broad Meadow Rd. in Needham on Oct. 25 in a forum hosted by the Needham League of Women’s Voters. The session starts at 7 p.m. The Needham Council on Aging will also host a forum at the Senior Center at 83 Pickering St. on Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.

The candidates are competing in the Nov. 2 election to fill the post occupied for 22 years by Harkins, who is stepping down this year.

Both parties predict victory.

Democrats believe they can win again in the district, which covers Needham, Dover and part of Medfield.

“When someone like Lida makes the decision to move on, it creates a hole,” said John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. “Denise brings a unique combination of experience, a pattern of very hard work for the things she cares about and a level of political courage.”

Republicans hope to ride a wave of anti-incumbent feeling this year to gain a spot in a state Legislature that is overhwelmingly Democratic.

“There’s definitely an appetite for some new leadership,” Jennifer Nassour, chairman for Massachusetts Republican Party,. “O’Leary is an amazing person … a great man who’s working really hard, is incredibly smart and would be a great asset to the legislature.”

O’Leary, 48, has been endorsed by U.S. Senator Scott Brown, whose upset victory earlier this year has turned him into a national polictical celebrity.

O’Leary, a Harvard University researcher, has campaigned on the promise of improving government efficiency and creating jobs by cutting taxes and streamlining regulation. He is emphasizing his experience in local and state government—he has worked at three different state agencies under former Governor Mitt Romney and has served on the Needham School Committee for the past three and a half years.

He recently wrote If We Can Put a Man on the Moon: Getting Big Things Done in Government, which analyzes how business management concepts could help improve the success of government projects. He has been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business.

O’Leary said his first priority is improving the business climate in Massachusetts. He also pledged to cut waste on Beacon Hill, address the growing state debt and reduce the state income tax to 5 percent.

Garlick, 56, a nurse at Wellesley College and a Needham selectwoman, has emphasized containing health care costs and maintaining funding for education and social services. She has said she would create jobs through better business infrastructure, streamlining regulation and creating incentives. She has been endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and the Sierra Club.

Garlick is finishing her first two-year term as a selectwoman and recently completed her job as a co-chair of the Senior Center Exploratory Committee by recommending new senior center locations to selectmen. She has served for the Government Affairs Council and was the president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, whose endorsement she has received. She has also been endorsed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Garlick said, if elected, one of her first acts as state representative would be to streamline healthcare forms, suggesting a common application similar to the Common Application for colleges. She said voters don’t want a “career politician” but someone who understands their concerns.

Needham Selectman Dan Matthews, who is managing Garlick’s campaign, said Garlick has been campaigning door-to-door and meeting with residents. She is holding a rally Sunday at the Needham VFW Post 2498 at 20 Junction St. at 6 p.m.

Garlick has also been attending public events, distributing literature, sending out mailings, posting lawn signs and making phone calls, said Matthews.

Charles Chieppo, a spokesman for O’Leary’s campaign, said O’Leary has visited residents door-to-door and met with small groups of voters over coffee. The campaign plans to send out mail and make phone calls closer to Election Day, he said.

The next round of campaign finance reports is not due until Oct. 25, but at the end of the pre-primary report period ending Aug. 27, Garlick spent $26,032, leaving her with about $6,159, according to state campaign finance records.

At the time of filing his report, O’Leary had spent $9,180, leaving him with about $6,878.