The Plymouth Area League of Women Voters’ Candidate Forum was held Oct. 20. Here are the candidates’ answers in the race for state representative for the First Plymouth District.

The Plymouth Area League of Women Voters’ Candidate Forum was held Oct. 20. Here are the candidates’ answers in the race for state representative for the First Plymouth District.

Question 1:

Do you support the question to expand charter schools? Why or why not?

Democratic Candidate and Selectman John Mahoney said he does not support this expansion, and noted that Massachusetts schools are already highly ranked and that the state boasts two top performing charter schools in Plymouth and on Cape Cod.

“The expansion of government with an unfunded mandate is nonsensical,” Mahoney said. “To add 12 charter schools a year in perpetuity is out of control.” Mahoney said he’s not against charter schools, but said Governor Charlie Baker has identified no funding mechanism for such a plan.

Republican incumbent Rep. Mathew Muratore said he is in favor of expanding charter schools. “I believe where there are low performing school districts there should be an opportunity for these kids to get a different education if they want to,” Muratore said. He agreed that funding issues need to be addressed, but noted that commercials are perpetuating false information regarding this proposal because the funding does follow children from public to private schools.

Question 2:

Would you support the referendum to support recreational marijuana?

Muratore said he is definitely against legalizing recreational use of marijuana. “I’m on the no side of this,” Muratore said. “For me, it’s a simple math equation. The state of Colorado has a tax of 25 percent (on marijuana). The state of Washington has a tax of 37 percent, and they’re not making it. Colorado was supposed to be opening schools three years into this; they haven’t.” The proposal would levy only a 3.75 percent tax on marijuana in Massachusetts, he added, and that would not even begin to cover the increased costs associated with the drug for public safety, health care and the creation of a commission to oversee its use.

Mahoney said he does not support this proposal. Mahoney said that a few years ago selectmen were told that a medicinal marijuana facility proposed for the Plymouth Industrial Park would generate $300,000 in revenue for the town over a five-year period. “The Board of Selectmen was told the town couldn’t have the money, that the town had to give the money to the School Department. Why? ‘Well, we have to educate kids not to do drugs,’” Mahoney said. “If that doesn’t make any sense to you, then this question shouldn’t either.” Mahoney noted that data collected from Colorado and Washington, states that have adopted this measure, gives him no reason to support the proposal. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, he added, and government doesn’t handle an unchecked revenue stream well. The argument that legalizing recreational marijuana would free up law enforcement to focus on other crimes has not panned out.

Question 3:

What role if any should the state play in the closing of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station?

Mahoney said the state needs to ensure that the 600 workers who will be displaced by the closing of the plant are retrained for other trades, relocated if they are able to other facilities in the Northeast or receive retirement packages commensurate with their tenure. “At the end of the day, the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate have built the NRC up to be almost impervious to state and community intervention,” Mahoney said. The governor and state legislators need to work with the federal delegation to get these issues addressed in a timely fashion in Washington, especially with respect to safety, Mahoney added.

Muratore said he concurs with Mahoney that jobs are as important as the safety of the plant when it comes to its closing. It’s important to make sure that displaced workers are retrained for well paying jobs in the area. As a member of the town's Energy Working Group committee, Muratore said he has worked on initiatives with Rep. Tom Calter, D-Kingston, and Sen. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, to pass legislation to create a state Decommissioning Panel to oversee the plant’s closing.

“This gives the state a stake in this,” Muratore added. “Hopefully, that will help leverage the federal government to get involved as well.”

Question 4:

Should the state provide funding for the Plymouth 400th, and what might we expect?

Muratore said he disagrees with Mahoney on this issue. Muratore noted that former Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, started the ball rolling and, to date, Plymouth has received approximately $1 million from the state for the anniversary. He stressed that the state has been funding the celebration with the town’s support as well. The governor appointed a 35-member state commission a month ago specifically for the anniversary celebration, which should help leverage private money for the cause. “It’s a $20 million project we’re looking at, so a majority of the funds have to come from the private sector because this is an economic development driver not just for Plymouth and the South Shore, but for the commonwealth.” Muratore noted that other towns like Boston and Salem will be celebrating their 400th anniversaries.

Mahoney said that, a year-and-a-half ago he told Governor Charlie Baker about Jamestown’s garnering of $15 million from the commonwealth of Virginia for its 400th anniversary celebration, matched by $15 million from major corporations and the federal government. Mahoney noted that Jamestown had incredible financial support in spite of the fact that it was a backwater community in 1607 that lasted only two or three years and fell by the wayside of history. “We’ve essentially got nothing from Massachusetts,” Mahoney added. “It should be in the $3 to $6 million range.” To protect taxpayers from the government misusing the funds, he suggested that there be a stipulation that the money can only be used for infrastructure and that the town must match the funding dollar for dollar or 50 cents on the dollar for a three or four year period.

Question 5:

What environmental initiatives would you advocate to help develop a clean energy program and protect our waters?

Mahoney noted that the more land towns save and preserve around wells and watersheds, the cheaper the well needs to be run and the cleaner the water. He stressed that Muratore has backed proposals to eliminate or reduce the Community Preservation Act surcharge, which saves land from development, while he, Mahoney, supports the CPA wholeheartedly. Mahoney asserted that he has also helped pass legislation to protect the environment and water quality.

Muratore said that water is the state's most most precious commodity and the state's acquifers must be protected. Massachusetts Secretary of Energy Matthew Beaton is looking at all sorts of initiatives that will provide some real benefits to the commonwealth, Muratore added. He cited the removal of the Plimco Dam in Plymouth as one of many Plymouth initiatives that protect water and the environment.

Question 6:

How can we better address the issue of mental illness in our present health care system? In your response comment on whether Bridgewater State Hospital should continue to be run by the Department of Correction?

Muratore said that with his extensive health care background he has been talking about this issue for 25 years. The stigma of mental illness has to be eradicated, he added, and treated as the disease it truly is, rather than as the stepchild of physical health. Mental health and addiction come under the umbrella of behavioral health, he added, and combining the departments of public and mental health would be sensible. Muratore was adamant that the Department of Correction should not be running Bridgewater State Hospital.

Mahoney said there are not enough beds to handle the opiod crisis. “We need to help those people that need help,” he added. “If we do that proactively over a long-term period, we will slow the growth of costs within our overall health care system.” Mahoney said he didn’t know enough about Bridgewater State Hospital to comment on whether it should continue to be run by the Department of Correction.

Question 7:

Do you feel that progress has been made in the creation of affordable housing for work force individuals and families? Give specific examples.

Mahoney said 40B legislation is not working to remedy this problem and needs to be revamped. He said he wants seniors to be able to stay in their homes as long as they can and young families need to be able to buy a first home and raise and a family. He said engaging in better financial practices is the way to address this crisis. "You have an opportunity over the next four to eight years with $5 to $8 million in private sector money coming in," he added.

Muratore said he agrees with Mahoney and said the housing crisis needs to be addressed statewide and across the country. "We can't even get housing for seniors or veterans, never mind working families," Muratore said. "We need to do a better job at that."

Question 8:

Would you support the elimination of Sunday overtime pay for workers in Massachusetts? Explain.

Muratore countered that the whole purpose of this proposal, which was voted out of committee, was to ensure that a proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15 wouldn’t result in crippling businesses with having to pay more than $21 an hour for Sunday employees. The two plans were tied together, and this proposal to eliminate overtime for Sunday workers has since died. If the law had gone into effect, he stressed, then current Sunday workers would have been grandfathered under the old provision for time-and-a-half.

Mahoney said he does not support this proposal, which he said was backed by Muratore. Mahoney noted that the time-and-a-half provision for Sunday workers came about when the state allowed retailers to stay open on Sundays as a way to make up for the fact that these employees were unable to spend time with friends and family on that day. It’s already become incredibly expensive to live in Massachusetts without making it even harder on workers, he said.