Wind energy, a carbon tax, and the heroin epidemic were all subjects for questioning and discussion Wednesday when a large group of candidates for the Cape and Islands house and senate seats introduced themselves to Island voters in a forum at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury.
Sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard League of Women Voters, the forum attracted a sizeable crowd on a summer day with numerous other events going on around the Island.
Seven candidates are running for the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket house seat, which includes the two Islands and four western precincts in Falmouth. Five Democrats are in a state primary runoff on Sept. 8. Two others are independents.
The seat is open this year due to the retirement of four-term Rep. Timothy Madden.
Four candidates are seeking the Senate seat, also open due to the retirement of two-term state Sen. Dan Wolf. The district includes Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and all Cape Cod towns except Bourne and Falmouth. Two Democrats and two Republicans are in a primary runoff.
At the forum Wednesday, each candidate offered a personal introduction along with remarks on the issues based on questions from the League. No questions were allowed from the floor.
“There has been so much focus on how things are done in Boston,” said Ewell Hopkins, an Oak Bluffs resident who is in the Democratic primary runoff for the house seat. “I believe I offer a fundamental shift, that is to bring the conversation home,” he added.
“Our economy, our way of life here, is dependent on a healthy environment,” said Dylan Fernandez, a Falmouth Democrat in the house race. “So investing in renewable energy, engineering clean energy solutions, is incredibly important. I absolutely support offshore wind,” he said, adding: “If we want to get serious about combating climate change, we need to be building these turbines.”
Michael Heylin, also a Falmouth Democrat in the house race, spoke about fighting special interests. He compared them to dinosaurs.
“The lobbyists who work for politicians and special interest groups at the same time . . . care only about themselves,” he said. “I will fight for the Cape, Falmouth, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.”
Timothy Soverino, a Nantucket Democrat in the house race, talked about the need to elect an Islander. “I feel so strongly that this seat needs to be an Island seat,” he said. “It is so different. Construction costs, projects are different. Housing is different. I hope you will support one of the Island candidates.”
And Jessica Lambert, a Democrat from Falmouth, made climate change a focal point. “I am a scientist by training,” she said. “I’ve spent the vast majority of my life working on resource management and the effects of climate change on communities such as Martha’s Vineyard. I want to make sure we have the ability to use sound scientific principals and socially-minded policy to move forward in our communities.”
The two independent candidates in the house race — both Islanders — also had their turn.
Tobias Glidden from Nantucket spoke about the opiate problem. “We allow drug companies to sell these drugs to our kids. That’s got to stop now,” he said. “Four out of five people addicted to heroin, they get started on it from prescription drugs. That’s got to stop. Then we can talk about rehab, but we’ve got to start there.”
Jacob Ferry of West Tisbury spoke about accountability and change. “I want to make local decisions more accountable,” he said. “The balance of power . . . is currently in the cities. What’s best for the cities isn’t best for us. I’m also a candidate for preservation, not a candidate for change. I love the Island I grew up on, and I don’t want it changing much.”
When the senate candidates took the stage, discussion turned to opiates and also taxes, including a carbon tax. Viewpoints varied.
“Taxes are what we use to reinvest in ourselves,” said Sheila Lyons, a Wellfleet Democrat and Barnstable county commissioner. “This is how we fix our roads, this is how we build our schools, this is how we get things done. I don’t believe the burden should be on working class people who are already burdened enough. There is much more going to the top, and not enough being distributed to the bottom.”
James Crocker, an Osterville Republican and Barnstable town council member, had another view.
“You don’t reward anybody by taxing,” he said. “No solutions in this commonwealth, that I’ve seen, have come from taxation. We need to continue to explore the options, and stop with the taxation.”
About the opiate epidemic, there was more agreement.
“The opiate epidemic has no social or economic boundaries,” said Anthony Schiavi, a Harwich Republican. “We need to make sure prevention and treatment doesn’t either. We need to insure we knock down the insurance barriers to that prevention and treatment. We also need to look at increasing doctors that are able to prescribe suboxone, that’s limited right now.”
Julian Cyr, a Truro Democrat, lamented the losses. “We are losing a generation. I don’t think we’ve seen an epidemic like this,” he said. “There have been no new beds on Cape Cod in a decade. Guess how many beds there are on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket? Zero. We need to hold drug companies accountable, helping to pay for this.”
Today is the last day to register for the state primary. Oct. 19 is the last day to register for the general election on Nov. 8.
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