Four mayoral candidates spar in debate

Most say they’ll change department heads, town counsel

By RICK COLLINS
The Patriot Ledger

An in-house legal department, town trash collectors and new department heads are among the changes the four candidates for mayor say they would make if elected the Braintree’s first chief executive.

Three of the four candidates said they would support dropping Kopelman & Paige as the town’s attorney and hire a town solicitor.

Joseph Sullivan said he feels the town could cut its annual spending on legal fees by a third if the function were brought back in-house.

Paul Walsh said he would conduct a formal search for a town attorney, not just appoint someone he knows.

Joseph Powers was the lone candidate opposed to the idea, arguing that the town specifically chose to hire an outside law firm in 2000, following the resignation of longtime town attorney Arthur Smith. He said that his opponents wanted to “go back in time,” and such a move still wouldn’t eliminate the need to hire outside law firms to work on legal cases on occasion.

The candidates made their statements at a debate held at town hall last night co-sponsored by the Republican and Democratic town committees. More than 100 residents – many of whom wore partisan stickers or shirts – attended the debate, which was shown by the town’s cable TV station.

Among his other proposed changes, Sullivan said he would “negotiate aggressively” with SEMASS, the operator of the Ivory Street transfer station; launch a major road-repair program; and work with the electric light department to move bill payment online.

Without specifying who, Powers said he planned to fire underperforming department heads if elected. He also pledged a town hall culture dedicated to customer service.

Walsh said he would eliminate the trash fee by leasing trucks and using town employees to pick up trash. He also said he would set aside 1 percent of town revenue annually toward a capital repair program, and find other sources of new revenue besides taxes.

Brian Muello said he would eliminate the trash fee gradually and eliminate friction between political factions in town.

Powers and Walsh both came down hard on the town’s handling of the botched fire department training exercise last month.

In laying the blame at the feet of fire department leadership, Walsh rattled off the line of the night.

“I’m just curious how we’re going to resolve this so that we don’t all have to paint a sign on our houses saying ‘Not for training purposes,’” he said, drawing laughs from the audience.

Powers, a selectman, said he remains upset that interim Fire Chief Kenneth McHugh submitted a “six-paragraph, 20-sentence, 700-word” report on the incident.

“He still owes this town a full accounting of what happened,” Powers said.

Sullivan and Muello chalked the accident up to simple human error.

“I spoke to the chief and expressed some concern about how it was handled, but it was a mistake,” said Sullivan, a former selectman and state representative.

Wednesday night’s debate and last week’s debate are being shown on Braintree Community Access & Media. A schedule of the telecasts can be found online at www.bcam.tv