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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD There were barbed moments during the candidate forum for the 11th Hampden District on Sept. 6 in the meeting room of the Forest Park Branch Library. The incumbent, Benjamin Swan, took issue with remarks that one of his two opponents, Norman Oliver had made about him while campaigning. In Swan's opening remarks, Swan looked at Oliver and said "Mr. Oliver, I'm not retiring." Oliver replied, "The message was I'm going to retire you." Swan, ignoring what Oliver said, continued, "It's absolutely dishonest when you make people believe something that isn't true." Although there was some additional rancor, neither of Swan's opponents brought up Swan's outstanding tax bills to the city as a campaign issue. Swan has held the seat for 12 years and said with a smile that, at nearly age 73, he could still "skip, hop, jump and do the boogie because I am in good health." Turning serious, Swan related his background and his life-long involvement in issues such as civil rights, infant mortality, and youth development. A Springfield native, Swan worked at the former United States Armory at night while he was attending the former Technical High School. He ran for mayor in 1972, 1974 and in 1991 before being elected to the state representative seat. Oliver gave a detailed history of his careers in show business he had a hit record and appeared in filmS in Great Britain the military and the Post Office. He now has a jail ministry and ran for City Council last year. Oliver is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city on ward representation on the City Council and he said, "The issue then and the issue now is ward representation." Oliver believes the city would earn greater respect from Beacon Hill if the city had ward representation. The third candidate, Larry Lawson, offered no information on his background. Instead, he listed a number of issues that propelled him into running. He is concerned about the dropout rate in the city; healthcare costs; how children are treated in foster care; and the privatization of government services. He said that he is running because the only way to affect change is to change the leaders. After the opening statements, moderator Reggie Wilson took questions from the audience. The candidates each had two minutes to answer each question. The first question dealt with what each candidate would do about re-establishing a full service library in Mason Square. Lawson said he was "disappointed and shocked" when he heard about the Urban League buying the library building and was surprised there wasn't more community outrage about it. As far as his actions, he said would have to "look into it." Oliver said that he had worked with the Pioneer Valley Project to maintain the hours at that library and said it gave " a degree of comfort to our children they don't get in the main library. He said that if elected he would work for change in the situation. Swan said that he has supported increased allocations to libraries in the House and was only informed about the transaction at a time when it was characterized as a "done deal." He later found out he had been misinformed. "The Urban League did a disservice to the city of Springfield and to a number of children in that area," Swan said. On how the Legislature allocates state aid to cities and towns, Lawson said he "would have to look at the situation of the formula. It is a problem.I would have to look at it." Oliver said the issue of state aid relates to ward representation. He credited the lack of ward representation as the reason for a poor showing during the last election. "How can we expect respect from Boston?" he asked. "We must come together." Swan said voters needed to understand that western Massachusetts has only two of the Commonwealth's 10 congressional districts, meaning that there is less than 20 percent of the population in the four western counties. More of the money is going to remain in the eastern part of the state because that is where the bulk of the population is. Although he said "Boston gets more than its share in some ways," he added that Springfield gets more Chapter 70 education funding than Boston. On the subject of gay marriage, Lawson said he respects people's rights and that it is an issue between "them and God." He said that although a decision has been made, he is "still looking at it." Oliver said that, as a Christian, he has "a duty to live and promote my faith," and although homosexuals need protection, state government doesn't have the right to "change laws given by our Creator." Oliver said he agrees with the attitude of "don't ask, don't tell." Swan countered Oliver's Biblical references with reminding him of the commandment of "Thou shall not bear false witness." He noted that same sex marriage was not an issue in this election and that he would not vote to change the Constitution to cause discrimination. On a question about quality of life issues such the police making a number of one-time minor offenses such as public drinking a priority, Lawson said he saw it as a "macro problem." Increased public safety could bring about new jobs, he said. Oliver said the quality of life in the city is directly related to the quality of the jobs here. He said that while campaigning he saw many Connecticut license plates coming from MassMutual. People are willing to work in the city, but not live here. Oliver said the city needs to "encourage the private sector to have interest in our community." Swan said that while he was running for mayor, he often spoke of Springfield as being "the shining city on the hill." He said if the city doesn't have the "basic consideration" of equal opportunity and harmony then "it's difficult to promote quality of life in our city." "No matter how high are our aspirations, we must consider individuals and how to help them," he added. When asked if the candidates support the passing of the MCAS as a graduation requirement for Massachusetts high school students, Lawson said he never approved of the MCAS as he believed it was just another way for a corporation to make money. "We need to get back to better teaching," Lawson added. Oliver said that he believes "there always has to be in life some system to evaluate progress." Only after an exchange with a member of the audience who challenged Oliver simply to say "yes or no" did Oliver say he was in favor of the MCAS. Swan said that he has filed a bill "over and over" to eliminate MCAS, but that it has not advanced. "Some people do not test well," he said. "It does more harm than good." He said that tests are supposed to find out what is missing in the learning process. |