Angelides, Villamaino square off for state representative once again

Date: 6/12/2012

June 11, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

GREATER SPRINGFIELD — It's déjà vu all over again in the race for the Massachusetts House of Representatives' Second Hampden District seat.

East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen Chair Jack Villamaino and Longmeadow Select Board member Marie Angelides both confirmed to Reminder Publications that they turned in nomination papers and will square off once again in a Republican primary for the opportunity to face incumbent Democrat Brian Ashe.

Angelides defeated Villamaino when the two ran for the position in 2010 by a tally of 1,192 votes to 908. She then lost to Ashe 8,699 to 8,232.

Villamaino said that in talking with residents in the district, he has found that three main themes highlight what residents need and are looking for — jobs, fiscal responsibility and transparency.

In regards to jobs and the economy, Villamaino explained that the state should be looking for ways to become more "business friendly."

"Government doesn't create jobs. What government should do is make it easy to do business," he said. "Locally one way we have done that in East Longmeadow is through a single tax rate that prevents an unnecessary burden from falling on businesses. If the Legislature can get out of the way of businesses, they will be better off."

Villamaino added that his voting track record in the town of East Longmeadow displays his willingness to go against popular opinion and make "common sense votes."

"We're not talking about anything complicated here. We're talking about using common sense and not spending money we don't have," he said. "I voted against the raise for the town administrator and the town accountant because sometimes you just have to say no to spending you can't afford."

Villamaino also pointed to successes on the Board of Selectmen in terms of regionalization in order to cut down on costs, citing the recent mergers with other towns to offer ambulance service and a veterans' services officer.

He also credited himself with writing the by-law that required that meetings be televised and recently proposing that town salaries be posted on the website in the interest of transparency.

"These were cases where the information was available to everyone, but now it is even more accessible," he said.

Angelides also pointed to jobs as the top priority for the state and the district.

"Our unemployment rate in Western Massachusetts is much higher than in other parts of the state," she said. "What's especially disappointing when you look at unemployment figures is the lack of jobs for people under 25 and for our veterans."

Angelides pointed to some progress in the form of consortiums, but indicated that she was disappointed to see that most of those have also take place in the eastern part of the state. She said that in order to get out of its economic rut, the area needs to do a better job in marketing itself.

"Monson could be a great location for a computing center. Right now Hampden has a great software company. There's no reason Monson couldn't," she said. "Manufacturing is strong in our area, but the towns in this district need to make themselves more business friendly to become attractive to more precision manufacturers."

Training is also a major hurdle that needs to be overcome, Angelides said.

"There are 120,000 manufacturing jobs available, but people are not being hired because there is a skills gap," she said. "We need to sit down with educators and manufacturers and figure out what needs to be done to bridge that gap. People want to work and will do what they need to in order to work."

Angelides added that her work on the Select Board has demonstrated to her the need for increased cooperation between towns and Beacon Hill, especially in the wake of the severe weather of 2011.

"If you look at Monson a year after the tornado and you can see they still need a lot of assistance," she said. "I also think that the October [2011] snowstorm showed that we need more regionalization and cooperation between towns and districts during emergencies."

She also said unfunded mandates continue to be a problem faced by towns in the district.

One difference in this year's race from the one two years ago is the makeup of the district. Redistricting left the Second Hampden District with an extra precinct in East Longmeadow while it lost the Forest Park section of Springfield.

Villamaino said while he's happy to have another area of East Longmeadow in the district, he feels it won't be an overriding factor in whether he is elected or not.

"With the new district, we gain an area that in past local elections I have done well in, so I'm certainly happy about that," he said. "But in terms of who is going to win the election, I think it comes down to hard work and I am going to work very, very hard."

Angelides said the changes would allow the district's representative to focus on the needs of the towns.

"Springfield has a very specific set of requirements and needs and without that area in the district, the state representative will be able to spend more time on the needs of the other towns," she said.

In terms of how it helps her chances of achieving a seat in the House of Representatives, Angelides thinks it could give her an edge should she make it to the November election.

"When you look at the numbers, two years ago I could have won [if the district was laid out as it presently is]," she said. "The redistricting changes the variables on the table."

Angelides will host a campaign kick-off party on June 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Spoleto's in East Longmeadow.

Villamaino has not yet announced a date for his campaign kick-off, but said he plans to have one soon.