Three Democrats face off in 24th Middlesex legislative district
In the 24th Middlesex District, which represents Belmont and neighborhoods in Arlington and North Cambridge, the state representative seat is vacant; the Democratic incumbent, William Brownsberger, stepped down after being elected to the state Senate in a special election in December.
Democrats Margaret A. Hegarty,
Robert Paul Reardon Jr.
, and David M. Rogers are vying in Thursday’s primary for the chance to face Republican Tommasina Anne Olson in November.
Hegarty says she’s the only candidate who has spent her career working exclusively in public service. She worked at the Volunteer Lawyers Project in Boston as a paralegal while going to Suffolk Law School. After graduation, she became a staff attorney there, and went on to work as a prosecutor and public defender, and in the special investigation and narcotics unit in the state attorney general’s office before becoming legislative counsel at the State House.
“I’ve proven myself to be a public servant to those most in need,’’ she said. “From day one, I will be effective because I know how the district works.’’
Hegarty says her priorities will be “preserving excellence in our public school system, and ensuring that our public transportation system is sustained.’’
Reardon, who grew up in Belmont, says he has deep roots in the district, with his mother growing up in Arlington and his father in Cambridge.
He is a twice-elected Belmont Town Meeting member, and says his experience as a legislative intern in Brownsberger’s office while at Bentley University, where he graduated last spring,has prepared him for the job.
The most pressing issue facing the state is funding the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which he calls “the engine that drives the economy.’’
Reardon said the crushing debt faced by the T is not being adequately addressed by fare increases and service cuts. “We need a long-term, sustainable solution,’’ he said.
He also said he’d look into setting up public-private partnerships where private companies help pay for infrastructure improvements.
Rogers believes his experience working in all three branches of government gives him an edge.
He said he held a “junior staff position’’ on health care reform in the Clinton administration, was on the staff of US Representative Eva Clayton of North Carolina,
served in the criminal prosecution division of the Environmental Protection Agency, and worked for a federal judge in Washington, D.C.
For the past 15 years Rogers has been a business lawyer. “My extensive business experience coupled with my political experience has shown me how the decisions we make at the state level actually impact our competitiveness globally,’’ he said.
If elected, Rogers said, he would focus on transportation, infrastructure, and education, which he said all impact the economy. He said the MBTA is carrying debt while cutting services and neglecting to fund maintenance of its equipment.
“The T budget is getting worse,’’ he said. “And service is getting worse.’’
ellen ishkanian
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