Brockton Mayoral Debate

By Kyle Alspach
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Oct 09, 2009 @ 01:36 AM
Last update Oct 09, 2009 @ 01:44 AM
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BROCKTON —
“I don’t know where you’ve been the last four years,” Mayor James E. Harrington said tersely to Councilor-at-large Linda Balzotti, the challenger for his job, standing behind a podium across from her at their first debate Thursday.
“I’ve been right here mister mayor,” Balzotti shot back.
“Well you haven’t been paying much attention,” Harrington answered.
Both contenders for the mayor’s office came out swinging Thursday, pointedly — and sometimes personally — attacking each other from the first question down to the last.
“Please don’t insult me by saying that on my time on the council I have not done anything to bring the city forward,” said Balzotti, a city councilor for 12 years, at one point.
“That is not what I said councilor, and if you would listen, you would understand what I said,” the two-term mayor responded, eliciting groans from Balzotti supporters in the crowd of roughly 150.
Though the candidates sought to use the 90-minute debate to distinguish themselves on the issues, they were overshadowed by rhetoric that often amounted to bickering.
“That’s not true” was uttered repeatedly by both candidates throughout the event at the Massasoit Conference Center.
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Balzotti said to Harrington, nearly shouting, at one point in the debate during a question about plans for Brockton’s future.
The future of the city was a running theme, as the candidates answered questions on saving the downtown, attracting business investment and making the streets safe.
Balzotti challenged the mayor repeatedly on his support for the Brockton 21st Century Corp., a privately-run group the city uses as its economic development office.
“Mister mayor I still think it’s just a little bit scary that an organization without any accountability, made up of non-city residents primarily, will control millions of dollars and the destiny of our city for probably the next 30 years,” she said.
Balzotti pledged to reinstitute the job of city planner if elected, a position cut by Harrington last year as part of the creation of a new development agency, Building a Better Brockton Inc., which is overseen by the board of 21st Century Corp.
Harrington, meanwhile, argued that he’s proven himself as a capable leader by maintaining city services in times of massive budget shortfalls.
Balzotti, he contended, has no achievements to prove she can manage a city of 100,000 residents — and what she claims as achievements aren’t really hers, he said.
“Those were not your initiatives. You signed onto them after somebody else already did it,” the mayor said, after Balzotti recounted sponsoring measures to stop a controversial proposed power plant from buying city water for cooling.
“You copped on somebody else’s idea,” he said. “All you’ve been doing is standing on the sideline letting somebody else do the work, and then jumping on the bandwagon.”
One thing the two candidates did agree on is that the idea of changing Main Street into a two-way road is all but dead.
After a pre-taped question from a Brockton business owner on the idea, Harrington and Balzotti both said the project is unlikely because state and federal authorities have consistently denied funding for it.
Balzotti entered the debate as the frontrunner after topping the ballot in the Sept. 15 preliminary election with roughly 56 percent of the vote. Harrington took roughly 35 percent.
If elected, Balzotti would become the first female mayor in Brockton’s history.
But Harrington, who was a city councilor for 16 years before becoming mayor four years ago, has predicted that a higher voter turnout at the Nov. 3 general election will affect the outcome. Just 13 percent of registered voters cast ballots during the preliminary election.
Asked afterward about the tone of the debate, both candidates said they weren’t surprised it became heated.
“I thought it was OK. I don’t expect her to agree with me,” Harrington said. “I didn’t think it was really contentious ... But she’s saying things that just don’t make sense.”
“I think it got a little bit testy at times,” Balzotti said. “I think that it got ‘heat-of-the-moment’ at some places, but I guess that’s bound to happen when you’re both fighting for something you want.”
The debate, sponsored by The Enterprise and Massasoit Community College, was the first of three for the mayor candidates. Additional debates will take place on Oct. 22 at the Massasoit Conference Center and on Oct. 28 at Massasoit Community College.
Kyle Alspach can be reached at kalspach@enterprisenews.com.

Source: http://www.enterprisenews.com/your_vote/x838663186/VIDEO-EXTRA-Brockton-mayor-debate-turns-to-war-of-words