Hedlund hosts Valianti and Cantwell on radio

During the discussion, Valianti questioned Cantwell’s ability to act independently and vote free from influences as a state representative, given the amount of money he has raised. Cantwell has more than $50,000, while Valianti has $12,000, which he said was enough to win.

“If it doesn’t bug you to be raising in the 50s, there’s something wrong there. The PACs, the unions, it’s going to have an effect on what you do,” Valianti said. “There’s only one independent in the race and that’s me.”

Hedlund also challenged Cantwell’s talk of Frank Hynes’ legacy, pointing out that Hynes had bucked his party more than any other Democrat, and asked Cantwell whether he would “wear the partisan hat” or go against party leaders.

Cantwell said his role was to do what was best for residents of Marshfield and Scituate. The district represents all of Marshfield and precincts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 in Scituate.
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This week’s question is: If elected, what would your priorities be as state representative?

The biggest priority will be that we must understand and protect our citizens and all they have worked for. While we are fortunate to live, work and play here, we must remember that we are facing one of the biggest fiscal challenges in years. I run a small business in Marshfield, so I face the challenge every day, and when I am out going door-to-door, I hear it and feel it from the people I talk to.

The next state representative should be a fiscal conservative who is independent and tough enough to stand up to these challenges. I will always honor the taxpayers’ money and be a watchdog for waste and mismanagement. By doing that, I believe we will have enough money for our essential programs such as our schools, our seniors, seawalls and roads and bridges.

Another priority that is very important to Marshfield and Scituate is our local aid dollars. We need to bring back as much as possible from the state. We must find a way to do this because taxing ourselves with more Proposition 2 1/2 overrides is not the answer. It puts one part of the community against another. That is not good government. We can and should do better!
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What, if anything, can the state Legislature do to help towns increase the amount of affordable housing?

First and foremost, the state Legislature must work to repeal 40B. Yes, I know a bill has been filed before, but I believe it needs to be filed again and again until it is successfully repealed! We must stop spending millions of tax dollars annually to support a failed program.

We need to bring control over housing projects back to our towns and cities. By doing this, we then could push for inclusionary zoning for housing projects, meaning mandatory set-asides for affordable housing units.

I also believe local community housing authorities, housing partnership committees and housing coordinators and directors are actively looking for help from state government to fund and develop more affordable housing units.
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Independent seeks inclusion in Democratic debates

After listening to the four Democrats who are vying to run in the general election agree with each other for much of their first debate, independent state representative candidate John Valianti of Marshfield said he decided to issue a challenge.

He wants to be included in any future debates, both before the primary and then at least five times after the Democrats chose a candidate.

“There wasn’t much of a difference between any of them,” Valianti said of the June 25 debate sponsored by the Scituate Democratic Town Committee.

Valianti said his own views are more fiscally conservative than those of the Democratic candidates, such as what he called his greater willingness to support capping state spending on school buildings.
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