LOWELL — The Democratic primary for the 1st Middlesex Senate District special election is coming up quickly, and state Reps. Rodney Elliott and Vanna Howard both participated in a candidate forum with the Coalition for a Better Acre on Friday.
The candidates were posed questions on a number of topics with local, state and national issues on the minds of voters in this special election. Each candidate was able to give an opening and closing statement while the forum alternated between more detailed responses and a simple yes or no when asked about support for an issue or policy.
Latinx Community Center for Empowerment founder and Executive Director Diego Leonardo served as the moderator for the event.
The forum began with a pair of simple yes or no questions, the first centered around whether the candidates support the idea of rent stabilization, which is the subject of a ballot measure in Massachusetts this fall which would place a cap on annual rent increases. Both Howard and Elliott said, with a simple raise of a paddle, that they would support it.
On the Safe Communities Act, a bill which would limit law enforcement collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Massachusetts, both candidates also indicated their support.
The first open-ended question posed to the two candidates was about their proposals for policies or investments to strengthen the statewide and local economies.
Howard began, and said her first action as a state senator would be to introduce legislation to make development of the former UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center “a reality.”
“The space at the Inn & Conference Center is ripe to make sure we redevelop that area for our economy,” said Howard, noting this could be done in partnership with UML and Middlesex Community College.
Elliott answered by saying it is “unfortunate this administration has put a halt to offshore wind,” referencing the Trump administration’s efforts to end construction on such projects in New England.
“We’re faced with affordability, and that is the No. 1 issue we need to deal with … . We were on a track to diversify our energy needs, we know we are going to see an increase with [artificial intelligence] and these data centers,” said Elliott, noting he would file legislation to support green energy projects.
Another set of yes-or-no questions followed, with both candidates showing support for the Rental Assistance for Families in Transition program, and for the state to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program so it is also available for immigrants.
Leonardo posed the next open-ended question, noting first that a number of local small businesses have closed or moved away in the last few years. He asked both candidates how they would support technical assistance for small businesses to stabilize and grow them locally.
Elliott pointed to programs that support “pop-up storefronts” under the idea the business owners can get their operations started without initially committing to long-term ownership of the space.
“We support small business loans, we have to supply incentives to attract businesses who come into the downtown,” said Elliott.
Howard said for Lowell alone, she has secured $200,000 for Project Pop-ups in the last two state budget sessions, and said she would continue to push for such funding.
“I was fortunate to work with leadership, and with the city of Lowell … that was one of the city’s priorities,” said Howard.
In the next round of yes-or-no questions, both candidates again showed agreement, with both indicating support for the Healthy Homes Program and for the ICC to be open regularly during the spring and summer.
On expanding opportunities for job training, learning English as a second language, and adult education across the 1st Middlesex District, Howard pointed to the state’s partnership with the city to bolster the workforce.
“We have in the budget for our youth to always have jobs in the summer, guaranteed jobs. That is the workforce for our youth, not just for adults. Between all the partnerships with the city, the state and with MassHire in Lowell, we make sure our workforce is strong,” said Howard, adding later workforce development should include support for people learning English as their second language.
Elliott said Lowell “has one of the best adult education programs.”
“We need to continue to invest in that at the state level. We have significant resources but there are also significant challenges when it comes to education, particularly with Chapter 70 funding,” said Elliott, agreeing with Howard on supporting state and local partnerships with groups like MassHire to spur workforce development.
With an audit of the state Legislature still unfulfilled despite the overwhelming vote in favor of doing so on the 2024 ballot, the candidates indicated their support for the audit in the next yes-or-no round. They also both supported the Dignity, Not Deportations Act.
State Senate bill S.1937 would create a local option to impose a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing, which Elliott said he would support if elected.
“I think every community should have the option to do that … We need all the support we can do to develop local housing,” said Elliott, noting the waiting list for the Lowell Housing Authority, which he chairs the board of.
Howard pointed out that she is a co-sponsor of the House version of that bill.
“Rising housing costs are severely, severely impacting our residents, especially here in the gateway cities, with over half of our renters, and over a third of homeowners spending more than 30% of their income on housing,” said Howard.
Staying with housing on the next open-ended question about homeowner education services and foreclosure prevention services, Elliott said a legal defense fund for homeowners should be considered alongside other efforts toward foreclosure prevention.
“Allow them to learn what the laws are, learn what their rights are. People struggle and come up on hard times … there has got to be a program in order to allow for exceptions,” said Elliott.
Howard said the organizations like the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership offer classes for first-time home buyers to help prevent foreclosures.
“We want to move folks from being renters to homeowners, that is the investment,” said Howard, noting later she was “proud to vote into the budget $5 million for a legal defense fund.”
Both candidates showed their support for a state Senate bill to improve emergency housing assistance for children and families, and for more funding for the Massachusetts Food Trust program. They also both supported changing the Massachusetts School Building Authority funding formula to subsidize gateway cities like Lowell at a higher rate.
When asked about their top three legislative priorities in the state Senate, Howard reiterated support for development of the ICC. Beyond that, she said her second priority would be for universal pre-K, and her third would be legislation protecting children from the dangers of social media algorithms, both of which she said Gov. Maura Healey addressed in the State of the Commonwealth the night before.
Elliott said his first concern is affordability, and would support legislation to address things like Chapter 70 funding with a “record number of resources” coming in from the millionaire’s tax. In the same vein, he said he would support additional tax relief, and legislation to limit rate increases from utility companies.
In the final yes-or-no questions, both candidates supported a zero-carbon renovation fund, and the current law allowing undocumented students in Massachusetts to access public higher education.
The last open-ended question offered by Leonardo was about specific legislation each candidate would support or pass to make education better in cities like Lowell. Elliott said an important step toward this goal was taking away the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System graduation requirement.
“I think we have a great education system, and we can make it better. We are doing that, one, with the Student Opportunity Act, and that is going to expire and I am going to support extending it, because it provides resources communities need, including health benefits and other benefits to people who teach in our classroom,” said Elliott, noting also the passage of the Fair Share Act.
“The other element I hear from teachers is that we need more behavioral support in the classroom … teachers, to some degree, have become the front-line individuals who identify certain things,” said Elliott.
Howard said the removal of the MCAS requirement was one of her priorities when she first ran for her seat in 2020.
“If MCAS was around when I came to this country at the age of 11 … I would have been stuck in seventh grade … . We need to find an alternative for our children, especially in low-income communities,” said Howard, while also advocating for changes to local aid funding.
Elliott and Howard also answered a number of questions from the audience, one of which concerned state solutions to the issue of homelessness. Elliott answered first, saying it is “not an easy issue,” but the state’s role is going to start with providing funding.
“We need to continue to support programs like the RAFT program which provide housing for the homeless in the winter, continue to support organizations like the Transitional Living Center, and all those organizations that provide support and comfort to people in this population,” said Elliott.
Howard, who has previously spoken about her experience with homelessness when she was a single mother in her 20s, said there are a number of causes to homelessness, even beyond things like mental health or substance abuse issues. She pointed to her support of legislation like the Affordable Homes Act.
“It could be just a paycheck away,” said Howard. “Or we haven’t kept up with the supply and demand of housing, so people are being priced out. Housing affordability is the No. 1 issue right now. We can’t keep up.”
The special election for the 1st Middlesex District was called after the death of state Sen. Edward Kennedy last year. The primary is set for Feb. 3, with the general election one month later on March 3. The 1st Middlesex District includes the towns of Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell and Tyngsboro and the city of Lowell.
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