| August 27th, 2009 Gatsas, Stephen spar at five-man mayoral debate Manchester – Mayoral candidate Ted Gatsas challenged his opponents in a debate Tuesday morning to offer up specifics to back up claims that they would cut taxes. “Somebody needs to tell me,” said Gatsas, an alderman and Republican state senator, “other than just to say we’re going to increase economic development, because that’s something that doesn’t happen overnight.” The five-way mayoral debate, much like the one that preceded it by two weeks, pitted Gatsas against a field of hopefuls who knocked the city budgets he co-authored and the tax increases that sprung from them. His most vocal critic, once again, was former state Sen. Bobby Stephen, who said the nearly 8 percent increase in taxes over the past two years has hurt local businesses and the poor. Stephen was not specific when pressed by Gatsas to name ways of cutting costs or raising revenue. His response was: “There’s always fat to cut. You have to re-look at your budget.” Alderman Mark Roy was less aggressive than Stephen, a fellow Democrat, but did take issue with this year’s budget. In particular, he lamented that the city’s schools are set to lose three school resource officers, policemen who protect and counsel students. Roy said he would lower taxes by coming up with ways to keep employees off workers’ compensation and increasing the city’s recycling rate. He also said he would consider offering employees an early-retirement package. Each of the other two candidates, state Rep. Richard Komi and public-access TV producer Glenn Ouellette, argued the city has gotten off track in recent years. Komi echoed Stephen’s charge that recent tax increases have been too large. Ouellette, meanwhile, accused the aldermen of routinely wasting taxpayer money. The one-hour forum, hosted by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and moderated by WGIR-AM personality Angela Anderson, was the second in a series of debates between the five candidates. The top two vote-getters in the Sept. 15 primary will advance to the general election. In what may have been the most controversial statement of the debate, Stephen suggested – not for the first time – that the city might want to shut down West High School, since its enrollment has plummeted in recent years. “I don’t know,” he said, “but I would look at, ‘Do we need West High School?’ Maybe that would be an area to consolidate.” Stephen said after the debate he didn’t mean the school should be closed, but rather, that more students should be brought into West from other schools. Gatsas insisted during the debate that it would be a mistake to shut down a high school “because the high schools right now at Memorial and Central are overloaded.” “We should be talking to Hooksett to possibly move all their children into West,” Gatsas said. Ouellette said the city should be preparing for the possibility that Hooksett pulls its students out of Manchester, just as Bedford did a few years ago. His plan would turn the three high schools into specialty schools, with Memorial focusing on business, Central focusing on math and science and West focusing on the arts. Ouellette said the schools should not “force” children to “go to a higher education which they will not need.” Komi, by contrast, said he wants to see nearly all Manchester students go to college. Komi said he would “reorganize the school system.” More specifically, he said the district needs to reduce class sizes and assure teachers their jobs are secure. Roy called education “the foundation of my economic development plan.” He also vowed to listen to local business owners and respond to their concerns, such as parking and the upkeep of Manchester’s streets. Roy and Gatsas each spoke of the benefits of public-private partnerships. Roy named the proposed Elliot at River’s Edge complex as the city’s top development priority. Ouellette said his top project would be a new highway department building, saying the existing facility “looks like a third-world country.” Gatsas said the city must not forget about its airport. He also advocated moving ahead with long-delayed plans to develop a business park on Hackett Hill. - Printed in the Union Leader, August 27, 2009 Back To News |
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Paid for by Ted Gatsas for Mayor. B. Rivard, Fiscal Agent PO Box 6655, Manchester, NH 03108 603.623.0220
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