| October 15th, 2009 Mayoral debate focuses on budget, schools MANCHESTER – The two contenders for mayor of Manchester ratcheted up their rhetoric this morning in a debate that saw some of the sharpest exchanges yet over this year's city budget and its effect on Manchester's schools. Alderman and state Sen. Ted Gatsas went on the offensive early, accusing his opponent, Alderman Mark Roy, of standing on the sidelines during budget season. Since then, he said, Roy has not pushed any proposals through the Board of Mayor and Aldermen that would save the city money. Roy, in response, said the budget Gatsas co-authored was a rush job that harmed the city's schools. He also accused his opponent of stalling the development of the proposed business park at Hackett Hill. The format of the hour-long debate at the Derryfield Restaurant gave both candidates ample opportunity to say what they would do if elected, and their responses were altogether different. Roy, the Democratic candidate, spoke broadly about the need to improve education, reduce homelessness and find “efficiencies” to help cut back on city spending. Gatsas, by contrast, was often more specific, saying he would revise the city's building codes, amend the school district's tuition agreement with Hooksett and campaign to lure Jet Blue to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. “I talk about positive things and moving this city forward,” Gatsas said in his closing statement. “My opponent only talks about negative things and how we created a budget that was wrong for the school district and the city.” Gatsas, a Republican, showed some flexibility when it came to the proposed spending cap, saying he would not hesitate to ask the aldermen to override the cap if, for example, it threatened to harm the airport or jeopardize the city's bond rating. City Finance Officer Bill Sanders, who called the proposal “not workable,” has said those outcomes are a distinct possibility. Roy noted it would take 10 aldermen to override the cap and said those votes would not be easy to corral. A critic of the cap, he censured Gatsas for “championing legislation that by all economists' accounts will bring down the city of Manchester.” “I believe that's not leadership,” Roy said. This morning's confrontation marked the second time Roy and Gatsas have faced off since last month's primary, which winnowed the field of hopefuls from five to two. The debate was organized by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and drew an audience of dozens business executives and political observers. Early on, Gatsas attempted to turn the tables on Roy's oft-repeated criticisms of this year's city budget. "All aldermen have the opportunity to work on a budget,” Gatsas said. “My opponent didn't bring a budget forward, but he said that he had 20 ideas. We're now 90 days into this budget year, and I haven't seen one of those ideas come forward that actually would be put in place to save money for the city of Manchester.” In response, Roy said Gatsas rammed the budget through two weeks before deadline, when city officials could have “rolled up our sleeves and done the hard work.” He also went after Gatsas for repeatedly answering questions about education with an argument that parents need to be more involved in their children's learning. “We cannot stand up here and preach parental involvement,” Roy said, “because we don't provide, the city doesn't provide the dollars to have that child take home his own textbook.” Gatsas took credit for new guidelines on energy use in city buildings and said he has talked with Highway Department officials about the possibility of installing solar panels at the former city dump on Dunbarton Road. Roy picked each of those claims apart. For one thing, he said, the energy-use guidelines merely put into writing what the city was already doing. For another, he said, the Highway Department was talking about those solar panels before Gatsas got involved in the discussion. “When you talk about leadership,” Roy said, “it's not regurgitating ideas that have been talked about for six months, eight months, a year.” - Scott Brooks Printed in the Union Leader, October 15, 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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