State Campaign Comes to Town
By Stewart Lytle
Richard Tisei, the Republican leader of the Massachusetts Senate, brought his campaign for lieutenant governor to Newburyport Thursday, telling about 50 members of the Greater Newburyport Association of Realtors (GNAR) that this year’s state elections are as important as they were in 1990 when William Weld was elected.
Because the state faces some very large problems, he said the choice of governor and lieutenant governor this year will decide the state’s direction for years.
“We have a terrible business climate in Massachusetts right now,” Tisei, who owns a real estate brokerage firm in Lynnfield, told the Realtors.
He said there are more than 300,000 people out of work in the state, and the state is not adding new jobs as it has in the past. The $28 billion state budget is being propped up this year by a $1.5 billion infusion from the federal government’s stimulus funds, he said. But “that is a one-year thing,” he said. Next year, the state may face a $3 billion shortfall, he said.
As a Realtor and a legislator, he said he talks with people daily who tell him the state is too expensive and they are considering moving to another state, where the cost of living and taxes are lower. He said business owners also tell him that they are reluctant to hire more workers because of the economic uncertainty.
Tisei criticized the state regulatory agencies for some of their new regulations that are hurting businesses. And he said only four of the state senators own their own businesses. “Most have worked in government all their careers,” he said.
“Improving the business climate in the state is essential,” he said. And if Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and he are elected in November, that would be a top priority, he said.
Tisei was introduced to the early morning GNAR meeting by Steve Ryan, general counsel for the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Mary Holmes is president of the GNAR.
After outlining the challenges the state faces, he asked the Realtors, “Are you depressed enough now?”
He then told the audience that the state is excelling in several areas, particularly in educating students who ranked first in national tests.
Tisei urged the Realtors to come to Beacon Hill Tuesday for Realtors Day on Beacon Hill, an annual event where Newburyport real estate agents join others around the state in lobbying state legislators at the capital. “It makes a huge difference” to meet with the legislators in person, he said.
Holmes gave the Realtors a description of several bills before the legislature that could impact the Realtors’ business. “Let them (the legislators) know we really care. Our voices need to be heard,” she said.
Cutline: Members of the Greater Newburyport Association of Realtors board join Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei for a breakfast meeting. From left are: Nancy Purcell, Lea Cabeen, Linda Taylor Knight, Senator Tisei, Mary Holmes, Susan Dougherty, Val McGillivray, Lela Wright, Steven St. Arnault and Steve Ryan.
Photo by Stewart Lytle
