10 minute read
election
By Maureen Sullivan and Laura Hayes REGION - With four questions on the November ballot, local candidates weighed in on Question 1.
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This is a proposed constitutional amendment, and it 8 would add an additional 4% state income tax on that portion of annual taxable income in excess of $1 million. This income level would be adjusted annually, by the same method used for federal income-tax brackets, to reflect increases in the cost of living.
Revenues from this tax would be used, subject to appropriation by the state Legisla-
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Each Visiting Angels agency is independently owned and operated. ®2022 Visiting Angels is a registered trademark of Living Assistance Services, Inc. One resident in Westborough has a sign in their yard advocating for Question 4.
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ture, for public education, public colleges and universities; and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation. The proposed amendment would apply to tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2023.
Local candidates Stephen Fishman, Kate Donaghue, Jamie Eldridge, Meghan Kilcoyne and Robyn Kennedy support the ballot question with Fishman calling it “vital.”
“We need more money for education and infrastructure,” he said.
“While we’ve made strides to try to alleviate some of the underfunding that education has had over the years, it’s just going to continue,” Kilcoyne said. “I think all of the schools could use more help, especially [since] we’re still trying to recover from the two years of the pandemic and how that impacted our public education.”
Opponents have said the amendment would adversely affect small business owners and retirees,
“[Small business owners] have worked hard for years or decades to build their nest eggs and depend on their retirement investments. They do not regularly have incomes exceeding $1 million, but would be subject to the increased tax when that are selling a business or seniors selling their home and assets to fund retirements,” said President/CEO of the Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce Karen Chapman in a letter to the editor.
Further, candidates Hannah Kane, Jonathan Hostage, Mike Vulcano and Lisa Mair oppose it.
“I voted against it in the legislature,” said Kane. “My primary concern is that there’s no guarantee that the money for education and transportation will be added to the investments.”
How candidates will vote on Question 4
By Maureen Sullivan and Laura Hayes REGION - Question 4 asks voters whether they approve of a recently-passed law allowing Massachusetts residents who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States to obtain a driver’s license or permit if they meet the other requirements for doing so.
This law does not allow people who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States to obtain a REAL ID, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
The law requires that applicants for a driver’s license or learner’s permit shall attest, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that their license has not been suspended or revoked in any other state, country or jurisdiction.
A “yes” vote — which is supported by candidates Stephen Fishman, Kate Donaghue, Jamie Eldridge, Meghan Kilcoyne and Robyn Kennedy — would keep the law on the books. Supporters say this would improve public safety.
“It will be able to keep our roads safe,” said Donaghue. “It’s safer to have drivers who
Local retailer, candidates weigh in on Question 3
By Maureen Sullivan and Laura Hayes REGION - Voters will have an opportunity to weigh in a ballot question that would expand the availability of licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Question 3 proposes a law that “would increase the statewide limit on the combined number of licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages for offpremises consumption … that any one retailer could own or control.”
Executive Director of the Massachusetts Package Store Association Robert Mellion, who wrote Question 3, said that a “vote yes” would allow for the “safe expansion of alcohol licenses in a manner that supports locally-owned stores and community interests, such as safe retail of a highly-regulated product, which is alcohol.”
The law would increase the licenses from nine to 12 in 2023, to 15 in 2027 and to
A “Vote Yes” sign stands in Westborough.
PHOTO/ELLEN BISHOP
18 in 2031.
Further, Question 3 would not allow retailers to sell alcoholic beverages at self-checkout, and it would have the retailers accept out-of-state identification and change the fine system.
“Question 3 is designed as a compromise or an olive branch for a compromise that would expand consumer convenience but maintain safety because we’re having a lot of out-of-state bigger companies wanting to come in and sell alcohol in Massachusetts,” said Julio’s Liquors Owner Ryan Maloney.
Maloney is one of the lo-
How candidates will vote on Question 4
Question 4 | from page 24 are tested and licensed, and safer when the cars are registered and insured.”
Kennedy said part of her support for the ballot question comes after talking to police chiefs, noting that people who need to get to their jobs, appointments or store needed to drive.
“It benefits all of us on the roads when everyone on the road has taken a driver’s test, has a license and is insured,” Kennedy said.
Local candidates Jonathan Hostage, Mike Vulcano and Lisa Mair voiced support for voting “no.”
“I got 1,000 signatures to get that question on the ballot,” Hostage said.
Mair noted that some businesses rely on undocumented immigrants.
“Undocumented workers do play a valuable part in our communities. So, I would like them to be able to work and get to work legally and not be breaking the law, but I think there is a better answer than number four,” she said.
Mair noted that other states gave a permit, also voicing concerns about the possibility that they may enrolled to vote through the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
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cal retailers who have voiced their support for Question 3.
He said that there were multiple bills filed last year, including about a dozen that would either get rid of caps on licenses or create new licenses for certain individuals. Question 3, Maloney said, is a compromise, but he added that it puts in safeguards for the community.
“The question is a little bit more complicated than that on the surface, but it’s actually a very common sense approach to fixing some of the inadequacies in the law to make everybody have an even playing field and keep safety in mind,” Maloney said.
He said it’s a “David versus Goliath” situation.
“This is an initiative that was started by Massachusetts-owned companies that are on Main Street, they’re the people you see every day — they’re convenience stores, they’re liquor stores, they’re grocery stores from the Berkshires to Boston that put this together in hopes that you would vote ‘yes,’” Maloney said. “The only people who want you to vote ‘no’ [is] somebody who put $3 million and is hoping they can persuade you that they’re the small guy and you should vote that way.”
Candidates weigh in
Candidates who are running to represent the region in the state House and Senate are split on their support of Question 3, however.
“I will vote YES on Question 3, to provide more economic opportunities not only for alcohol retail businesses, but for communities that see increasing liquor licenses as a means to increase economic development,” said Jamie Eldridge.
However, Jonathan Hostage said he plans to vote “no.”
“Simply said, there are already far too many locations to purchase alcohol and marijuana too for that matter. I see no reason to expand accessibility,” said Hostage.
COMMUNITY SPORTS
Hudson goes to playoffs after win against Groton-Dunstable
Hawks | from page 1 against Groton-Dunstable “perfect.”
“I am a senior captain, and this is the first season we have gone 8-0. I am just really glad we could turn it around and take the win tonight,” he said.
Leading up to the win, McAnespie said the team has been consistently practicing.
“We’ve got some great kids who have worked real hard and who have put a lot of time in during the summer,” McAnespie said.
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Below: A Hudson football player tackles Groton-Dunstable.
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He said that each week the team has faced off against “great teams” and his players have “stood up” to the challenges with their “solid” attitudes.
McAnespie added, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”
Since the beginning of practices over the summer, the Hudson Hawks have been forming a brotherhood, McAnespie said.
“Camaraderie starts in the summer. We have summer workouts that the kids go to three days a week,” McAnespie said. “They were all really good about showing up and that starts to build the chemistry of the team.”
He added, “These fifteen kids [the seniors] have known each other since they were in the first grade. They grew up in Hudson, they played middle school football together and now they are playing varsity football together.”
After the game, parents of the senior players flooded the field to congratulate the Hawks on their big win.
Brent Adams and Elizabeth Spencer, who are the parents of Sam Spencer, said they are “so proud of him.”
“It’s just a great night for football,” Adams added.
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