House debate: LeBoeuf runs on record, Fullen pushes less taxes, support for police
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WORCESTER — It was an ideological clash between the two candidates vying for the House seat to represent the 17th Worcester District at Monday night's debate held in the IBEW Local 96 Union Hall on Mill Street.
Incumbent Democrat David LeBoeuf discussed achievements reached during his four years in the House, focusing on issues that concern the residents of Leicester and Worcester's Ward 7, and Precincts 2, 3 and 4 of Ward 8.
His themes: the crisis in the care industry, both health care and child care providers; the lack of affordability in housing; jobs and job training; climate change; early education access; supporting reproductive health care for women; and controversial ballot questions 1 and 4.
In contrast, Republican Paul Fullen, who lost his first bid for the seat in 2018, running against LeBoeuf, hammered at the traditional party themes: the need to cut taxes, support for police, the rising crime rate, spiraling inflation, the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, fuel oil and food — and the fact that he likes children, has seven of his own, two grandchildren and he said he “does not agree with ending a life in the womb.”
More: Paul Fullen, a Worcester firefighter, looks for rematch against Rep. LeBoeuf
“David agrees with abortion even in the ninth month no matter the reason,” Fullen said, accusing LeBoeuf of voting to support pregnancy termination through the end of the third trimester. “In a botched abortion, they would allow a child to die alone, naked on a steel tray.”
LeBoeuf pointed out Fullen’s statements about the legislative move to affirm Roe with a bill passed during the summer was inaccurate, a “red herring” and just plain “wrong.”
“The bill referred to termination in the event of a fatal fetal anomaly, or where a mother’s life was in danger,” LeBoeuf said. “The families facing these circumstances have already made a choice, to have a child. We have to allow the families to have health care, to mourn the tragedy” they face.
Some of the sig -holders attending the debate, Mary Anne Dube, Becky Benoit and Sue Swanson, also mentioned the Roe decision as a motivating factor in their support for LeBoeuf.
As the candidates squared off on opposite sides of a long dais at the front of the meeting hall, Fullen alluded to what LeBoeuf termed as a “lapse in judgment,” his arrest in April on charges he was driving under the influence. Fullen suggested that the two-term representative should have resigned from office.
“If I was your father, I would have advised you to resign for your recovery,” Fullen said.
LeBoeuf said he has taken responsibility for the incident, is working on his recovery and is 179 days sober. Advisers, he said, suggested that his addiction and recovery work could serve as a platform to discuss the issue of substance use disorders.
Life of service
In his opening statement, Fullen discussed his life of service, as a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served in the Gulf War, and now his position as a lieutenant in the fire department.
LeBoeuf said his position as state representative was more than a job or a title, it was his commitment to service.
First question: Given the difficulty businesses are facing in hiring, Fullen was asked what he would do to get people back into the workforce.
”To create jobs, government has to step out of the way,” Fullen said, adding that taxes are destroying Massachusetts business.
In answering the same question, LeBoeuf discussed the great toll COVID-19 exacted on the country, especially on essential and front-line workers. Investments in training programs, apprenticeships as well as fixing the licensing process could help alleviate the lack of qualified workers. LeBoeuf also discussed the dearth of affordable child care.
“Some families pay more for child care than for their mortgage or rent,” LeBoeuf said. “There is no one sitting home, collecting unemployment. That’s a myth.”
Moderators ask the tough questions
Moderators MassLive reporter Kiernan Dunlop, Mark Henderson of The 016.com Worcester and former City Councilor Gary Rosen did not shy away from controversial topics. LeBoeuf was asked whether the Worcester delegation was aggressive enough to bring home the funds for needed projects.
LeBoeuf said he had gotten $1 million specifically for projects in the district, such as the sewer project in the Cherry Valley section of Leicester, money for training programs in health care, advanced manufacturing and investment in regional transportation.
Fullen questioned why, if 99% of legislators on Beacon Hill are Democrats, there is not more funding going to Worcester.
“When there’s $5 billion raised by taxes, why are you worried about retrofitting existing housing for electric cars?” Fullen asked.
LeBoeuf pointed out what he claimed was an inherent contradiction: “You can’t say don’t collect more taxes and then say, 'You’re not spending enough.' ”
Each was asked whether they thought the integrity of elections has been compromised and whether there is a problem in the 17th Worcester District.
Has the integrity of elections been compromised in the 17th?
“I can’t think of a single case of voter fraud. That’s a false narrative. It’s not an issue,” LeBoeuf said, adding the VOTES Act passed this year by the Legislature makes early voting, mail-in voting and registration up to 10 days before the election permanent. “People like the process.”
More: Pandemic-era voting accessibility clears way for ballot access in Massachusetts
And, he noted, the Republicans on the Hill voted with the Democrats. “It’s safe, secure,” LeBoeuf said.
Fullen, a former poll worker, described an incident he claims is true as his answer. He described watching unidentified, un-uniformed men collect ballots from one of the special lock boxes erected around the city by election officials. The papers were stuffed in what Fullen described as a garbage bag, thrown into the back of their pickup truck.
“I questioned the driver, asked whether they would be thrown out,” Fullen said. “It depends on who they’re for” was the answer, Fullen said.
The story elicited murmurs of concern from audience members who suggested that he should have called police, reported the incident and written down the license plate number of the vehicle involved. LeBoeuf also suggested that the incident should have been reported.
Taxes: too high, too many, give $ back
On taxes: Too high, too many and why pass the Fair Share Amendment if there is already a $3 billion excess in state coffers? Why not repeal the gas tax (levied, LeBoeuf said, on gas companies and passed on, by them, to motorists)? Or at least suspend it during a time when costs are out of control?
Fullen does not support the Community Preservation Act, a question on the Worcester ballot Nov. 8.
“It’s a tax on top of a tax. They’re taxing you to death,” Fullen said. “They are taking more and more money from your pockets. I will fight to keep money in your pockets.”
LeBoeuf is an advocate of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority's free-fare approach. “It’s an economic driver,” LeBoeuf said.
People, he noted, ride buses to work, to school, to make money, to spend money and to seek out health care. The project was extended through 2023.
“The WRTA has to do more to promote the pilot project,” LeBoeuf said.
Public transit is an economic driver
Fullen, on the other hand, said that it is unfair to working families that do not use the buses to have to subsidize those that do use them.
“Working families use public transportation,” LeBoeuf said. “We cannot allow the RTA to die. We need a healthy transit system.” LeBoeuf said.
Fullen said law enforcement needs more support to address crime, the opioid crisis and homelessness, which he equated with substance use disorders. LeBoeuf countered with a suggestion to look at policing differently, to make Narcan and other harm-reduction measures free, and offer services to unhoused residents by meeting them where they are, in encampments like the ones in Webster Square and by Walmart.
Rousting encampments does not work — it just moves the problem from one area to another, LeBoeuf said, adding that he secured $2.6 million to address the problem of unhoused youth.
About 50 people, including local politicians and candidate supporters, attended the in-person debate.
The event was broadcast on Radio Worcester.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 17th Worcester seat up for grabs as David LeBoeuf, Paul Fullen debate
