An Interview with Andover/Lawrence State Rep
Barry Finegold
Barry Finegold Appeared on WCCM’s Paying Attention program with Tom Duggan
Tom
Duggan:
"Before we start, I want to thank you for cosponsoring the
bill for mandatory air conditioning for all nursing homes, which
was submitted by State Representative Jose Santiago."
Rep. Finegold: "Well, the quality of nursing home
care has really gone down. We have to make sure that there is
adequate care and enough staff to take care of the elderly, and
at the same time take care of their quality of life issues. If
somebody needs cooler conditions they ought to be able to have
cooler conditions in the summer time. If they are hot, then we
should do something about that. I mean, it’s only a matter
of time before yourself or one of your loved ones are going to be
in a nursing home, so I think it is pretty prudent to make sure
we take care of them. It’s amazing that this segment of our
population doesn’t get the services and the things they
deserve. It’s really surprising how little we do for our
elderly in this country. So, the least we can do for them in
their waning years is to provide them with a good and safe place
to be."
Tom Duggan: "Barry you submitted a bill to give
state tax breaks to business that come to Lawrence, especially
high tech businesses. This will be a 20% tax break why don’t
you talk a little bit about what that is and what it will do for
the community."
Rep. Finegold:"I think it will attract companies
to come here and be good tax payers and employ people in the
city. I just think we need to publicize Lawrence more. This is an
incentive if a company has an interest in coming up the 495 belt.
The fact that they will get a 20% tax break in Lawrence will
encourage them to come to Lawrence. And I think with this tax
incentive we can do that."
Tom Duggan: "What are the chances of this
passing at the house? Is there a lot of support for this?"
Rep. Finegold: "Yeah, I think there is a good amount of
support out there. This will effect cites like Lawrence and New
Bedford. The chairman of the board, Rep. Montigney (SP?) is also
interested in doing this so I think we have a good shot. I
don’t know if this will end up at 20% it might end up at
15%, but I think it will pass in some form or another."
Tom Duggan: "A lot of times companies come in
and take the tax break and then they take off. Is there any kind
of a longevity period where they have to stay for a certain
period of time?"
Rep. Finegold: "If they leave, they lose.
That’s it. So, they want to stay they will have no incentive
to leave. The bigger they get the bigger the tax break will be.
So, it will be tougher for them to leave because all of sudden
they will have a 20% increase on their tax bill if they move to
one of the neighboring communities."
Tom Duggan: "State Senator Jim Jajuga submitted
a bill to ban cell phone use while you are driving. Where do you
stand on that?"
Rep. Finegold: "It would be hypocritical for me to
say I am against it (cell phone use while driving) because I use
my cell phone all the time. I would encourage people to use the
hands free devices. To me it’s more about personal
responsibility. You can’t legislate that stuff. I mean
what’s next? Are we going to do away with the radio or the
CD player? I know Senator Jajugas’ intentions are good, and
I know there is a problem out there, but I just don’t think
this is the right way to go about it . So I would not support
that bill."
Tom Duggan: "Those are the answers we like to
hear on the Paying attention radio program."
Rep. Finegold: I live on my cell phone and I don’t
know what I would do without it but I do have a hands free and I
do encourage people to do that.
Tom Duggan: "Senator Jajuga also submitting
another bill, he does this every year, to have a free needle
exchange program. He wants to give free needles out to heroin
users, criminals who break the law, and of course they are not
going in to communities like Methuen where he lives, they are
coming to Lawrence. We already have so many social problems
attracting a negative element where would you stand on
that?"
Rep. Finegold: "I don’t think Senator
Jajuga’s intentions are bad. I do believe he is trying to do
the right thing. But, I think if we have resources we should try
to channel them to education and really get people early on to
the head start program, or the Boy’s Club. There are so many
people who use drugs because they don’t have any other
options, and they are down, so I think we need to use the
resources for things like the Boy’s Club and other programs.
There is a lot better use for that money. Unfortunately, Tommy,
money doesn’t grow on trees at the state."
Tom Duggan:"Especially when it’s our
money."
Rep. Finegold: "We need to be pretty prudent especially now,
because you don’t know where the economy is going. So, I
think we really need to be cautious. We have infinite needs with
finite resources and I just want to make sure those finite
resources are going to the proper channels."
Tom Duggan: "People come in to the city here
and buy property in Lawrence. They don’t fix it up, let it
get run down, let it go into disrepair, the city takes over and
they end up owing thousands of dollars in water bills, back taxes
etc, and then they take off leaving us with the bill. State
Representative Jose Santiago submitted a bill that would allow us
to attack the owners other assets to recuperate the money they
owe. What do you think about that idea?"
Rep. Finegold: "I think it is a good idea.
I’m not sure if it will pass constitutional muster, but I
think it is a great idea. I can’t understand for the life of
me why anybody would do that or have the lack of personal
responsibility to do that. I think the city is a great place.
It’s a great investment, and real estate prices in the City
of Lawrence has gone up 19% in one year. So, why anyone is just
letting their investment go to waste like that I think is
irresponsible. I would support anything that would encourage
people to do the right thing."
Tom Duggan: "Why don’t you think it will
pass constitutional muster?"
Rep. Finegold: "I think the question is, if you
are taxing one property and then putting a lien on another
property, I’m not sure you can do that legally."
Tom Duggan: "Well, it seems to me if they own
property in Lawrence and owe money in the city, we should be able
to go after their assets."
Rep. Finegold: "You can also make the analogy that
you get a speeding ticket in another sate and when you go to
renew your license in this state you can’t get it until you
pay. I think this is worth a challenge I just don’t know if
it will pass."
Tom Duggan: "What else have you
submitted?"
Rep. Finegold: "One of the things everyone is
talking about is these motor scooters. I am really concerned
about it. I hear it is the number one Christmas gift. People need
to be very careful, these things can go up to 20-30 miles an
hour. What we are trying to do is encourage people to wear
helmets. I saw an accident this summer at the Lawrence boating
house. A kid was riding his bike and flipped head first into a
tree and he was flown to Mass General hospital. They kept asking
him if he was wearing a helmet and he wasn’t. You can get
some serious accidents on these things."
Tom Duggan: "Are you going to support just a
helmet law, I know some people want to have an age limit on the
scooters?"
Rep. Finegold:"I’m not sure. I really just
want helmets for these scooters, motorized or otherwise. I’m
not one to legislate how people should run their life, but there
have been 30,000 accidents on these scooters. We have to do
something to call attention to this issues."
Tom Duggan: "For kids, not adults?
Rep. Finegold: "No."
Tom Duggan: "Let’s talk about the baby
drop off issue. Any chance that is going to get
reintroduced?"
(Rep. Finegold proposes that anyone who wants to give up their
baby can drop them off at a state facility or a police station no
questions asked.)
Rep. Finegold: "Oh Yeah, I realize it’s very
controversial but I think people understand this is not about
abandoning babies, it’s about saving lives. I know the
Tribune had some serious issues with it and it’s very
controversial. But that’s OK. There are a lot of people out
there who shouldn’t be having children and when they do have
children they don’t know what to do with that child. All we
are trying to do here is protect the interests of that
child."
Tom Duggan: "The other side of the argument is
that some say it makes it easier for people to be irresponsible
and say ‘now I can just get rid of my kid."
Rep. Finegold: "I guess the question is, if they
are having those thoughts in the first place they probably
shouldn’t be having a child. And if they are going to go
ahead and have a child I’d rather that child be in a safe
place than in harms way. I don’t know how any parent could
do that, but I spoke to a gynecologist and there are a lot of
young girls who deny their pregnancy until they give birth. Like
Kelley Angel, the girl who left her newborn in Logan Airport. She
left that child in a bathroom, the girl out in Worcester left
hers in a parking lot. I think there are so many people out there
who would love to adopt and would love to have these children in
their lives, and I think it is such a tragedy. Look what happened
in Providence when the baby ended up in the water."
Tom Duggan: "But aren’t we encouraging
people to abandon their babies though with this bill? The girl in
Logan airport wouldn’t have gone to a safe baby drop off,
she didn’t want anybody to know."
Rep. Finegold:"That’s a good point, but in
California and Texas it has been a very successful program. The
bottom line is these kids go to safe and caring homes. and I
think that outweighs the people not being responsible."
Tom Duggan: "Guy Glodis (sp?) is introducing a
bill to do away with bilingual education completely and go to
mainstreaming. We see in California that they have done away with
it, they’ve gone to total immersion. More Hispanic kids are
passing the SAT’s with higher grades, they are getting into
college with better scores, where would you stand on that?"
Rep. Finegold: "Bilingual education needs reform
but I don’t think you can send a kid that is totally fluent
in Spanish, and not in English right into the classroom. I just
think the sooner you get kids into the English speaking classroom
the better. So, I think we need to scale back on bilingual
education but don’t do away with the program completely. I
still support it, but my preference is to get kids as soon as
possible into the English speaking classroom."
Tom Duggan: "Let’s talk about the Dr.
Ghassemian story. We have a state board of medicine, and the
director of the board has said that Dr. Ghassemian should get his
license back. They don’t have a reason not to give it back
to him, they are just refusing to meet so that they don’t
have to give it back to him. In the mean time two people have
died. Now I know they are appointed by the Governor, but the
state legislature has a big hand in how they can operate and you
control their funding. I haven’t seen any State
Representative or State Senator showing any kind of outrage and
two people are dead."
Rep. Finegold: "Our role is to legislate and make
the laws and to appropriate money. We hope the executive branch
uses that money in a proper manner. The founding fathers set up
the system so that there is a separation of powers. Sometimes
it’s frustrating, that the things you enact or appropriate
doesn’t come into play. I remember when you were on the
School Committee you must have been frustrated when you pass
something and it doesn’t get done. It does get frustrating,
but it doesn’t mean you should give up, so you need to stay
on things like this."
Tom Duggan: "Where is the enforcement? What can
the listeners (and readers) do? They have been listening to this
garbage for six months and they know Dr. Ghassemian should get
his license back, they call this show and Ronnie Ford’s Hot
line all the time, what can we do?"
Rep. Finegold: I think a letter writing campaign to the
board and the governor is something I find to be very effective.
I know when I receive letters… I get so much junk mail and
form letters that when a legislator receives letters we really
pay attention to that. I think people believe that legislators or
elected officials won’t pay attention to their letters but
they do. I’m telling you they do. Writing an email or
calling or writing a letter is a really an effective tool to use.
I’ll tell you that I read every email and letter I get
personally."
Tom Duggan: "A couple of weeks ago the former
director of the state board of education John Silber, testified
before the parole board advocating the release of a cop killer.
This is an individual who, at 16 years old willingly took the
life of a Shrewsbury police officer, Jimmy Lonchiadis, while the
man plead for his life saying he had a wife and two kids. And
this guy pulled the trigger anyways. He is now up for parole
every year. The first question is, why is it that we allow second
degree murderers, especially cop killers, the possibility of
parole? And second, would you be in favor of stopping the
possibility of parole for extreme cases like baby killers or cop
killers?"
Rep. Finegold: "I have always said they should get
life and I don’t know why they are not getting life right
now. I don’t understand why John Silber is even getting
involved. I think he should stick to education and he
shouldn’t get involved in that."
Tom Duggan: "So you would be in favor of
stopping parole for second degree killers in extreme cases like
cop killers, baby killers etc.?"
Rep. Finegold: "Yes."
Tom Duggan: "Well I’m looking for a State
Rep to sponsor that bill. We have to do something about people
who commit these crimes. We are making the victims families a
victim yet again when they have to go and sit through a parole
hearing year after year."
Rep. Finegold: "It’s interesting why he was
able to plead out and get a parole eligibility."
Tom Duggan: "What can we do to stop people like
this animal in Montana who raped a 15 year old boy here in
Massachusetts? We had him in custody, they worked out a plea
agreement that he would go live with his mother in Montana and
now they have found he has killed and cannibalized a dozen or
more children there. We here in Massachusetts seem to feel bad
for animals like this. Are you for the death penalty?"
Rep. Finegold: "No I’m not."
Tom Duggan: "Why should this guy who is
torturing and eating children be breathing the same air as your
mother or someone you love? You know people like this eventually
get out."
Rep. Finegold: "Look, I have no sympathy for this
guy and it really makes me sick, but I know our judicial system
and if I knew it was fair and I knew that everyone would get the
same exact treatment the same fair trial, maybe I would be for it
but I know the system."
Tom Duggan: "Well, I’m going to put you on
the spot, you are the legislature you are leader in the state
house, you make the laws, what do you do about it?"
Rep. Finegold: "You try to appoint the best
judges, but…"
Tom Duggan: "No, no, Barry what are you going
to do about it? I’m sure you read the paper every day, we
are seeing these things all the time. We have a guy in Montana
eating children, we have a cop killer getting parole. What are
you going to do about it?"
Rep. Finegold: "I’m all for the minimum
sentences for second degree murder. I wanted those to be
increased, I fought for tougher sentences, trying to get district
attorney’s who aren’t looking for plea bargains in
cases like this and I have fought to make sure the law
enforcement system really has teeth. I think that’s what we
need to do. The jails shouldn’t be country clubs."
Tom Duggan: "Every time you pick up the paper
there’s another guy who got arrested, who has done something
four or five times before and they are out on the streets again.
You do that in certain other states and they put you away. In
Massachusetts it’s a joke, we just don’t seem to
care."
Rep. Finegold: "You’re right, the problem
here Tom, is that any time you see an arrest like that it’s
always someone who has a history. It’s very rare that
someone does something like that without a history of violent
behavior. I think what has to happen is that people get too many
chances and I think we need to cut down on those chances. At the
same time one of the bills I worked on with Kevin Burke the DA,
was to have an open communication between the schools and the
police, I think people assume that if a kid is causing trouble at
school that they are not causing trouble on the outside. We need
to keep better track of young people and pull them out of harms
way. That’s why I think things like the Boy’s Club,
head start, the YMCA, the YWCA are important to give kids an
alternative to do that. Another program we are doing here in
Lawrence is, Youth Tech entrepreneurs. It’s a great program
that takes young people in the city and teaches them how to do
computer programming in Java and HTML. We need more programs like
that."
Tom Duggan: "Let me ask you about residency
because it just seems to keep coming back. Obviously people in
Lawrence want residency. We voted on it, it was one of the reason
Mary Claire Kennedy was thrown out of office. Then this mayor
came in and pushed through a change in the residency requirement.
You walked her bill through the House. Number one, why did you do
that? Number two, how much flack have you taken for it?"
Rep. Finegold: "Sure I’ve taken flack for it
but you have to understand my job, Tommy. Those who try to make
everybody happy, and those who try to blow with the wind
don’t last in this business. I try to be straight with
people and try to do what I think is in the best interest of the
city. This was a home rule petition, the city council supported
it, I know there are a lot of people who want it but I have to go
with what the city council as a whole says they want. I mean if
you want a state takeover telling the city what to do you can
have that, but I just felt the council voted for it and it was my
job to move it forward."
Tom Duggan: "On partial birth abortion, the
American Medical Association has said there is no medical or
health reason to have this specific procedure. Would you support
a bill banning partial birth abortion?"
Rep. Finegold: " No. My problem with that is,
it’s about a woman’s body. First we ban partial birth
and then it’s regular abortion, I’m not saying I’m
for abortion, but it is a woman’s body and I think she has
the right to make that decision. That’s my position."
Tom Duggan: "Let me respectfully disagree with
the argument that it’s a woman’s body. This is a
procedure that is being performed while the baby is being born in
the ninth month. It doesn’t really have anything to do with
a woman’s body, this is where they breach the baby until it
is three quarters of the way out of the womb, stab it in the back
of the neck with no anesthesia and suck the baby’s brain
out, while it is being born. Where do we draw the line?"
Rep. Finegold: "I don’t know how any woman
could do that. But there could be a case some time where the
woman’s in the seventh or eighth month and she’s trying
to deal with it. Like I said, I don’t want to tell a woman
what to do with her own body. I’m not saying I am promoting
abortion or partial birth, but I am a strong believer of
individual freedoms and I just think it’s a woman’s
right to choose."
Tom Duggan: "So at what point do you protect
the life of the baby? Is it after we cut the umbilical
chord?"
Rep. Finegold: "Yeah, I think once it’s out
of the woman’s body."
Tom Duggan: "You mean completely out? Because
at this point the baby is three quarters of the way out."
Rep. Finegold: "Yeah, I hope that a woman
wouldn’t do that and realize that there are so many families
that are out there to adopt."
