For the first time in a decade, the state Senate seat that covers much of western Massachusetts is up for grabs. Three Democratic candidates vying for the seat met in Pittsfield Thursday Night for a debate. Rinaldo Del Gallo, Andrea Harrington and Adam Hinds are looking to replace Senator Ben Downing, who is not running for re-election.
Several in the audience of about a hundred got up and left before the 90-minute debate wrapped up. In fairness, it was a long night at Berkshire Community College, with a state representative forum taking place earlier. Or, it could have been due to the fact the three Senate candidates didn’t really mix it up much.
They all agree the wealthy should pay more in taxes. Fielding a question about his call for debt-free, tuition-free college, Del Gallo, a Lenox attorney, said he’d like to see tax rates on the rich increased dramatically, back to levels from many decades ago.
“You’ve got to remember, the highest tax rate was 91 percent,” Del Gallo said. “It’s now 36. So bringing the total federal and state burden up to 80 percent for the super-duper, the Waltons. I think it would work, it would be okay.”
Hinds, who is the head of a North Adams-based social service agency, said the current tax structure is unfair to many.
“Basically, with a flat tax, it’s regressive in the sense that it really impacts those on the lower end of the income scale,” Hinds said. “Ultimately who’s paying the price, but working families trying to secure a future.”
Still Hinds says it is possible that some might choose to move elsewhere if taxes do go up. But Harrington, an attorney from Richmond, doesn’t buy that.
“Massachusetts has led the way on a lot of progressive issues and I think that by having money to pay for our schools and our transportation system and our health care, is going to make this a better place to live and people are going to want to come here,” Harrington said.
And the candidates agreed on many other topics: an increased minimum wage, more green energy in the state and the need for high-speed internet in the rural communities that make up much of this district.
As the three made their final case at the end of the night, Hinds touted his experience working on John Kerry’s presidential bid, as the campaign manager for former Congressman John Olver and overseas with the United Nations. But he circled back to his time with community groups in Berkshire County.
“Whether it was poverty or working on youth development and violence or supporting families and working to create a regional strategy for the heroin epidemic, I’ve already been in the middle of these efforts here in the county and the district,” Hinds said.
Harrington talked about her time in the courtroom and vowed to fight for working families.
“I’m not a politically connected person,” Harrington said. “What I am is a fighter. And 13 years of practicing law has taught me that the experiences of the decision makers really matter to the outcome, whether you’re making legislation or you’re interpreting case law.”
Del Gallo said the Senate district, which spans more than 50 communities and parts of four counties, needs someone with “fire in his gut.” And in one of the few jabs of the night, he called into question Hinds and Harrington’s commitment to the community.
“I’ve been here for 15 years and I’ve been a community leader,” Del Gallo said. “Once of my opponents (Hinds) has been here for two years, the other (Harrington) has been here for ten, but has been pretty invisible.”
Del Gallo also accused the pair of taking similar positions to him on a number of issues, only after he came out on them. He called Harrington and Hinds, the “me-too” kids.
“They never had talked about the $15 minimum wage or the Fair Share Amendment,” Del Gallo said. “And these are the very core things of the Bernie Sanders progressive movement.”
The winner of the September 8th Democratic primary will face Republican Christine Canning in November.