No surprises in final Lynn mayoral debate

LYNN – By most accounts, the final mayoral debate Friday morning between incumbent Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. and challenger Judith Flanagan Kennedy was a sleeper in a race that has had its contentious moments.Both candidates methodically answered nine questions, which they had been provided days in advance by the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce (LACC), sponsor of the event at the Porthole Pub.The questions related to jobs, parking, public safety, permits and licensing, communication between City Hall and the business community, property taxes, fostering a relationship between city agencies and the LACC, public library funding and the city’s image.Each candidate was allowed three minutes per question as well as a five-minute closing statement at the end of the debate. As expected, Clancy emphasized his Democratic party affiliation as the ticket to obtaining government grants, his enforcement of the city’s residency requirement for municipal employees, roll back of bar hours, regulation of the downtown homeless shelter and soup kitchen, and creation of the Inspectional Services Department to streamline permits. He also took credit for bringing National Grid to the negotiating table, resulting in an agreement to relocate Lynnway power lines to make way for waterfront development.Clancy said extending the Blue Line rapid transit rail from Revere to Lynn will make Lynn a destination city while redevelopment of the harborfront is key to a sound economic future.Kennedy stayed true to her belief that workers should not be told where to live. Unlike Clancy, Kennedy said Lynn residents should not wait for the Blue Line to bring prosperity because that might not become a reality for many years. She urged residents to support feasible projects that can be more easily accomplished. “Waiting for the Blue Line to get here is not the solution,” she said.Although Clancy cited crime reduction based on his rollback of bar hours, Kennedy said the city needs more police officers. She also criticized the decision to eliminate the Police Department’s bicycle patrol, which at one time brought officers into the downtown, the Commons and the Highlands where they became familiar with area residents.Clancy vowed not to increase property taxes. “The last place I’m going to go is property taxes,” he said. “They’re regressive and they stifle growth.”Kennedy, too, said now is not the time to place additional financial burden on residential property owners. The mayor said he balanced the fiscal 2010 budget with no police or fire layoffs despite a reduction in state aid. Cutting municipal costs is typically done by taking from police, fire or public works budgets, what he described as “the three big pots,” rather than by trimming smaller items. Kennedy disagreed, saying supplies ordered by individual departments is costly and wasteful. She urged City Hall to adopt central purchasing. Earlier this year, her list of proposed budget cuts – mostly minor items that amounted to more than $250,000 – was rejected by the City Council.The candidates’ differences again emerged after Clancy said the pending power line relocation and waterfront development would create 9,000 jobs. Kennedy countered by noting Boston’s Big Dig, among the world’s largest construction projects, required only 5,000 workers. The two sparred briefly over Kennedy’s vote as a city councilor in favor of a methadone clinic off the Lynnway. Clancy said such a facility need not be located in the city. Kennedy said the zoning ordinance drafted to prohibit the clinic was unconstitutional and, since it would not have been upheld by the courts, there was no sense in voting for it. Like her, Clancy is a lawyer and was keenly aware of the legal circumstances, she said.The issue of gender equity in city departments also produced a minor clash. Clancy said the city has women serving as city clerk, associate public works director, health director, school superintendent and Lynn’s first female firefighter. Kenned