Lynn candidates make pitch for state House seat

LYNN – A career politician, a non-politician and a self-proclaimed champion of the elderly each made their case for the 11th Essex District state House seat during Wednesday’s Mass Senior Action candidate’s forum.Emceed by Elisabeth Daley from Mass Senior Action, more than 100 residents from Lynn and Nahant turned out to hear Councilor at large Brendan Crighton, School Committee member and local attorney Charlie Gallo and local activist Katerina Koudanis argue why they are best suited to fill the seat left vacant by Steven Walsh.With nine years as an aide to state Sen. Thomas McGee and four years on City Council, Crighton’s challengers essentially defined him as a career politician while declaring they are not.”My goal is to be an architect and to one day raise a family, I am not a career politician,” said Koudanis. “I am running to fight corruption, I have no strings attached to anyone. I am not a puppet.”Gallo echoed Koudanis when he said, “I, too, am not a career politician.”A teacher and a lawyer specializing in elder law, Gallo said he bagged groceries and worked at McDonald’s and will act on the best interest of his constituents if elected.Gallo also took the opportunity to twice point out that Crighton recently voted to increase the mayor’s pay and in doing so doubled his own salary. Crighton let the remark slip by unanswered only once.Crighton said he knew when he voted to increase Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy’s salary from $82,000 to $145,000 that there might be political consequences, but he stands by his vote. The city cannot take itself seriously when the chief operating officer makes less than 400 of her employees, he said.”This also makes her salary comparable to the two males who held the job previously,” he added.When asked to lay out their priorities, Koudanis listed fixing government, making it more open and transparent, job equality and transportation. Gallo listed public education, jobs and senior citizens as his priorities, and Crighton said education, infrastructure and economic development.With his background as an attorney working with the elderly and elder issues, Gallo said he is the only one with enough real world experience to call himself a champion of elder law.Crighton argued that an expanded tax base and economic development would lead to increased revenues that would continue to provide the kind of services on which seniors depend.All three called the closure of Union Hospital unacceptable, and Gallo and Crighton said they would fight to maintain services, but Koudanis noted she is already on the ground floor.”I’m not going to say ?no, this cannot be saved,'” she said. “I have organized a grassroots movement to save the hospital.”She has also filed a complaint with a number of state agencies asking for monetary redress over the old Lynn Hospital, which was closed nearly 20 years ago, and unfairly so, she said.Each candidate also said they would fight to keep subsidies in place that would protect affordable housing in King’s Lynne specifically aimed at seniors, support ballot questions regarding earned sick time and patient safety and work to improve transportation needs and health care coverage for seniors.All three also said they would vote to support casinos but for slightly different reasons. Koudanis admitted she is not a fan but would vote with her constituents. However, she would like to make sure the wealthy aren’t the only ones benefitting from such an operation.Gallo said he supported casinos because they bring jobs, tax revenue and licensing fees that can be reinvested in the community.Crighton looked to the transportation angle and the fact that improved roads come as a condition of any casino deal.While his challengers painted him as a career politician, Crighton said it makes him uniquely qualified to hit the ground running if elected.”For the past nine years I haven’t just talked about (change), I’ve been at the table making decisions,” he said. “I know how to do this job.”Koudan