LYNN — Six candidates from three contested ward City Council races were invited, but only two chose to participate in a forum held Wednesday night at the LynnArts Black Box Theater.
The Neighbor to Neighbor-hosted forum focused on candidates for Wards 2, 3 and 4 — as the current councilors for Wards 1, 5, 6 and 7 are running unopposed — with the two who participated, candidate for Ward 3 Coco Alinsug and Ward 4 candidate Natasha Megie-Maddrey, saying they were very disappointed that no one else showed up.
In Ward 2, current Councilor Rick Starbard faces a challenge from Elizabeth Figueroa; Alinsug is challenged by George Meimeteas in the Ward 3 seat that was left vacant when City Council President Darren Cyr opted to run for mayor; and Megie-Maddrey is seeking to unseat longtime Councilor Richard Colucci in Ward 4.
While Figueroa’s absence was explained prior to the start of the forum — she was planning to attend but had a last-minute emergency — no explanations were given for why the other invited candidates could not attend. One of the responses sent in by Figueora, regarding the city’s proposed housing production plan, was read during the forum.
Megie-Maddrey addressed Colucci’s absence in particular, saying that he has been in office for 30 years, but doesn’t have much to show for it.
“Why aren’t you here to defend your record? What are your plans? I want to know what he’s planning on doing,” Megie-Maddrey said. “He’s been in office for 30 years; what have you done and what are you going to do? People keep electing you and it just doesn’t make sense to me. How do you not take this seriously? Why is he not here? Be here, be present.”
For the two candidates that were present, Alinsug encouraged the audience to vote for them both because they will work together with other councilors to better the city and ensure that everyone’s questions are answered and voices are heard.
Both candidates agreed that City Hall doesn’t accurately represent the diversity of the city. To include all community members, Megie-Maddrey said she will organize Ward 4 meetings and monthly newsletters, with translational services available to support people from all backgrounds.
Alinsug echoed this, saying the city should embrace the countless languages that people speak and offer internships and opportunities to bilingual students in City Hall and around the community.
“I’m a team player and I want to listen to everyone,” Alinsug said. “As a ward councilor, it’ll be my obligation to talk to you and hear people.”
Both candidates expressed their support for the All-Lynn Emergency Response Team (ALERT), the newly-formed unarmed crisis response team, saying that they will continue to push for funding for this and will work to incorporate the organizations in the community to support this as well.
Alinsug, Megie-Maddrey and Figueroa said they support Housing Lynn: A Plan for Inclusive Growth, the city’s proposed housing production plan, with all three saying that the rents in the city are too high for residents to afford, which ultimately pushes longtime residents out.
Alinsug reflected on when lived in Los Angeles but couldn’t afford to pay the rent at his apartment, which left him homeless and sleeping out of his car. Since he has experienced this, he said he doesn’t want anyone to have to live like that and will work to prevent it.
Megie-Maddrey said her 22-year-old daughter has been looking for an apartment, but everything is too expensive so she still lives at home. To combat this issue, Megie-Maddrey said she will work to incorporate more programs for young adults to become homeowners to build generational wealth, as well as cracking down on landlords to make sure they are taking care of the buildings they own and ensuring the apartments are safe.
Figueroa said she supports anything that will ensure housing is safe and affordable for Lynn residents.
In regards to infrastructure, Alinsug and Megie-Maddrey agreed that the city needs to do better, in terms of maintaining the streets in all wards.
Megie-Maddrey said that since all residents are paying taxes, the services should be the same across the city and not diminished for the “poorer neighborhoods,” where there tend to be more potholes and streets in worse conditions.
Alinsug said he will make sure he is out in Ward 3 making calls to the Department of Public Works (DPW) when needed, and listening to infrastructure concerns, or any concerns at all, from residents.
The two agreed the city is making positive changes, which they said is reflected by the diversity of the candidates for City Council and School Committee; both said they would bring about positive change.
“We need new faces in the City Council to reflect the city we love,” Alinsug said.
