LYNN — Lynn Community Television hosted a candidate forum on Monday for voters to become more acquainted with 11th Essex District state-representative candidates City Councilor-at-Large Hong Net and School Committee member Sean Reid before the Democratic primary on Sep. 3.
The forum was moderated by former Councilor-at-Large Joseph Scanlon, who gave each candidate 90 seconds to answer both pre-submitted questions from the community and questions that were generated by LCTV.
The 11th Essex District includes Nahant and Precinct 3 of Ward 4, Precincts 1, 2, and 4 of Ward 5, and Wards 6 and 7 of Lynn. The seat is currently held by Rep. Peter Capano, who is retiring.
The forum kicked off with a question about climate change and keeping the coasts surrounding the district clean.
Reid said the first step is to address the damage that has already been done and maintain the retaining walls. He added that the state needs to electrify its public-transit system and add more solar-energy options, rather than rely on non-renewable sources.
Net described climate change as a very serious issue and said that King’s Beach needs $2 million in funding for maintenance. If he were a state representative, he said, he would advocate for that funding.
The next section of the forum brought Net and Reid into a discussion about affordable housing and retaining residents in the state.
Net said the cost of living in Massachusetts has become very expensive, and added that people are moving out of the state.
He said he would work to make sure there is more open space to build affordable housing.
“And as a state representative, we can do a lot more by working with an organization, with the city,” Net said.
Reid said the issue was personal to him, as he had lived in a shelter previously. He said the state needs to improve its zoning laws, bring in new tax revenue that it can give to cities and towns for affordable housing, and preserve deed-restricted housing.
“We also have to think about the conditions, because so many people are desperate and they stay in bad apartments because they have to,” Reid said.
Both candidates were then asked their opinion on rent control.
“People cannot afford $2,000 for rent,” Net said.
After 30 years of rent control being banned in Massachusetts, Net said the state must revisit the policy.
“Rent control is always a good thing,” he added.
Reid said there is a “community obligation” to implement a rent-control policy and added that he supports a policy that would allow cities and towns to make their own decisions.
He added that rent control does not “solve the supply and demand root cause” of economic instability, but keeps people in their homes.
“And that’s what people really need right now,” Reid said.
Another issue brought up during the forum was how the state can improve health care.
Net acknowledged the high cost of health care is an issue, to the point that he does not even want to go to the doctor himself.
“It’s not very easy, but there’s always a solution that we can work on, as long as we are persistent about it. And we have to think about our residents first, and our seniors,” he said.
Reid said Massachusetts needs Medicare for all, which he said everyone would benefit from.
He added that the state needs to continue to support Lynn Community Health Center.
“We need to continue to support their model, listen to them, because everything they touch turns to gold,” Reid said.
At the end of the forum, Scanlon asked Reid and Net to share their priorities for the district.
Reid said that outside of his priorities of improving education, transportation, and affordable housing, he wants to focus on expanding access to mental-health and substance-use care, particularly by requiring insurance providers to cover mental-health screenings for residents.
“There are so many people struggling across this district that I talk to every single day, and enough is enough,” he said.
Net said Lynn and Nahant are both places with great potential.
He said his priorities are to invest in vocational education and build better schools, small businesses, and hospitals.
“We have so many potential people in our district, and we just need to find resources for them,” Net said. “Many people come from all over the world, and they bring skill, education, and many things that they can offer to our district. So let’s help them.”
