Candidates square off in event at Towson University
Republican Kevin Carney and Democratic incumbent Jim Brochin gave as good as they got during the forum Oct. 20 that featured the two candidates vying for the 42nd District seat in the State Senate.
Carney, a retired general contractor with a law degree, claimed that Annapolis has been spending like “drunken sailors” during these tough economic times.
Brochin, a small business owner who has served in the Senate eight years, snapped back that he wasn’t a member of that “tax and spend” crew.
Brochin had a reputation for being “ineffective” in Annapolis and was voted “the second least influential senator” by his colleagues, Carney claimed.
Brochin countered with his accomplishments: casting the deciding vote on stem cell research, making liquor licenses available for smaller dining establishments in downtown Towson and securing funding for the new West Towson Elementary School and for air conditioning for Ridgely Middle School and “a host of other things.”
Carney would not support a change in the minimum wage — history has shown time and time again that it just increases unemployment, he said. It’s one of the reasons Maryland has a high unemployment rate.
“Tell that to the mom who is working two jobs to support her family,” Brochin said in response.
Carney claimed that Brochin’s business-friendly rating was low, while Brochin claimed his votes were business-friendly unless it involved damage to the environment.
The rebukes and retorts and the few moments of accord kept things lively in the Minnegan Room at Towson University at the event sponsored by the university, Towson Chamber of Commerce, Greater Towson Council of Community Associations and The Towerlight and Towson Times newspapers.
In the midst of ads, mailings and flyers, the forum offered the public an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates themselves as they dealt with questions posed by representatives of the sponsoring organization and by members of the audience.
For the most part, the evening gave prospective voters a clear choice: Brochin and Carney disagreed on how they would resolve key problems.
But voters didn’t have to choose between them when it came to certain issues.
In order to produce more jobs both would create an environment more friendly to small businesses by changing the tax structure and reducing excessive regulations.
Brochin wouldn’t raise college tuition; Carney thinks it shouldn’t be necessary. Both would support a bill that would make text books tax-exempt, but Carney said he wouldn’t go for it unless he could find the money it produces elsewhere, starting with the state budget, which is “riddled with pork,” he said.
Both believe the way to deal with the $35 billion the state lacks to fund state employee retirees’ pensions and medical benefits is a totally different system for new hires and graduated changes for existing employees depending on length of service.
Both men see the state budget as the biggest problem and believe the state has to cut spending — and in relation to that, stop raiding the Maryland Transportation Fund to pay for other projects.
Carney advocates legislators taking a stand and rejecting a state budget because they disagreed with some of the line items or because it reflected “an addiction to spending.”
It will require tough decisions but “we have to live within our means,” Brochin said.
But it is what they don’t agree on that could be the issue in the voting booth Nov. 2:
Brochin doesn’t think developers should continue to get tax credits.
The tens of millions of dollars involved should go toward making higher education affordable instead.
But Carney pointed out some of those credits are for saving historical properties and architectural treasures.
Jut like the aid to private college that Carney favors, it is a good program but “we can’t afford it,” Brochin said.
Brochin supports the county zoning law that limits tenancy to two unrelated adults in rental houses as a protective measure to prevent the neighborhoods surrounding TU from being even more overrun with college students.
Instead Carney would provide more capital funding for more student housing on campus, but also make sure there is more housing available for students in nearby neighborhoods, including the downtown area.
Carney said TU has to grow.
“It’s a $300 million plus vital economic engine and you won’t have revitalization unless you grow,” he said.
Brochin said college students keep different hours than neighborhood people and the neighborhoods already have more than they can handle.
When it comes to revitalizing downtown Towson, Brochin cited the need to get directly involved with local issues involving state bureaucracy, for example liquor licenses and bus stops that generate havoc on the streets when Towson Town Center mall closes, he said.
Carney would see more infrastructure developed to solve the parking problem, better transportation and more attention paid to public safety.
Brochin wants to give community associations legal standing in Maryland Courts, instead of having individuals take the risk when they are dealing with developers who usually have the financial advantage and are able to hired formidable lawyers.
Carney is against the measure, saying it is anti-business, and that the development process is fair and transparent.
“But developers have given tens of millions of dollars to politicians, which is anything but fair,” Brochin said.
Carney said that Brochin himself was among those politicians.
Brochin would lower the personal tax rate to help struggling families. Carney would lower the corporate income tax rate so that Maryland can compete with neighboring states, and businesses can produce the increase in jobs that struggling families need.
Carney concluded by saying he has achieved results during his entire career and would be committed to working for the district.
“It’s an issue of competence and effectiveness,” he said.
Brochin said the Senate needs a leader like himself who is “independent and not ideologically bound.”
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