Republican state Senate candidate Burr shares discontent of local voters

As he looks ahead to his showdown with state Senator Brian A. Joyce in the upcoming statewide election, Canton Selectman Bob Burr, the Republican nominee for the Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth Senate seat, believes his biggest advantage lies with the discontent of the average voter.

This particular brand of discontent, which Burr describes as a combination of frustration and fear, is precisely the feeling that Burr himself has experienced for some time now — and he sees November 2 as the perfect opportunity to do something about it.

“People are worried,” Burr said in a recent telephone interview. “They’re worried about losing their jobs; they’re worried about losing their homes.”

While Burr attributes much of the recent anti-incumbent fervor to a “disconnect” between the Obama administration and the average citizen, particularly as it relates to health care, he also sees plenty of instances where that disconnect exists at the state level, where longtime politicians such as Joyce continue to support policies and programs that run contrary to the needs of the municipalities they serve.

For example, Burr said he has witnessed firsthand as a selectman the negative impacts of the affordable housing law, known as Chapter 40B, and is therefore planning to vote yes on ballot Question 2, which proposes an outright repeal of the law.

Burr said Chapter 40B, besides overburdening already cash-strapped school systems and police and fire departments, “takes away local zoning authority and replaces it with state-level zoning.” He added that the housing developments that are built — such as the 200-unit Roseland project slated for construction on the Randolph town line — over-saturate the market with surplus housing, while the so-called “affordable” units, because of the way the law is structured, remain unaffordable to the residents who are most in need.

What’s more, Burr said the majority of voters he has spoken with throughout the district are opposed to the law, whereas Joyce, who for years has served on the influential Joint Committee on Housing, remains a strong supporter.

“I think he’s fighting a losing argument on that score,” Burr said, referring to his opponent’s position on Question 2.

Burr said the “biggest thing [voters] can do to make housing more affordable in this state is to reduce the cost of state government,” which is why he also plans to support ballot questions 1 and 3.

Question 1 seeks to eliminate the new sales tax on alcohol and Question 3 seeks a rollback of the state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent; however, in both cases, Burr believes the lower taxes would promote economic expansion and add desperately needed jobs to the state.

While he would have preferred a rollback to 5 percent and even called the 3 percent proposal “unfortunate,” Burr did pledge, if elected, to honor the “will of the people” regardless of their decision.

Generally speaking, he said he views tax cuts not in terms of what the government stands to lose, but what the private sector — which includes businesses as well as consumers — stands to gain.

“Americans are compassionate people,” he said. “I think they’re willing to pay for [government] services, but from my experience in public service, there’s never a shortage of ideas to spend additional tax money on.”

Burr also supports a rollback because he believes the state can afford one. For instance, he would work to further consolidate existing state agencies and would promote the use of digital technology to “accomplish more with less people.” He also supports further pension reforms and term limits for elected officials, including senators and representatives.

At the same time, Burr said one of his top campaign pledges is to restore power to local communities, and he would oppose all further cuts to local aid. He would also fight to end “unfunded” state mandates, such as the Quinn bill, which raises the salaries of police officers who obtain criminal justice degrees but requires municipalities to pick up half of the tab.

In addition, Burr supports giving municipalities health care plan design, which would allow cities and towns to control health care costs without requiring the approval of local employees’ unions — a power that the state already has over its own employees. Burr also mentioned the need for more “regulation relief” to further streamline the local permitting process in order to attract more businesses.

Despite his many concerns, Burr said he has not lost faith in the political process, nor does he question the potential for Massachusetts to grow and thrive. He does, however, view the current system as unsustainable, and he considers himself the candidate most likely to restore not only power, but also jobs and hard-earned dollars, back to the people of this district.

“I think those rosy [economic] figures you’re hearing [from Joyce] are inconsistent with what I’ve seen from going door to door, and the good news is I think the electorate understands that,” Burr said.

“Fortunately, people have the ability to tweak the direction of government every two years — it’s a terrific check and balance.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Oct 21 2010. Filed under Features, News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.