With the State Primary Election quickly approaching on Tuesday, Sept. 3, four candidates running to be the new face of the 3rd Bristol and Plymouth senate district made their pitch to voters and gave their take on affordable housing, state aid for smaller communities, immigration and support for local businesses.

The 3rd Bristol and Plymouth senate district includes Wareham as well as Berkley, Carver, Dighton, Middleboro, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Taunton and Marion.

Since 1992, the seat has been held by long-time senator Marc Pacheco, who announced this year that he would not be seeking reelection. 

Candidates running include Republican Taunton City Councilor Kelly Dooner, former Raynham Select Board member Jim Dupont, who is running as an Independent; and following the results of the Tuesday, Sept. 3 Democratic Primary, either Raynham Select Board member Joe Pacheco or Taunton City Councilor Barry Sanders. 

The four candidates made their pitch to the public at an online forum hosted by the Cranberry Country Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Aug. 29. 

Sanders is a social worker and educator who wants to make housing affordable and ensure veterans are housed. 

Pacheco is a 17-year member of the Raynham Select Board who said he understands the issues of the district’s communities because he has always dealt with the same issues. 

Dooner is a Taunton City Councilor who said she wants to establish a small business bill of rights and make Massachusetts more affordable. 

Dupont has served on the Raynham Select Board and the Bridgewater-Raynham school committee and had a radio show in Taunton for four years. He is focused on property taxes and ensuring communities receive as much funding as possible from the state. 

When asked how he would ensure that smaller towns get their fair share of support from the state, Sanders said that if elected “one of my major priorities as a senator is to bring every dollar possible into the district…We need a loud and enthusiastic voice to make sure folks in the district are not forgotten.”

Dupont said that “local aid should not be defined as ‘Here is what’s left.’” 

“It should be fair, it should be consistent and it should be reliable,” he added. 

Dooner said she believes the state has a major spending problem. 

“I would like to see smaller classroom sizes, I would like to see more money for our schools,” she said. “Every community deserves their fair share of funding.”

Pacheco said he has had to deal with managing local aid as a member of the Raynham Select Board. He said that his first step would be to “[fix] the formula” that determines how local aid is distributed. 

“As state senator I will advocate to make sure our cities and towns have a voice and are empowered to make decisions that allow them to maximize their dollars,” said Pacheco. 

Candidates also offered their views on the lack of affordable housing in the 3rd Bristol and Plymouth district. 

“I think that as long as local towns have the tools they need to manage growth, particularly residential growth, they can add housing stock and housing that is in the affordable and lower cost range,” said Dupont. “The best thing to do is to make sure that the process of adding housing stock is interactive and involves the whole community. 

Dooner said that the city of Taunton has been able to lower its tax rate each year. She added that an appraisal freeze is in dire need. 

“It is something I am looking into,” she said.“I don’t know if it can happen here in Massachusetts but I’m going to do everything in my power to try to find a way to make sure it does.”

Pacheco pointed to his record leading a non-profit counseling agency that helped sell vacant homes to first time home buyers at affordable prices.

“I’m the candidate in the race who has actually created affordable housing,” said Pacheco.“These are programs that need to continue to happen.” 

Sanders said that he has been a “staunch” advocate for affordable housing. 

“We’re always going to have tension around open space and building housing…We do better using abandoned properties and property that the city doesn’t need anymore,” said Sanders. 

On immigration, candidates agreed that the federal government needs to take a stand to solve the problem. 

Pacheco called for “pushing federal delegations to take meaningful action on immigration reform.”

Sanders, along similar lines, said he would start with “pressing the feds to do their job.” He said that having conversations about housing capacities and how capacities are used could be had. 

“The immigration is a federal matter,” said Dupont. “The government simply has to take control of the border.” 

Dooner said that, if elected, she intends to propose legislation to address the issue of immigration. 

“I have filed twelve public records requests regarding safety issues,” she said, adding  that she intends to prioritize amending the Right to Shelter law. 

Lastly, candidates answered a question about their support for local business and assisting with a workforce shortage. 

Dooner, who said her husband owns a small business, explained that passing a “small business bill of rights” is among her top priorities. 

She noted cutting “hefty” registration fees as a goal of hers as well as developing a “task force” to help new business owners jump through hurdles. 

“I’m ready to make sure they have resources at their disposal,” said Dooner. 

Pacheco said he has been involved with chambers of commerce for around 20 years. 

“What I would do as a senator is make sure our three chambers have regular access to me as senator,” he said. “As senator I would like to work collaboratively with the chambers to make sure I have an understanding of what the businesses, especially our small, locally owned businesses need and want.”

Sanders noted that businesses pay the “lion's share” of taxes in communities. 

“We need to make sure there is return on investment,” he said. 

Sanders said that ensuring infrastructure is sound and electric rates are low will help small businesses. 

“We also need to do a better job of cutting unnecessary expenses,” said Sanders, who said he has had to approve of businesses getting a pool table license as Taunton City Councilor. 

“That’s just got to go,” he said. “I’m gunning for that on day one … We’re going to look at other ways to trim unnecessary requirements.”

Dupont called business owners the “backbone” of a town’s economy. 

“You can’t keep asking them to pay more,” he said. “I would look at and entertain any input from businesses.”