34th Middlesex District: Sciortino: Confident of sticker campaign win
Medford Transcript, by Nell Escobar Coakley
Aug 27, 2008
It's a sunny Thursday afternoon as Carl Sciortino slides into the seat of a Medford Square eatery and orders iced coffee. Despite running for a third term as the city's representative in the 34th Middlesex District via a sticker/write-in campaign, he seems relaxed.
"It's great just to be able to sit," the Medford resident says. "My feet really appreciate the rest. I've been knocking on a lot of doors in the district." And the response, he adds, has been incredible.
"It's been a tough campaign, but the response has been strong at the door," he says. "I'm glad to be hearing that on the ground."
It's been a tough several months for Sciortino, who earlier this year left certified voter signatures in his State House office and later reported several pages missing. Sciortino then petitioned the courts to be placed on the Sept. 16 primary ballot, but was denied.
He is now running a sticker/write-in campaign against challenger Bob Trane, a former Somerville alderman.
"I accept full responsibility for that," he says of the fiasco. "I don't know if you could say that I was angry about it. I wanted to see what our options were to get on the ballot. We pursued them, but in the end we're running a sticker campaign." But it hasn't made the 30-year-old nervous or anxious.
"This campaign has been a lot of work, especially since it's required a lot of organization and one-on-one conversations with voters," he says. "I think I've proved over the past four years that I've worked hard, whether it was issues at the State House or in the community."
Sciortino says unlike four years ago when, as a challenger facing long-time incumbent Vincent Ciampa, he now has a solid voting record to stand on and has made important relationships across the district.
"It's very similar to that campaign," he says of 2004. "We ran a strong field campaign, like now, and had a strong presence at the polls. I think the only difference is my record and the stickers."
Sciortino says he's focused on talking issues with voters and feels the key issues across the district seem to be the Green Line expansion and the economy.
"The Green Line is a priority in both communities," he says. "In the last couple of years, people have really started to come out and have their say."
Additionally, the Connecticut native highlights the ongoing need for local aid as a priority. Although Medford was hard hit in 2003 and 2004, Sciortino says he's made Chapter 70 funding over the past four years a must and pushed for increases.
"It's why the city's seen more money come in," he says of his efforts. "The other piece, though, is looking for funding for education. It's why I really took a lead role in closing corporate tax loopholes. We secured $300 million with less than a half dozen reps, taking on the House leadership and special interest groups."
Sciortino counts the tax loophole closure as his biggest accomplishment in four years because it effects the state's bottom line and retains services for every resident in the commonwealth.
With constituents in both Medford and Somerville struggling economically, Sciortino says he's been keeping a close eye on finding initiatives that will hopefully help.
"Everyone is being squeezed in a very painful way," he says. "Come winter, it will be a huge challenge for all families. It's not just the lower income families, a lot of middle class families will be hurt. That's why we're looking for more fuel assistance and passing legislation dealing with energy."
But don't forget all the quality of life issues he feels are also important. Sciortino counts $1.6 million for South Medford transportation improvements and $2 million for the renovation of Foss Park as issues which effect the day-to-day lives of residents in not only the district, but across the two cities.
Sciortino emphasizes when he wins in September -- there is currently no Republican candidate on the November ballot -- he has his agenda set on finding a way to correct some of the deficit issues surrounding the MBTA.
"I think you'll be seeing more reports in the fall on the T's financial situation," he explains. "The state Legislature has to take some sort of action. There's no way around it. I think long-time and new users to the T see that there is a lack of maintenance and every rider is experiencing problems.
"I take the T every day and I'm right there with my constituents waiting for the bus that doesn't come or the train that gets stuck in the tunnel," he continues. "We're back in session in January and assuming it's not a mild winter, my first action will be to fund fuel assistance and look at the T."
When pressed about his future should he lose, Sciortino takes a sip of coffee and smiles.
"I'm confident I will win," he says. "That's where my focus is and where it has to be in this campaign."