Towns and Cities Under Siege
Throughout my time in Agawam, I have seen the community divided in entirely too many ways over the nearly endless onslaught of ill-advised monstrous development projects. Over the years, the Town of Agawam was saddled with an incinerator, rebuffed a river-boat casino, became saddled with an inefficient power plant, and finally rebuffed a major big box shopping complex. The towns of Russell and Barre both are being rattled by the prospects of a bio-mass power plant; the residents of Holyoke are struggling to fend off the virtual sale of their sewer system to the monstrous conglomerate, Aquarion; and communities throughout all of Massachusetts are struggling to fend off an onslaught of big box shops, often without the cooperation of their very own elected officials.
Huge corporations have been attempting to re-write community zoning codes and various ordinances under the pretense that properties (as corporations in fact are) somehow constitute actual persons with every right to supplant the role of the people in petitioning government. Often, their lobbying campaigns of Mayors and other public officials is such that the fix is in long before municipalities actually schedule any public hearings on their machinations. It is long past time for community governance to be restored to community residents, rather than put in the service of invaders whose interests often do not at all coincide with the best interests of the communities concerned. Genuine sustainable development is always a community directed, and community fostered, enterprise.
I 100% Oppose the Biomass Plant
Russell Biomass LLC not only has no business attempting to re-write the laws of the Town of Russell, it has no business even being in Russell. I support the campaigns of the Concerned Citizens of Russell, and recognize the project as a major threat to not only Russell residents, but also to both of our beloved rivers and air quality for the whole entire Pioneer Valley. The project would spew more than 1600 tons of major pollutants into the very air we breathe, it would on a daily basis remove 800,000 gallons of water from a river that already has been experiencing an unprecedented series of episodes of drought, and it could not by law be prevented from burning construction and demolition waste if it is constructed. We live in a valley that already has a huge ozone pollution problem.
I Support 40B Reform, and 40Q Repeal
I solidly support an Act Relative to Reforming Chapter 40B filed in November last year by state senator Richard T. Moore to require more state and federal agency oversight, increase the percentage of required affordable housing unites in 40B projects, limit 40B developments profits to 20% as had originally been intended, and limit the variances a 40B developer can seek with regards to lot size and density requirements. I will work to prevent 40B units from reverting to market rate, and help restore community direction over such developments. Chapter 40B must no longer be used as a weapon by developers extorting support from communities for denser market rate development, when they themselves are short-changing affordable units and shielding high profits from public oversight.
I deplore Chapter 40Q, which permits use of eminent domain in order to facilitate the legalized theft of your homes and your land for the profit of the real estate developer lobby. The law permits for municipal authorities an opportunity to reward well-connected developers with deep pockets among their campaign contributors with the very things that you, their constituents, have worked hard all of your lives to gain. If ever there was a law to facilitate the sale and purchase of public officials, it is this one - a law so terrible that it is quite beyond reform, and absolutely must be revoked for the sake of us all immediately.
I Shall Resist the Privatization of Natural Resources
I support H. 1333, the Public Water Preservation Bill to ban the privatization of sewer services and water services in our communities; I'm steadfast in opposition to the Jones-Stanley bill to privatize public lands; and I support S. 359 allowing for no net loss of Article 97 lands. I would oppose legislation allowing "expedited permitting", work towards ending the practice of 99 year leases, and work towards ensuring that reuse of public lands is in accordance with local planning. I will stand against any future "fast track auction" laws for public lands, and work towards a stronger Community Preservation Act independent of any property tax surcharge.
Foster Community Rooted Enterprise and Agriculture
We must expand and improve mass transit within the district, and encourage community rooted enterprise with tax credits to small and mid-size local, independent businesses that provide new jobs at living wages and reinvest their profits locally. We should provide a discount on workers compensation insurance for firms with good safety records. We can enhance local agriculture via tax incentives and the creation of dedicated state and municipal markets. I support expansion of funding for conservation and agricultural preservation land acquisition, and urge the speedy processing of agricultural preservation restrictions.
Corporate Personhood is a Problem
Property should never be invested with the same rights afforded human beings in petitioning government and participating in a true democracy. Neither Russell Biomass LLC, nor the National Realty and Development Corporation, should have the same standing as community residents in re-writing community Codes or zoning ordinances. Our very own rights to petition and have grievances redressed by the government ought not be trumped by deeper wallets. I support a Constitutional amendment in Massachusetts to challenge this fiction of corporate personhood, and urge national legislation to reverse First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti. Model ordinances for communities resisting corporate personhood shall be made available at this website, and I very much urge their passage.
Further Resources
Concerned Citizens of Russell
Citizen Advocates for Responsible Development
New Rules Project
Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy
Center for Democracy and the Constitution
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
ReclaimDemocracy.org
Shays 2: The Western Massachusetts Committee on Corporations & Democracy
Owen R. Broadhurst on Google
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