State rep. candidates make their pitches

With the state primary less than two weeks away, candidates spoke on the issues in Edgartown.

Islanders gathered at Edgartown library on Wednesday evening to meet the two Democrats running to be the next state representative to push for the Vineyard’s needs at Beacon Hill. 

Arielle Faria of West Tisbury and Thomas Moakley of Falmouth are running to take the seat vacated by outgoing State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, who is campaigning to become the state senator representing parts of the Cape and Plymouth County. With no Republicans in the race, the winner in the Sept. 3rd primary between Moakley and Faria will go on to claim the seat.

The two candidates answered voters’ questions during a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Martha’s Vineyard. 

“It is critical for us to be educated for democracy to work,” Bob Laskowski, the league’s forum moderator, said. 

Here’s some of what the voters heard from the candidates. 

On Beacon Hill

One voter asked Faria and Moakley, who would be newcomers to Beacon Hill, how they would push for their district’s needs in an unproductive state legislature. 

As someone who has worked on the ongoing effort to get housing initiatives passed for Martha’s Vineyard, Faria said that the legislative process can be very slow. She said it will be imperative to establish relationships with legislators from parts of the state outside of the Cape and Islands, to educate them about and encourage them to understand the region’s needs. 

“We are not just an affluent community,” Faria said. “We need resources, we deserve resources. Oftentimes, we have to fight for them.” 

Moakley said the state legislature suffered from structural issues, and worked off a calendar dating back to when state politicians arrived at Beacon Hill via horse and buggy. 

“Not only has Massachusetts passed the least amount of legislation nationwide, but in the Massachusetts legislature itself, there have been more bills introduced than ever, and fewer considered on the floor than ever,” he said. 

Moakley pushed for bringing changes to how the local representative office was run, such as publicly posting committee and floor votes for more transparency, and supporting State House speaker candidates who also have a vision for structural change. 

Both candidates emphasized a need to connect and listen to their constituents. 

They also discussed what committees in the house they would like to sit on, which reflected the issues they wanted to tackle. Moakley said he wants to be a part of the climate change committee, judiciary committee, and regional municipal governance committee. Faria said she wants to join the joint committee on housing, and the climate change committee. 

As to the question of where the state budget could cut some fat, Moakley didn’t have an answer, but said some current programs may be underfunded, which he said coincided with holding public officials accountable to properly serve their constituents. 

For Faria, it was simple: the police. 

“We spend too much money on policing, and not enough on helping people,” she said, saying more funding was needed in places like the healthcare system and education. 

Improvements needed at the Steamship Authority 

The Steamship Authority has been a hot-button issue on the Island as of late, stemming from numerous recent cancellations caused by mechanical issues and crew shortages. Many people have been clamoring for improvements, frustrated at the deterioration of services. 

Faria said this was “tricky,” but it will take some work to address the various issues at the ferry line, including meeting employees’ needs.

She also said more oversight might be needed, to ensure more voices are brought to the table regarding the ferry line’s operations. But she encouraged residents to come together to advocate for better services. 

“There are many places with ferries … doing it successfully, and not putting [people’s] livelihoods and safety at risk,” Faria said. 

Moakley said the Steamship Authority’s autonomy was meant to keep it safe from political whims in Boston, but there are ways for state legislators to influence the ferry line, like when the Enabling Act needs to be occasionally updated for the bond process. 

But he raised issues with a lack of long-term planning at the Steamship, and noted that a local coffee shop seems to have a better-functioning reservation system than “our regional transit lifeline.” He also shared an anecdote that first-responder friends of his had difficulty leaving the Island on Tuesday while on duty, and were told to come back the next day. Further raising the public safety concern, he said there were four ambulances in the standby line when these first responders were turned away. 

“The current service, or lack thereof, is unacceptable,” Moakley said. 

Renewable energy still path forward

When a Vineyard Wind turbine blade fractured, the Cape and Islands were alarmed by the debris that fell into the water. Most of the fiberglass and foam that was found on land washed ashore on Nantucket, but some of the debris eventually reached Vineyard shores. 

In particular, officials and community members were outraged by the slow communication response from Vineyard Wind, and an unsatisfactory explanation so far on why the incident even occurred. Local officials first heard of the turbine blade breaking two days after the fact. 

Both of the candidates had similar stances regarding the incident: Vineyard Wind must be held accountable, but renewable energy is still the path forward. 

Moakley said he was very disappointed by Vineyard Wind’s “abuse of trust” toward Cape and Island communities, saying getting transparency from the company would be a priority of his. However, he also said he was disappointed that the real impact from the debris helped fuel the “bogus” claims made by opponents of offshore wind farms.

Faria said lines of communications will need to be open with Vineyard Wind — which she said needs to be held accountable, and to be more transparent about the incident — to know ahead of time for potential risks. She also said they’ll need to pay close attention to what caused the blade fracture, because renewable energy development may need to make adjustments depending on the conclusions, to keep the oceans cleaner.

Addressing growing development on the Vineyard

The census in 2020 showed Dukes County’s population had grown by 25 percent, and towns like Oak Bluffs are planning for the possibility of even further growth, which means more construction projects on the Island to meet demand. But some are concerned this may be contributing to detrimental environmental impacts, like clear-cutting trees. 

Moakley said key issues here were climate change and sustainability, which he said are interconnected with every issue they are dealing with. 

“As much as our economy is suffering, we need to always be mindful of the health of the land itself in order to be sustainable not only in the next five years, but in the next 100 years,” he said, adding that these issues are disproportionately impacting the next generation. He said the issue will be a part of his policy and budgetary priorities if he becomes a state representative. 

He also pointed to the capacity study that was commissioned by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which will look at the amount of development the Island’s resources can handle. 

Faria agreed the study’s data will be beneficial moving forward, but also pointed to a need to look more locally. 

“As state representatives, we are meant to help guide the municipalities in planning as well for capacity issues,” she said. 

West Tisbury held a visioning session to determine what direction the town should go in for development, among other matters. Faria, who was a part of the visioning committee, said a future for the town that is friendlier for cyclists and pedestrians was a key goal. She said reducing the reliance on automobile-centered infrastructure was doable, and fundable, for the different towns in the district. 

Various issues to consider as primary nears

There were other issues raised during the forum that the candidates felt should be tackled by the state legislature. 

Faria and Moakley said a stronger push was needed to make the Cape and Islands more sustainable for small businesses; and they advocated for efforts to help older residents live and age comfortably in the region. 

On education, Faria said it was important to properly allocate resources for the state’s various public school districts and give teachers the resources they need to thrive. Faria was also against the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test, commonly known as MCAS, because she felt it was an inadequate method of measuring how schools were performing. Moakley said there are some programs helping families and students, but underscored that the state’s secondary education department tends to put forward standards without the proper support for schools to improve. He said the current departmental system needs improvements, as the responsibility for change often falls on the schools.

Regarding the opioid epidemic that ravaged the country, Faria said this was a multi-tiered issue that can be addressed better by meeting people’s basic needs, like housing and healthcare. She said meeting these needs can help with mental health issues, and also support reducing people’s usage. Moakley, who said he has lost several Falmouth High School classmates to the epidemic, pointed to the recovery court program he helped establish on the Vineyard, emphasizing a need to treat struggling individuals “like human beings.” 

If you missed the forum and want to watch it in full, a recording is available on MVTV. 

The state primary is on Sept. 3, and early voting began on August 24 on the Vineyard.