PAX Centurion - March / April 2013

Page 22 • PAX CENTURION • March/April 2013 617-989-BPPA (2772) I n accordance with a motion of the BPPA House of Representatives please find the responses to the BPPA questionnaire sent to each candidate for 1 st Suffolk Massachusetts State Senate seat vacated by Jack Hart of South Boston. The primary is scheduled for April 30 th , the same day as a statewide primary for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the departure of John Kerry. The special election for the State Senate seat is May 28 th , well ahead of the June 25 th date for the U.S. Senate special election. Hart stepped down to take a job at a private law firm. The South Boston Democrat had been seen as a candidate to replace Senate President Therese Murray, who is barred by term limits from serving as president beyond March 2015. Among those hoping to replace Hart are two Democratic State Reps. Nick Collins and Linda Dorcena Forry, plus community organizer and online neighborhood magazine founder Maureen Dahill. Nick Collins and Maureen Dahill answered and returned the BPPA questionnaire and Below are both the questions and their answers. Questions and Answers 1 st Suffolk State Senate candidates respond to BPPA questionnaire 1. The Mass State Police have exclusive jurisdiction in the residential and commercial properties within the Massport section of the Seaport District. The duplication of police services is a waste of taxpayers resources. Recently EOPS has cut State Police units and other MSP resources throughout the Commonwealth. However Mass State Police has increasedMSPpresence in theSeaportDistrict.Massport has created a city within the City of Boston. All other emergency services within this district are supplied by the City of Boston, except policing. This jurisdictional condition has no other comparison in the nation. a. Do you believe that the Boston Police Department should be the primary responder to all 911 calls for police services within the resi- dential and commercial buildings in the Seaport? b. Do you believe Boston Police should be the primary (as normally would be) resource for police services to all residences and businesses throughout the city? Both Collins and Dahill answeredYES. 2. Massachusetts StateTruckingAssociation has undertaken legislative/ lobbying efforts to limit the enforcement of FederalMotorCarrier Safety Regulations in the City of Boston. This is contrary to Department of HomelandSecurity’s ownurban initiatives and training efforts to expand this enforcement power to more local law enforcement agencies. Would you support, co-sponsor and vote for any efforts to limit properly trained local police officers fromenforcingFMCRs or trucking related Chapter 90 violations? Both Collins and Dahill answered NO. 3. Do you support traffic cameras for capturing pictures of traffic viola- tions and issuing Chapter 90 citations? Both Collins and Dahill answered NO. 4. Social Security and state/municipal retirement issues have never been more important to BPPA members. The “spin” from the anti-tax advocates is to cut pension benefits, in order to avoid the unfunded li- abilities of cities and towns. Would you support, co-sponsor and vote for any legislative efforts to further cut promised or negotiated retirement benefits? Both Collins and Dahill answered NO. 5. Have you every crossed a BPPA or any union/labor picket line? Please explain. Both Collins and Dahill answered NO. 6. Efforts to replace police officers at road construction sites in Mas- sachusetts with civilians flagmen has failed to produce a safer working environment for workers, vehicular or pedestrian traffic. The practice has failed to produce the promised savings (as per hour costs of civil- ian flagmen are much higher than police officers). Federal Highway Administration studies have concluded that police officers offer the best protection for workers, pedestrian and vehicular traffic in a construction work zone. Would you support, co-sponsor and vote for any rule, regulation or law that would replace uniformed police presence with a civilian flagman? Both Collins and Dahill answered NO. 7. Governor Patrickandmanymembers of theMassachusettsLegislature have refused to fund the state portion of the educational incentive pro- gramknown as theQuinnBill. This programas you knowwas collective bargained with the police unions for over 30 years. The funding for the incentive was shared with the state and city/town each paying 50% to the qualifying officer (certified by the Board of Higher Education) . Would you support, co-sponsor and vote for full funding to authorize this higher education degree incentive for local police officers ? Both Collins and Dahill answeredYES. H H H H H Please discuss your views with your BPPA Shift Representative for either candidate that answered the BPPAQuestionnaire. If a candidate did not answer the questionnaire, they are not eligible for any consid- eration of endorsement. – Jim Barry, BPPA Legislative Agent Nick Collins Maureen Dahill