Candidates for Senate lay out their goals

Knuuttila wants to see region working together for the common good, Lottery money returned

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — Although his campaign originally kicked off in February, state Senate hopeful Brian Knuuttila has laid out a variety of platform issues that his campaign is hoping to push before the election in the fall, and said one of the top priorities for his campaign is to strengthen the voice of regional towns and cities and reconnect them with a state government that he feels often has overlooked their issues. Mr. Knuuttila, who held a fundraiser for his campaign at the Fay Club in Fitchburg Thursday, said his staff has been able to raise a little less than $25,000 in the last week. As his campaign for the Senate continues to gain momentum, Mr. Knuuttila has designated the rebuilding of the relationship between city and state government as a top priority. “When we had our campaign announcement for the first time in February, I spoke about repairing the broken partnership between the cities and towns,” said Mr. Knuuttila. “This campaign has to be about a state senator bringing all these cities together and moving forwards as a region with a mission to promote economic and fiscal good health. It can no longer be Gardner versus Leominster versus Fitchburg over this funding — it has to be us moving together to better ourselves as a region.” Listing another top priority of his campaign, Mr. Knuuttila said that the commonwealth’s decision to take a portion of Lottery money — which he feels belongs to the cities and towns in the region — and then place it into the state’s stabilization account is an unfair use of funding that could be better used to serve the struggling communities in the region. “I understand that the state needs to maintain the stabilization fund. I was there when we created the account, it was created to improve our bond rating and it showed that we were investing in the future and preparing for tough fiscal times,” said Mr. Knuuttila. “The problem is that the state is putting all of this money into the stabilization fund, and turning a blind eye to the concerns of the cities and towns.” He then added, “If it is raining for the state, its pouring for the cities and towns.” In addition to pushing to acquire funding from the stabilization fund to aid local communities, Mr. Knuuttila said that he is also working toward promoting state government to close a telecommunications tax loophole that would provide area cities and towns with much-needed funding. “If we convince the House and Senate to close this loophole, the city of Gardner will receive in excess of $60,000,” said Mr. Knuuttila. “That is a clerk’s position with benefits at City Hall, that is another employee in the Department of Public Works, this is something the town can use immediately, and it is something we need to act on immediately.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 5/22/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 122)