Hudak seeks to topple Tierney
By Sarah Favot
From The Lowell Sun
10/26/2010
BOSTON–John Tierney and Bill Hudak both have law degrees from a Massachusetts college. That is pretty much where the similarities end.
Voters in the 6th congressional district will choose between two very different candidates with different ideas on how to move the country forward. Both candidates want to speed job creation, but they disagree on how to get there. Hudak calls for lower taxes and less government regulation. Tierney supports tax cuts, access to capital for small businesses and a “making it in America” manufacturing policy.
Hudak’s decision to run came out of the fact the country’s troubles kept him up at night. When he stopped sleeping in June 2009, he decided to run.
“Everything I read was saying that the country was going in the wrong direction,” said Hudak. He was worried about his own son who was graduating from college with little job prospects, like other graduates.
It wasn’t his idea to run. Nobody else would step up so Hudak thought it would be hypocritical if he didn’t take on the role himself.
He calls running for Congress a “self-sacrifice,” which he looks at as a double-edged sword.
“The pro is that I’m serving for the right reasons,” he said. “The con being that it’s going to be a personal sacrifice for me to do it. But the pro clearly outweighs the con.”
Hudak’s biggest priority is job creation. He says the key to achieve this is through lower taxes and less government regulation.
“I believe that the free enterprise system is the only concept that will keep us strong,” he said. “You cannot vilify job creators and pose burdens on the job creators that inhibit them from creating jobs.”
These ideals put him in line with Tea Party values. He says he identifies with the Tea Party movement, but he considers himself mainstream and more practical while tea partiers are more idealistic.
Hudak, an attorney and small business owner, founded Hudak Law Offices in Saugus in 1986. He has owned a travel agency, a real estate company and a vending machine business. He doesn’t see his lack of political experience as a disadvantage.
“My whole life as an attorney has been about problem solving and dispute resolution,” he said. “We have two parties in Congress that are unable to resolve anything and who do not understand that they work for the people.”
He also doesn’t see his party affiliation as an obstacle to a win. But he insists he is not riding fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s coattails.
“I was ahead of that curve,” Hudak said. “Scott Brown did not exist when I started running.”
Although he’s confident about his abilities, Hudak concedes Tierney has one advantage over him. And that’s his “war chest”.
According to campaign finance records, Hudak has raised over $720,000, contributing more than $200,000 himself. Tierney has raised about the same amount of money, but has contributed none of his personal money. Over $200,000 of Tierney’s donations have been from committees and unions, such as the postal workers and teachers’ unions.
Hudak hasn’t received any money from political committees.
Another difficulty that Hudak talks about is that he can’t address residents at senior centers or even organizations like the Chamber of Commerce as a candidate for Congress because they want to be non-partisan. Because Tierney is the standing congressman, he has the freedom to speak at many different venues.
“I overcome that working 15 hour days, seven days a week and meeting as many people as I can,” Hudak said. “It’s sad when it comes down to money.”
Not only do both candidates have differences when it comes to money, but their stance on the issues are polar opposites at times.
When it comes to public education, Hudak’s beliefs follow his less government mantra.
“I think what we need to be focussing on is improving local control over education,” Hudak said. “The federal government’s role should be an advisory capacity.”
He doesn’t agree with Gov. Deval Patrick’s decision to move the state under a national education standard.
Tierney, as a member of the Education and Labor Committee, sees Massachusetts’ role in the pilot program for a national education program as a positive change for the state and the rest of the country.
“Massachusetts is going to be one of the trend setters setting national standard,” said Tierney.
He isn’t concerned that moving to a national program will diminish the quality of education in the state.
“They reserve every right to supplement with their own standards, we will be fully protected,” he said.
After 14 years in Congress, Tierney said that his work isn’t finished. He wants to enact policies to bring manufacturing jobs back to America in the field of robotics, medical devices and energy technology. Also, he wants to make an investment in the workforce allowing companies to expand by providing loans. And he wants to continue work to protect veterans to make sure their service is rewarded.
“I want to continue the focus that we’ve had on the interests of my neighbors, including the middle class,” he said. “All income levels are to have our attention.”
Tierney lives in Salem with his wife. Prior to being elected into Congress, he was a partner at the law firm Tierney, Kalis and Lucas on the North Shore.
Looking back on the reasons he ran for Congress in 1996, Tierney said he still has the same goals.
“The focus has been the same,” he said. “The district’s health care, education, jobs have always been the primary focus.”
Tierney’s re-election bid has been complicated by his wife’s legal problems. Patrice Tierney pleaded guilty to four charges of aiding and abetting false tax returns for her brother earlier this month
But Tierney says it hasn’t been his toughest re-election bid. He says the first and second elections were the most difficult, in 1998 against Peter G. Torkildsen and in 2000 against Paul McCarthy.
One of the biggest difficulties this election Tierney says is that Republicans are turning people’s attention away from the ones who created problems.
“Under the Bush administration, we saw a loss of 8 million jobs, saw poverty rates increase and wages stagnate,” he said. “Republicans have been rooting for failures.”
Tierney calls it “comical’ that he has been criticized for voting with the Democratic party 98 percent of the time, according to The Washington Post.
“I don’t think in terms of whether I’m supporting one party or not,” he said. “I think in terms of being independent.”
He mentioned several areas where he has disagreed with his Democratic colleagues, such as the war in Afghanistan, provisions in the education bill, financial reform bill and health care bill.
Another criticism that Tierney defended is that 48 bills that he sponsored over his terms in office haven’t left committees. He said that many of his bills have been included in larger bills.
He gave the example that in the health care bill, he ensured that private insurance companies must spend 85 cents on every dollar that a consumer pays in premiums and he sponsored provisions that help people aged 55 who do not qualify for Medicare.