Other than their background and experience, there was little that differentiated the Democratic candidates for state representative at a recent forum sponsored by the Democratic Town Committees (DTC) of Dover, Medfield and Needham.
Patrick Gatto, a real estate agent, Bhuren Patel, a pharmacy owner, and Josh Tarsky, a middle-high school principal, are competing in the Sept. 3 Democratic primary for the party’s nomination for the 13th Norfolk District seat. They participated Aug. 13 in a zoom forum moderated by Peter Hoffmann of the Dover DTC. A fourth candidate, Ken Ruetenik, was unable to attend due to a death in the family.
Over the course of an hour the candidates agreeably addressed topics ranging from climate, education and housing to transportation, women’s rights and programs for seniors and youth.
All three see the need for improving public transportation, with Patel advocating increased capacity and Tarsky proposing modernizing the system with electric power to make it quieter and more efficient. They also expressed support for the state-mandated increased housing plan, but with the ability of towns to exert some local control.
On climate, Tarsky noted what he hears from his students. “It is the biggest cause of angst in the upcoming generation’s lives,” he said. He advocated reducing use of plastics and fossil fuels and creating alternatives to cars with more sidewalks and bike lanes.
Patel outlined a five-point plan that he sees as a group effort of residents and civic officials to reduce the use of fossil fuels, increase recycling, create more open space, improve existing facilities and use renewable energy.
Gatto said he doesn’t see a need for new ideas on climate, but instead called for progress on those that already exist. “There’s great bills that were passed by the House and passed by the Senate and didn’t make it out of the conference committee this session,” he said. “There’s a lot of good ideas that we just need to pick up the baton and get them over the finish line.”
Regarding steps to improve the lives of seniors, both Patel and Tarsky said affordable housing and access to health care are important issues. Gatto agreed, saying there are “a lot of different lanes to help” address their needs.
The Norfolk 13th District seat has been held by a woman for nearly 36 years, with Lida Harkins serving from 1989-2011 followed by Denise Garlick, who is stepping down at the end of this year. With no women running for the seat, Hoffmann asked the candidates about their views on gender equity and what they will do to ensure that women’s voices are more prominently represented.
Patel expressed his support for women’s equal rights and reproductive freedom and felt that it shouldn’t still be a debate in 2024. Tarsky said as a father of two daughters it means a lot to him that women’s rights are respected and he supports efforts toward wage transparency. Gatto cited his work for the reproductive rights organization NARAL and with U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, which he said allowed him to see how effective women can be.
All three candidates are from Needham, and Hoffmann asked what they’ve done to understand the needs and concerns of people in the three towns that make up the district, which includes all of Dover and Needham and two precincts in Medfield.
Tarsky said he has taken it one door, one meeting at a time. In addition to talking with Select Board members, he said, “I’ve knocked a ton of doors, I’ve canvassed, I don’t know, thousands of houses probably this summer. So that has taught me a lot. It has given me a good sense of the three different towns.”
Gatto echoed that approach, saying he had met with elected officials, attended the Town Meetings and held coffees. “That’s where you hear a lot of what people are feeling and needing and caring about. The best intelligence, and often the best ideas, come from the ground.”
Patel said he has talked with legislators, parents and residents in all three towns. “The way I look at this is really simple. I look at you as my customer just like I do in my business. I need to understand my customers’ needs to make change at the State House.”
The winner of the primary will face Needham resident Bill Dermody, who is unenrolled, on Nov. 5.
The forum can be seen in its entirety at this link.
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