LYNN — Candidates for councilor at large, ward councilor and the School Committee were each given a minute to present their campaign agenda and state their case for election in a combined forum Monday night.
The one-question forum was held at the North Shore Latino Business Association with 19 of the 26 candidates present. The forum was moderated by Jose Reyes, vice chairman of the North Shore Latino Business Association.
Buzzy Barton, present councilor at large, kept his comments concise, saying walking through the doors of the association brought back a lot of memories for him.
Council President Daniel Cahill said work with the association helped keep Union Taxi in business.
“Good things happen,” Cahill said. “Union Taxi is still in business today.”
Brian LaPierre, candidate for councilor at large, said he is trying to “help businesses flourish here in Lynn.” He said he is very pro-business.
“(I want to) make sure Lynn is doing what it can to help individuals open businesses,” LaPierre said.
Richard Starbard, also running at-large, said he is the owner of Rick’s Auto Collision.
“I know what you go through every day, because I go through the same things,” Starbard said of business owners.
Another at-large hopeful, Timothy Phelan, was not present but was represented by his wife, Stacy Phelan. She said her husband “strongly believes in diversity” in the community. She said immigrant communities “are what makes this city so strong.”
Hong Net, present councilor at large, also was not present.
Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi, Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant, Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr and Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano were not present at the forum.
Richard Colucci, Ward 4 councilor, said he’s known people present at the Latino Business Association for years.
“I need your help,” Colucci said. “I need your vote.”
Ariana Murrell-Rosario, candidate for Ward 4 councilor, said she is a first-generation Latin-American U.S. citizen. She said it is important to have diversity on the City Council.
Dianna Chakoutis, Ward 5 councilor, said, “I feel I work hard for Ward 5.” She said she always returns phone calls and works well with departments, like the Department of Public Works and Inspectional Services.
“I’m proud to be the Ward 5 councilor and am proud to live in Ward 5,” Chakoutis said.
Marven Rhode Hyppolite, running against Chakoutis, said he feels like he needs to speak up in the city. He said “rents are super high.” He also said there is a huge heroin problem in Lynn that no one seems to be talking about.
“A city of our size has so much potential,” Hyppolite said. “We could be doing so much better.”
Brian Field, candidate for Ward 7 councilor, said he’s been spending the last year talking about issues and understanding the concerns of residents. He said the Latino population is important in Lynn.
“When you succeed, we succeed,” Field said of the Latino population.
John “Jay” Walsh, candidate for Ward 7 councilor, said his family runs John’s Oil Company, building it from the ground up. He said he understands issues related to businesses and vowed to bring more business to Lynn.
School Committee member Patricia Capano was not present for the forum. School Committee member Maria Carrasco and candidate Jared Nicholson both attended the forum and chose to present their comments in Spanish.
“I work in the community providing free legal help to small businesses that cannot afford it,” Nicholson said, “with the goal of supporting community economic development. And that goal is a big reason I am running for School Committee. I think having great schools for all our kids is so important to our hopes for growth.”
Carrasco talked of focusing all her votes “on how they will affect students, teachers and parents.”
“I’m grateful to the people who voted for me in the past,” she said, “and hope they do again. I will also base my votes on students, teachers and parents.”
Committee member Donna Coppola said she originally ran as a parent who was concerned about what was going on in the schools. She said she still feels like more of a parent than a politician. She said there are a lot of children who need to be mentored in the school system, especially “a lot of (Spanish-speaking) kids who would really thrive with tutors” from the Latino Business Association.
Dolores DiFillipo, candidate for the School Committee, said her family has been in Lynn for more than 100 years. She said it was her third time running for the committee and also sees herself “running as mother who is very concerned about my child’s education.”
“We can do better,” DiFillipo said.
Committee member John Ford said he sees overcrowding as the most pressing issue in the school system. He said in order to receive a good education, students “have to have enough space.” He cited the Marshall Middle School building project and the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s suggestion to build an addition onto Breed Middle School as progress.
Candidate Lorraine Gately said she taught in Lynn Public Schools for 30 years. She said her son just graduated from the school system in 2013 and is pursuing a dream of becoming a teacher. She said her name is last on the ballot and told voters to “save the best for last.”
Candidate Natasha Megie-Maddrey said she has lived in Lynn for 17 years. She said her parents were both born in Haiti. She said there are not enough minority teachers in the school system and wants to see more diversity. She also wants parents to be more involved and welcomed in the schools.
Another candidate, June N. Natola, said she would like to see schools apply for more funding for programs like robotics and those in the biomedical field.
Michael Ouk, School Committee candidate, said he would focus on making sure there is adequate funding for the schools. He said as a first generation Cambodian-American, he has direct experience with speaking more than one language at home and bringing food to school that “smells a little bit different” when he was growing up.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]