Republicans: What Would You Do to Help Tewksbury Residents Not Lose Their Homes?

(Editor's Note: Tewksbury Patch asked the Republican candidates for state representative and state senator five questions on issues related directly to Tewksbury. This is the final entry in the series. Questions 1 through 4 ran Thursday through Sunday and the entire series can be found here.

Question 5. With rising property taxes, high unemployment, falling home values and floundering banks, many residents, especially the elderly, are concerned about losing their homes. What can you do, if elected, to protect the residents of Tewksbury from losing their homes?

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State Senator, 2nd Essex/Middlesex District

Patrick Rahilly, Republican, Tewksbury

As a rule I am against bailouts.  However, I would certainly look into the possibility of forebearing the elderly's tax burden until they pass on and allow the town to collect upon the estate as would a creditor normally would.  The town would be able to place a lien on the property that would obviously be released upon full payment of taxes.

Jamison Tomasek, Republican, Andover

Reduce rules and regulations that cost cities and towns money (allow plan design, allow privatization, and do not require prevailing wage, to start), which would reduce the need for the towns to constantly raise the property tax.

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State Representative 19th Middlesex District

Mario Marchese, Republican, Wilmington

The biggest mistake I believe our Federal government did in the wake of the financial crisis and collapse of the housing market was to give our tax dollars to failing banks.  The best use of our money, would have been for the government to offer direct low cost long term loans to the citizens and keep them in their homes.  I do agree that many people are in homes that they can not afford, but by abandoning homes, we have allowed neighborhoods to fall apart and thus leading to a further decrease in home prices and perpetuating a failing economy.  The best investment the State can make is in its citizens, the life and breath of our great Commonwealth.  The State nor the Federal government can not continue to sit idly by and watch as citizens continue to lose their homes everyday while our government uses our money to help foreign nations.  Let us first take care of our own house before we start worrying about someone else's. 

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State Representative, 17th Essex District

Paul Adams, Republican, Andover

The most important action I can take as a state legislator to keep residents in their jobs and homes is to fight for lower income tax rates for citizens and businesses. We need legislators willing to reverse decades of business-destroying policies that facilitated our current extremes in unemployment, foreclosure, and higher property tax rates. Our economic problems are further exacerbated by one-party Democrat control of the legislature, which raised taxes on citizens and businesses by billions during the recession of 2008-2009. I have a record of fearlessly fighting for lower taxes and I will continue to do so as your representative.

The following candidate did not submit a response to this question: Sal Tabit, Republican, Andover.