For Immediate Release
Contact: Sam Barrows
Phone: 978-409-1818
E-Mail: campaignmanager@teambarbara.com
Calls “No” vote “hypocritical” and “irresponsible.”
Says she would have made better choice.
July 9th 2012 – Barbara L’Italien sharply criticized Rep. Jim Lyons Monday for his vote against the recent vote against next year’s balanced state budget, calling his vote “extremely hypocritical.”
“Jim Lyons has been taking credit for all kinds of local aid,” L’Italien said. “He says hesupports it, but when it came down to a vote, he voted against the budget that
delivers that aid. Jim Lyons is apparently very happy to vote against local aid for schools, roads and bridges in his district, but he always makes sure to take the credit when it passes despite his efforts to kill it. He wants us to believe he’s working for us on Beacon Hill, but Jim Lyons is only looking out for Jim Lyons. We deserve better than that.”
L’Italien questioned Lyons’ commitment to education funding, saying “My opponent calls this budget a ‘step in the right direction.’ I agree. But he voted against this step! Which is it, Mr. Lyons?”
L’Italien charged Lyons with obstructing the budget, saying “If everyone voted like him, we’d have Washington-style gridlock and there would be no aid at all. The people of our district deserve a better representative.”
“147 State Representatives passed a balanced budget. Democrat, Republican, they all worked together to vote for a budget that avoided tax increases but still increased local aid,” said L’Italien. “Lyons was one of three votes against this budget.”
L’Italien noted that the State Senate passed this same budget, unanimously.
“Legislators from all political stripes rolled up their sleeves and delivered a responsible piece of legislation,” said L’Italien. “This underscores not just Lyons’s extremism, but also his inability to work with anybody else.”
L’Italien pointed to her successful record of working with both Democrats and Republicans to pass local aid, and contrasted it with Lyons’s.
“Jim Lyons likes to cast himself as a lone wolf,” state L’Italien. “His voting record tells a different story, though—he’s a wolf in a business suit, and he’s working against the best interests of families in this district. We can do better.”
“When I represented the 18th District, I reached across the aisle. Blue or red, we all want the same things– good schools for our kids, care for our seniors, good roads, and sensibly funded programs to keep our towns safe,” explained L’Italien. “Jim Lyons’s refusal to work with his colleagues is irresponsible. By taking such extreme positions, he’s putting his own ideological agenda ahead of his district. If more people voted like Jim Lyons, the local aid he’s so proud of would disappear—and the people that suffered would be his constituents. If our community really cares about local aid, I am the better representative.”
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