Waltham Mayoral Candidates McCarthy, LeBlanc Face Off In Debate

WALTHAM, MA — There's an election in less than a week, in which Waltham voters will head to the polls Nov. 5 to choose whether Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, who became mayor in 2004, will keep her role as mayor and become the longest serving mayor in Waltham's recent history or if Councilor Diane LeBlanc will take over.

Tuesday night the two went toe to toe in a debate moderated by the League of Women Voters.

The two have different leading styles and positions and both have fierce proponents as is evidenced by the loud applause for both at the beginning of the evening. Though, neither are without their critics.

But how do they distinguish themselves from one another?

During her opening statements and in her Patch profile, LeBlanc said it has taken too long to get major capital projects underway.

LeBlanc told Patch she thought McCarthy should have addressed the need for a new high school, police headquarters and Moody Street fire station "long ago."

McCarthy, meanwhile, said in her opening statement she still had unfinished work to see through, ticking off the rail trail, the reuse of the Fernald property, the acquisition of the UMass land, the 128 traffic plan and the building of the high school and educational plan.

In her Patch profile she challenged her opponent's integrity.

"The key difference between myself and other candidates is that I cannot and will not do anything for votes," said McCarthy in a Patch profile. "Every day I make decisions solely for the people of Waltham, and not to benefit me politically or personally. Developers and their representatives know that the City is not for sale while I am Mayor."

In her closing statement, McCarthy again questioned LeBlanc's integrity when it came to the Stigmatine property.

"My opponent blames me for everything that's in the schools and in the high school," she said before questioning LeBlanc's role in 2016 when the city council first blocked the taking of the property.

In her closing argument, LeBlanc shot back:

"The failure to negotiate is on the chief executive, it is not on a councilor, it is not on one councilor," she said. "Nothing that I did with regard to dealing with the Stigmatines on site, was out of the ordinary or unacceptable."

The issues:

Patch previously asked each what the most pressing issue in the city was and what they would do to address it.

LeBlanc's answer:

There are many pressing issues and we need to address them all; problems in our school system, traffic, our aging infrastructure (water, sewer and drainage) and the condition of our roads and sidewalks, are just a few of them. As Mayor I will provide leadership that brngs people together from diverse backgrounds to find new and innovative solutions to addressing these issues.

Previously: Waltham Elections 2019: Here's Who Is Running

• When is candidate night? How to watch the debates.

McCarthy's answer:

The single most pressing issue facing the City of Waltham is over development and its impact on our infrastructure and traffic. With regard to infrastructure, we will continue to do DEP mandated sewer projects throughout the City and implement recommendations from the City's Traffic Master Plan. With regard to over development, I will continue to testify before appropriate boards concerning the detrimental impact of these projects and veto them when able to.

During the League of Women Voters' debate when asked how to tackle development, McCarthy said it came down to zoning.

LeBlanc countered that what the city needs is a master plan.

"My incumbent says she won't give away the city, but that's just what's happening by not having a master plan," she said adding Waltham needs a planning board, which she said she previously proposed, but was turned down by McCarthy.

McCarthy said that wasn't the whole story.

On the subject of how to ensure all of Waltham, which is a majority minority community, represented in boards and commissions:

McCarthy said "You try to encourage people to apply. It's been difficult." She pointed to successes in the clerk's and treasure's office. "This is something that the city needs to work on and I acknowledge that. "

LeBlanc said that wasn't enough.

"It's not enough to say 'they don't apply.' You need an active program of outreach, you need to set some goals," she said. "We need to do more to work with these communities."

She pointed to experience in her previous job which would help create a program.

On the time delays on the high school and whether that would endanger state funds the two seemed to agree.

McCarthy said right now the state seems to understand their predicament, but probably wouldn't hold off for ever and reiterated that building next to the old high school would be a "calamity."

"The state has agreed to allow us to extend it, they believe we're working in good faith and most importantly they believe in our educational plan," she said.

LeBlanc said she agreed with the mayor that the state wouldn't likely extend forever.

"The state is willing to grant us another four months, that's a positive thing," she said. That the Stigmatines have also recently come forward asking for mediation is also a positive, she said, adding the two sides needed to work together.

More on Waltham Elections:

• Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy Announces She Will Run
• Possible Challenge To McCarthy's Run For Waltham Mayor
• Councilor Diane LeBlanc Hints At Run For Mayor
• Waltham Councilor Diane LeBlanc Announces She Will Run
• Waltham Election Calendar: What To Know About Election Season
• Column: Why I'm Running For City Waltham City Councilor At Large
• Don Desrochers Announces Campaign for City Council Seat

Waltham Candidate Profiles

• Heather May - Ward 2
• Sean Durkee - Ward 6
• Robert Logan - Ward 9
• Jonathan Paz - Ward 9
• Colleen Bradley-MacArthur - At Large City Council
• Tom Stanley, At Large City Council
• Steve Lydon - At Large
• Marisa Diamond - School Committee
• John Graceffa - School Committee
• Jeannette McCarthy- Mayor
• Diane LeBlanc- Mayor