Doherty vs. Coute: TV forum harsh battle between Taunton-Easton state rep candidates

TAUNTON – Voters in Taunton and Easton witnessed full view the tense race that has developed for the 3rd Bristol state representative seat when Democratic incumbent Carol Doherty and her Republican challenger Christopher Coute went head-to-head during a live candidates forum in the run-up to the Nov. 8 election.

Hosted by TCAM and The Enterprise of Brockton, panelists Bob Jacobs, president of TCAM, and Chris Helms, Enterprise reporter, laid out the questions over the course of an hour in front of 90 people in the studio on Thursday, Oct. 20, with attendees including Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell and several Taunton city councilors, including Lawrence Quintal, Kelly Dooner and Barry Sanders.

The forum was also broadcast live through TCAM channels as well as livestreamed online. You may view the whole forum above or at this link.

Opening statements came first from both candidates.

Doherty’s statement went over her decades of work in education, including being a teacher and guidance counselor at Bennett Elementary School, the director of professional development in the School of Education at Northeastern University for 18 years, two terms as president of the Massachusetts Teacher Association, and 5 terms on the Taunton School Committee.

Coute went over his military career, having served 22 years in the Army, retiring with the rank of master sergeant, as well as his long career in real estate and construction as owner of Brownstone Realty Group, and serving his second term as a member of the Taunton City Council.

The district now includes more of Easton, thanks to redistricting, which takes effect with this election. The new district includes Easton, precincts 4A, 5, 6; and Taunton, wards 1A, 1B, 2, 5, 7, 8.

Big government vs. small government

The economy and what’s in people’s wallets were treated by both candidates as what the public cares about the most.

Coute immediately zeroed in on this topic, admonishing Doherty for some of her votes as state representative, such as her recorded votes for bills either raising or not suspending some taxes and fees, such as a gasoline tax, capital gains tax and new utility fees. 

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Coute said he wasn’t attacking her, saying “I’m just calling her on her record of votes.” Yet he also accused her of “talking with both sides of her mouth,” insisting she would say one thing, but vote contrary to that. Coute did not relent on the subject, even going back to the subject of taxes after answering a question on a different topic.

Doherty insisted her work these last two years, and going forward into next term, is about “supporting businesses and families so they can stay on their feet” and ensuring her district “gets its fair share of revenue from the government.” She said that since taking office, local aid for her district has steadily risen through her efforts.

Doherty brought up that a reason why she voted "no" on some suspensions of taxes was her work with other elected officials trying to secure numerous permanent money-saving measures, deductions, earmarks and tax breaks for the public that were included in a massive $4 billion mega economic development package that failed to pass before the legislature adjourned for the summer. She said her next term would be devoted to making these tax breaks a reality.

Jacobs asked Doherty about her support for the Fair Share Amendment, which is on the November ballot. Doherty stated it's essentially a millionaires income tax, which promises to generate up to $2 billion annually that will go directly to funding education and aging infrastructure, like bridges and roads. The tax won’t impact the vast majority of residents of the state, she said.

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When Jacobs asked why support this when the state is holding billions in dollars in surplus, not to mention each municipality’s remaining shares in ARPA funds, Doherty said that those “bags of cash won’t last” and this would be a steady level of income tax meant to address specific issues.

Coute dismissed the Fair Share Amendment as “just another attempt for the state to reach into your pocket” and to tax business owners. He said all his votes will be for lowering the cost of living and increasing business friendliness in the state.

How red are you?

Doherty chastised Coute for having no political experience on the state level and masking this lack of experience by going after her public voting record.

“You have to work collaboratively. If that’s not your intention, you won’t get anything done,” said Doherty, reminding the public Coute was quoted in other media outlets as saying he “wasn’t going to Beacon Hill to make friends.”

Coute repeatedly referenced throughout the forum a statement made by conservative radio host Howie Carr, who he said referred to him as a “Non-Kool Aid-drinking Republican” who is capable of flipping the seat back to Republican – a seat Mayor Shaunna O’Connell, also a Republican, previously held.

Coute said he wears Carr’s designation as "a badge of honor” as someone who can work with and appeal to voters from both parties.

“I’m my own mind. My own man. I vote for good bills no matter who puts them forward,” Coute said.

When Helms asked Coute if he considers himself a "Trump Republican" who believes the 2020 Presidential election was rigged, Coute responded that he has never denied President Joe Biden won the election.

He said while he didn’t like Trump’s name-calling and “didn’t like his locker-room style” he approved of his policies, believing the country had a secure border and great economy under him. 

Police Reform

Advocacy for police was another hot-button issue.

Starting with the movement to grant undocumented immigrants drivers licenses, Doherty stated her support for the Question 4 on the November ballot came after extensive conversations with law enforcement officials, including Taunton’s police chief.

Her consensus based on this input was it was a public safety issue and officers would rather deal with drivers who had licenses, were insured and had their vehicles registered.

“It’s a safer, easier mechanism and it’s a safer environment for officers,” she said.

But Coute said “rewarding illegal immigrants is not the precedent we want to set."

He reminded the audience that Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed the Work and Family Mobility Act because he didn’t believe the RMV has the infrastructure needed to register and verify the identities of undocumented immigrants.

Coute moved to one of his main talking points the last several months: support for police. Coute’s been critical of Doherty’s vote of support in 2020 for the Massachusetts Police Reform Bill.

Despite State House and Senate majorities voting for the bill before Gov. Charlie Baker’s final approval, a considerable amount of opposition to the bill came from police unions and advocacy organizations like the Massachusetts Police Association, Massachusetts Coalition of Police and Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

Coute said he considers any vote of support for the bill as turning your back on the police, and he said that was one of the primary reasons why he decided to run for the  seat.

Doherty said she has deep respect for law enforcement and said the reason she and the majority of the state’s legislature voted for the reform bill was “we wanted to make good policing great” by increasing training opportunities and paths for departments to reach accreditation.

But Coute countered her reasoning with “don’t spin this like the police wanted this bill” and accused Doherty of voting based on loyalty to her party.

Not all teeth and claws

One, and only one, issue brought up during the forum that both Coute and Doherty agreed on concerned solving the region’s sewer waste issues. The proposal by Aries Clean Technologies to build a waste gasification plant on top of Taunton’s landfill site remains controversial over environmental concerns from opponents worried about PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) being emitted into the air.

“Disposal of waste is a universal problem with very few solutions. There’s no silver bullet for this,” said Doherty, reminding the public that Easton had to spend nearly $10 million cleaning its water supply and upgrading its treatment plant to deal with PFAS.

Doherty said she and the city of Taunton are still waiting on Aries to deliver data from its New Jersey facility, opened earlier this year, so an informed decision can be made on final approval for a gasification plant to be built here.

Coute agreed that “no new technology should be brought here until it's proven safe,” but also said continuing to send Taunton’s waste to a landfill in Connecticut isn’t a good idea either.

Closing arguments

Doherty closed the forum by saying she stands by her record, including working on and advocating for legislation dealing with such issues as food security, education, childcare, affordable housing, and tax benefits.  She's especially proud of a bill she authored passing which fast-tracks certification for nursing assistants, combating staffing shortages pertaining to home-based healthcare.

Coute’s closing statement for the forum was showing and reading to the audience an official letter of support from the Taunton Police Patrolmen’s Association, written by Union President and Taunton Officer Joseph Ryan. He said he will be as loyal to the police as he will to the citizens of Taunton and Easton.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton state rep election 2022: Carol Doherty, Chris Coute debate