Carmine Gentile Seeks 4th Term In MA House: Candidate Profile

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The race for the 13th Middlesex House seat is between a former Boy Scout and a former Army pilot who happen to be neighbors.

Incumbent Democratic state Rep. Lawrence Gentile, a Sudbury resident, is facing his first general election challenge this year since he was first elected in 2014. Republican Ingrid Centurion, also a Sudbury resident, is running to reduce taxes and touts her experience in the military and being a business owner — she's the CEO of the aerospace consulting firm Centurion Technologies Consulting.

Gentile is well known for hosting constituent meetings in all corners of the district, which covers Sudbury and parts of Marlborough, Framingham and Wayland. He frequently teams with local Reps Jack Patrick Lewis and Maria Robinson on key pieces of legislation, including on a coronavirus-era bill earlier this year to expand telemedicine services. He also sits on a statwide committee focused on campaign finance reform.

He's seeking a fourth term in 2020 to advocate for state education spending and local aid — top issues as cities and towns struggle with revenue issues related to the pandemic — and on issues like the environment and prescription drug costs, he says.

Patch has asked both Gentile and Centurion to fill out our candidate questionnaire. Here's what Gentile said:

Carmine Lawrence Gentile

Age (as of Election Day): 66
Party Affiliation: Democratic
Family: wife Linda, children Sara and Andrew
Education: Tufts University BA, Suffolk University Law School, J.D.
Occupation: State Representative, 6 years
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Current elected office: State Representative, 6 years. Current appointed office: Sudbury Council on Aging, Sudbury Housing Trust, State Citizens Commission created by 2018 ballot vote.
Campaign website: www.carminegentile.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am seeking re-election in order to continue to serve the people of Sudbury, Wayland, Marlborough, and Framingham as your voice in the Massachusetts House so that I can fight for our fair share of state aid for K-12 education / unrestricted local aid, provide better services to our seniors, meet the climate crisis challenge, safeguard our environment, achieve campaign finance reform, lower prescription drug costs, improve public health, provide everyone with affordable health care, and continue to deliver excellent constituent services to residents and businesses in the 13th Middlesex District.

How would you rate the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic on a letter-grade scale (A, B, C, D or F), and how would you explain that rating?

I would rate the state’s response to the pandemic a ‘B.’ Governor Baker and the legislature acted sooner than governors and legislatures in other states and took necessary actions to successfully flatten the curve and drive down the incidence of new cases of COVID-19. However, we failed to do all that was possible to stem the spread of disease and loss of life, especially in our nursing homes. The state listened to the Department of Public Health experts and took responsible actions to stop the spread of COVID-19 and treat the ill, despite the dysfunctional actions and inaction of the Trump administration. We placed a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to avoid thousands of families becoming homeless and enacted other safeguards to help small businesses survive. I would have given a slightly higher rating, but am now concerned about new plans to further relax coronavirus restrictions in light of a recent measurable jump in infections and hospitalizations.

Is Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing law, working, and if not what would you change?

40B has worked to create tens of thousands of needed affordable housing units across the state. The Governor proposed and the legislature is weighing whether or not to allow cities and towns to change their zoning bylaws by a simple majority vote rather than the current two thirds requirement. Elected municipal leaders in the 13th Middlesex District have asked that towns which have reached the 40B threshold of 10% affordable units be exempted from the proposed change and retain the two thirds vote requirement for zoning changes.

What steps, if any, should the state take toward police reform?

After speaking with the police chiefs in the four communities I represent and representatives of three police unions, constituents, and others, I voted to pass the House bill for police reforms and racial equity this past spring. I do not support significantly reducing funding for the police and neither the bill passed by the House nor the Senate bill would do that. Much has been said about "qualified immunity." None of the proposed changes to qualified immunity would disturb or alter the current process by which 99.7% of police found liable for money damages after trial (or by settlement) are completely indemnified by their employer. Other states certify or license their police officers just as we license or certify doctors, lawyers, plumbers, contractors, teachers and other professionals. It’s time that we certify or license police officers so that those who are fired for cause cannot simply move and start working as police again. We already have training programs and those programs can be improved. We also need to record information on police stops to be able to discern and take steps to end racial profiling.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

I am fighting to pass the ROE Act to protect and maintain a woman’s right to choose and access safe legal abortion care and obtain other reproductive health care in the Commonwealth.
I am fighting for full funding for Chapter 70 state aid to our local schools and implementation of the Student Opportunity Act so that every child receives an excellent education regardless of her/his zip code.

I am fighting to meet the climate crisis challenge by passing legislation to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the Commonwealth by 2045. Development of new renewable energy sources will also create thousands of well-paying jobs.

I am fighting to pass legislation which will remove hazardous pesticide use from our children’s school grounds and replace them with what is recommended by the EPA. I am fighting to substantially restrict and eventually end the use of cancer-causing glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round-UP) in our state – which has found its way into our food supply.

I am fighting for campaign finance reform to stop the harm wrought by Citizens United vs. FEC and restore the ability of Congress and state legislatures to regulate campaign finance. This will take big money out of politics and preserve our democracy. I am the House leader and the only legislative member of the statewide Citizens Commission created by the 2018 statewide ballot question.

I fight every day for our seniors. I am in my sixth year on the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs and seventh year on the local Council on Aging. I have filed legislation to ensure that seniors receive needed homecare and legislation to reduce seniors’ property taxes.

I provide excellent constituent services every day to individuals, families, and businesses in the 13th Middlesex District. It has always been my top priority.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

A critical difference is our track records of serving our community and participating in its government. I have served our community in local elected or appointed offices continuously for over 30 years as well as participating in many local volunteer activities (e.g. Boy Scout leader, Rotary Club member, soccer coach, active member of the MetroWest Veterans Consortium, etc.). My opponent does not appear to have experience participating in local government. In the eight years that my opponent has lived in Sudbury, she has voted in only 4 of the 21 local, state, and national elections which I have voted in during the same period. In those same eight years, she has attended only 1 of the 18 Annual or Special Town Meeting sessions which I have attended.
I support the ROE Act. My opponent does not. Providing access to safe and legal abortion care is critically important.

I support police reform in response to a lack of accountability for police misconduct and racial profiling. My opponent does not support police reform.

During the League of Women Voters Candidates Forum, I supported the use of mail-in ballots in future years, and my opponent did not. She voiced unsubstantiated concerns of voter fraud.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have performed the duties and responsibilities of this office successfully for almost six years now. During that time, I have filed, passed, and had enacted into law important legislation. In the last session I filed a bill to locate, store, and analyze sexual assault evidence kits, (many of which had been neglected for months or years) and make the results known in real time online to survivors and prosecutors. I later obtained $8M in a supplemental budget to fund the program. On March 12, 2020, I was one of a handful of Representatives to pass the first COVID-19 relief bill providing millions of dollars to Boards of Health throughout the Commonwealth to deal with challenges posed by the virus.

I have obtained special funding (earmarks) for each of the four communities in the 13th Middlesex District. During (and before) the pandemic I have helped hundreds of constituents obtain unemployment compensation and pandemic unemployment compensation.

Last session, I filed legislation to give needs-based tax breaks to seniors. It passed the House of Representatives on a unanimous roll call vote. This session I am fighting again to pass it in both the House and Senate.

At the request of a Select Board member, I advocated successfully for all school districts to obtain state reimbursement for special education travel expenses.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Treat every person you meet as a friend you have just met for the first time. (They often are).
And from a anthropologist on crutches who I poured a glass of water for after she sat down at an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) when I was in high school, this quotation which I keep taped to my home office printer as a reminder:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

It continues to be an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of the 13th Middlesex District where I have lived for most of my life. I became politically active at age 14 when I saw my friends and relatives go off to fight a civil war in Southeast Asia. I traveled alone to Washington to register my protest and desire to bring our soldiers and sailors home. I have been actively engaged in community matters large and small ever since.

I am committed to working with others locally, at the State House, and in Washington, and have established excellent working relationships in each sphere so that I can voice local concerns. Together we can craft solutions at every level of government.