Election 2018: Candidate Profile Of Michael McCoy

WILMINGTON, MA -- There are now seven candidates running for the representatives seat that serves Tewksbury and Wilmington in the state legislature. Patch reached out to all of the candidates with a series of questions to help introduce voters to those candidates. This is the fourth in a series of candidate profiles we will publish leading up to the primaries in September and the general election in November.

Today we introduce readers to Wilmington Selectman Michael McCoy, one of five Democrats running for the seat most recently held by James Miceli of Wilmington, who died in April. McCoy has a unique stake in the race: he was the nephew of the late legislator. He may also be one of the best known candidates in the race, in equal measures for his long tenure on the Wilmington select board and his fiery approach to public service.

All of the candidates were asked the same questions. We are publishing their answers to selected questions as they were submitted to us, with some editing for space and style considerations.

The single most pressing issue facing our the 19th Middlesex District is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

We're losing the character of our small towns to irresponsible development. People came to Tewksbury and Wilmington from the city to put down roots and raise their families. People who have lived here for their lifetimes have seen the growth getting out of control and we're losing the small town feel. If elected State Representative, I'm going to seek legislative counter-measures for over development of our rapidly vanishing suburbs. We need to change the laws of 40B and make them more palatable for suburbs and we can place more cluster development in the city areas where they will fit in better.

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

I've been serving my community for 31 years as a public official, 28 of those years have been spent serving on the Wilmington Board of Selectmen and I'm still there. I bring a lot of experience with me. I understand intimately how municipal government works. If you were to do the simple math with my 28 years on the board of selectmen, I have more years than all of my opponents combined including the present members of the Wilmington and Tewksbury Board of Selectmen.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

If I am fortunate enough to be elected as state representative, I will work with the Attorney General's office to explore legislative options to stop unwanted robo-calls and telemarketing calls and impose harsh penalties for those convicted of scamming senior citizens. I am opposed to making Massachusetts a sanctuary state. I will be an advocate for the death penalty in crimes resulting in the deaths of our first responders and all Massachusetts citizens. I want to improve the accountability, effectiveness and efficiencies of state government.

If you gain this position, what accomplishment would define your term in office as a success?

I would like more than anything to bridge both communities together. What do I mean by that? Meeting with both town managers, their management planning department heads with a coalition of elected officials, appointed officials, and residents to take a good hard look at both towns' zoning bylaws and implement fairer bylaws to be passed at a town meeting resulting in keeping both towns suburban, not urban.

Why should voters trust you?

They already do. I have a long track record. I've lived in the town of Wilmington for my whole life (59 years). I've owned and operated a very successful restaurant for 31 years until I sold it in 2015. I've given more than half my life to public service; three years on the Wilmington Planning Board and I'm going on my 28th year still elected member of the Board of Selectmen. I have a long record of service and accomplishments with my constituents and not the establishment. I am the people's selectmen.

Share a quote that defines your philosophy.

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." --Winston Churchill

Explain your attitudes toward fiscal policy, government spending and how taxpayer dollars should be handled by your office (or board)?

We have a history in Massachusetts replete with scandals, irresponsible fiscal management and extensive taxation. Addressing these issues will be a high priority for me.

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

I have a proven track record of 31 years in the Town of Wilmington taking care of constituent service. I've helped out with issues as little as getting a mailbox replaced after a winter storm, helping a grieving father get a water spigot to his daughter's grave and on a larger scale, petitioning and calling for a special town meeting to help the quality of life of all residents in Wilmington, giving them an opportunity to voice an opinion when other officials tried to silence them. When the residents of South Wilmington were facing an environmental disaster and with the possibility of New England Transrail opening up, I was the only selectman to testify at the public hearing when it was held here in Wilmington. I was the only Wilmington selectman to help the residents who live off of West Street when they were opposed to Global Petroleum. In North Wilmington, I was and am still the only selectman from beginning to now to stick with the residents of North Wilmington, and led the charge to call for a special town meeting when a drug detox center wanted to open within a residential neighborhood. There is not another candidate running for this seat who has given more years of constituent service than myself.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

"You can't make everyone happy in life, so always vote your conscience." --James Miceli

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

In all of my 28 years as an elected member of the Wilmington Board of Selectmen, I have always funded my own campaigns and I will do the same as state representative so I am indebted to no one except you, the Tewksbury and Wilmington voter. I don't seek endorsements from any other politicians, developers, and the who's who in Tewksbury and Wilmington. The only endorsement I want on election day is yours, the Tewksbury and Wilmington voters because that's the only true endorsement.

Previously in this series: Republican Erin Buckley (06/04/2018), who has since dropped out of the race, Republican Pina Prinzivalli and Democrat David Robertson.

Are you running to represent Tewksbury and Wilmington in the state legislature? Contact Dave Copeland at dave.copeland@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

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Photo of Michael McCoy turning in nomination papers submitted by the candidate.