Golnik: “We Have To Be Able to Achieve Things”

The third in a series of Patch live chats with candidates for Congress. Previously, Niki Tsongas

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If you missed our live chat with Congressional candidate Jon Golnik, you missed our first ever in-chat poll! Here is how Patch readers voted during the event.

Who will you vote for?

• Jon Golnik: 57%
• Niki Tsongas: 21%
• Tom Weaver: 7%
• Undecided: 7%
• Other: 7%

What Primary will you be voting in?

• Republican:  60%
• Democratic:  40%

And here are some highlights from the questions Patch readers asked the candidate from around the new Massachusetts Third District. 

Matt:

What are your plans to help create a better community feel here in the Merrimack Valley?

Jon Golnik:

Hi Matt, thank you for the question. We are facing an unemployment crisis here in the Merrimack Valley which not surprisingly contributes to a sense of malaise and cynicism. 

We need to get this economy growing here again and get people back to work. 

We can do this by giving certainty to the business community....clarity on tax policy, clarity on regulatory policy. Let's lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% and let's have a 1 year moratorium on the implementation of new regulations. 

Westford Woman:

It's no secret that social security and medicare are going broke. What solutions do you propose that would reduce the deficit and the fraud and waste in programs like that?

Jon Golnik:

Both social security and Medicare are broken, and doing nothing will mean relegating these programs to bankruptcy. We have made a promise to our seniors that social security and Medicare will be there for them. 

I am committed to not touching these programs for anyone who is currently receiving benefits and those nearing retirement age.

However for those new workers, just entering the workforce we need to change the system or it will not survive. Let's give new entrants to the workforce the option to invest a small portion of their income in private savings accounts. This is not mandatory but just an option. 

As congressman, I will be open to debate and discussion on entitlement reform because to do nothing is not an option.

Chelmsford Patriot:  

You've said that it's wrong that niki tsongas votes with her party leadership over 90% of the time. If you had won in 2010, what 10 or more percent of bills would you have voted against your party's leadership on? Can you name specific bills the republican leadership in the House brought up for votes?

Jon Golnik:

Hi Chelmsford Patriot, the big bill I would have voted against would have been the consumer financial protection bill.  It would create a regulatory monstrosity that will increase the cost of doing business.  I believe that some regulation is necessary but regulations increase the cost of doing business and that increased cost is passed down to the working men and women of this district, state and country.

Fitchburg Resident:  

What have you been doing recently to make yourself a better candidate since the 2010 election? What have you been doing professionally and personally over the past two years to better prepare you to beat Niki Tsongas?

Jon Golnik:

Thank you for the question. Well, I have remained very active. I hosted a radio show on WCAP out of Lowell from 10-12 on Saturdays which helped me stay in touch with the people of this district and their issues...be they Democrats, Republicans or Unenrolled voters. I also had columns in the Lowell Sun and Eagle Tribune. I also spend alot of time meeting and speaking with community leaders in preparation for this race.

Goose:

How will you differentiate yourself from (Republican primary competitor) Tom Weaver in the election? What key issues do you disagree with him about?

Jon Golnik: 

Thanks Goose, from a policy perspective I do not think we should abolish the Dept of Education. It simply not practical and it will not even get out of committee. We can't just say we want to do something; we have to be able to achieve things, something that isn’t happening in DC today. 

As a candidate and from an organizational perspective I would refer you to the above answer. We have built an organization that we are very proud of, an organization that can compete with the Democratic Party machine here in Massachusetts. We received more votes than any other Congressional Republican candidate in the district since 1992 with 96,000 plus votes. We plan to build on this.

Chelmsford Patriot:

In reference to Department of Education, you said candidates shouldn't just say they want to do things that aren't possible. 

In terms of healthcare you say you want repeal, do you support the republican leadership symbolic votes on repeal despite the fact that the effort won't ever make it out of the Senate let alone to the President's desk?

Jon Golnik:

I support the recent repeal vote as symbolic of the majority of this country not supporting losing control over their healthcare decisions.

Citizen:

Jon, if elected, what will you do to assist vets returning from overseas?

Jon Golnik:

I think our responsibility to our warriors continues once the conflicts have ended. 

I believe that what we call benefits are actually obligations. So when discussion of increasing Tricare deductibles and co-pays are raised, I’m against it. We need to assist returning veterans with job placement, the unemployment rate for vets is approaching 14 to 15%, and we have a backlog in medical cases at the VA that is approaching 100 days for 65% or more of claims. We need to address these immediately. 

Concerned Citizen:

Interesting that you support allowing Wall Street to get its hands on our social security money. Why do you support putting our money in the Wall Street casino? Does it have something to do with your former life in the finance industry and the fact that most of your campaign contributions come from the financial industry?

Jon Golnik:

I believe in an individual's right to control where their money goes, individuals know what is best, not the federal government and that is a big difference between Rep. Tsongas and myself. I believe in the power of the individual she believes in the power of the government. She believes we are the fed government's ATMs to access whenever the fed government wants to expand its size and scope.