Jobs Must Stay Home

Press Release

Jobs must stay home

The candidate for the 1st Congressional District will likely challenge incumbent John Olver.

By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff

With the long abandoned buildings of the former General Electric complex as a backdrop, a Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional District said yesterday that he wants to create a more business-friendly environment in the Berkshires.

Nathan Bech, of West Springfield, also accused incumbent U.S. Rep. John W. Olver of doing nothing to keep jobs in the district. He said the Amherst Democrat has relied too much on earmarks — including funds for the nearly $11 million Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center on Columbus Avenue — that Bech claims have failed to spur growth in economic areas.

Olver landed $8 million in federal earmarks to launch that project, and an additional $615,000 to cover a budget deficit.

"He is buying votes," Bech said of Olver, his possible opponent in the November election.

An Iraq War veteran who has never run for office, the 34-year-old Bech officially announced his candidacy in May. He will face the winner of next month's Democratic primary between Olver, a 17-year incumbent, and Robert Feuer of West Stockbridge.

In order to create jobs, Bech said he is in favor of keeping taxes low and creating a more business-friendly environment by lowering the costs of health insurance.

"You do that through tort reform, and not passing on the expense of huge settlements and lawsuits to all of us who need medical care," Bech said. "Some doctors are pushed out of business because their premiums are more than they make."

Bech is also in favor of lowering costs by having the state government receive a discount by buying prescription drugs in bulk, which he said will decrease payroll taxes. He wants to bring the country's corporate tax rate down to the international average, a measure Bech said will keep American businesses from sending jobs to India and China.

"It's not about tax breaks for businesses," Bech said. "It's not about rich people. It's about common people, everyday people being able to find work and keeping those jobs right here in America."

A 1999 graduate of Colgate University who majored in political science, Bech returned home to West Springfield to help with his parents' property management business, which he took over after his father died of cancer that year. Yesterday, Bech said his small-business experience gives him an advantage over Olver, who was a college professor before entering politics.

"John Olver has never spent one day in the private sector," Bech said. "I ran a small business for several years. I learned what over-regulation does."

Bech said Olver's record proves that he is not in favor of lowering taxes.

"His whole philosophy is to work the earmark system," Bech said. "He is not aggressively representing the interests of the people of Western and Central Masachusetts to get the economy moving again."

The Berkshire County Republican Association opened a campaign office for local Republican candidates on North Street last night. The BCRA's main office is located in the Clocktower Building on South Church Street.

Source