Tea Party Republican Jumps into Rep. Race in Methuen, Says Campbell Co-Authored Transgender Bathroom Bill

Al-DiNuccio
28 votes away from being mayor in 2011, Republican Al DiNuccio jumps into the state representative race in Methuen against incumbent Linda Dean Campbell.

February 15, 2014

(Audio of on air interview)

Former Methuen mayoral candidate Al DiNuccio announced today on the Paying Attention Radio Program on 980WCAP in Lowell that he is throwing his hat into the ring for state representative in the 15th Essex District against incumbent Linda Dean Campbell (D), Methuen.

Campbell is seeking her fifth term representing Methuen in the Legislature.

“I am running for the 15th Essex State Rep. seat in Methuen,” DiNuccio told radio host Tom Duggan with only ten minutes left in the show.

DiNuccio ran for mayor against Steve Zanni in 2011 and lost by only 28 votes on a recount.

In 2010, DiNuccio lost to Representative Linda Dean Campbell, 7,031 to 1,927 votes.

“I ran against Linda Dean Campbell four years ago,” DiNiccio said.

“There were four of us in that race, there were two independents. They actually stole [siphoned off] a bunch of votes, Tommy. Unfortunately, even with their votes she would have beaten me, but they actually worked against me. So, who knows. Times are different today. It’s all about quality of life locally, and that’s what nobody is addressing.” 

“There are several things going on at the state level that are just disturbing. One is the DSS, with the children dying in our care, which is just a horrible situation. We are number three in the country for deaths at the DSS level. We are taking kids out of bad situations and making it worse.”

“There’s something fundamentally wrong there that nobody is addressing this? None of our state reps or legislators are doing anything about this? As a matter of fact, in my opinion they are sugar coating it all the way to the governor’s level. Where they are saying ‘oh, no don’t look there, there’s no problem there.’”

“There’s a huge problem there.”

No More Mr. Nice Guy

“My Message last time, I tried to play it like Mr. Nice guy … this time I think it’s time to take the gloves. Lets tell the people what it’s like out there, and what’s going on. What I can actually do for you without playing politics.”

“You know what? Linda is a sweetheart of a person, and her husband, they’re a nice family. I got  to know them the last time I ran against them, [they’re] extremely nice people. But that’s not what it’s all about.”

“You know what? At this point in the game nobody is doing a good job. Nobody could do any worse, let’s put it that way and I know I could do a whole lot better.”

Al Dinuccio
Al DiNuccio with his Valley Patriot on Election day in Methuen in 2009. 

Known for his plain talk and not following a script or party line, DiNuccio is a conservative Republican businessman who has campaigned in the past as a fiscal conservative in a sea of liberals and moderates.

“It stinks is that the economy has been this bad for this long. Why are we making it much worse on people on every level. Quality of life locally is what I am about in this campaign. I just want things to be easier, cheaper and better for everyone.”  

DiNuccio admitted that he has yet to scrutinize Campbell’s votes but said that he will citing that nomination papers are not due to be turned in yet.

“I know …  she voted for the transvestite bathroom issue. As a matter of fact, she wrote the transvestite bathroom bill, where transvestites can use any bathroom. Is that what we really need to be wasting our time on right now?”

“Look it up. It will blow your mind. She was the co-author of it. She rallied for it. Transvestites can use any bathroom they want. And that’s what we have today. And you know what, it’s probably .0001% of the population that this affects.”

Contacted by phone after the radio program, Dinuccio said it wasn’t personal and wants the voters of Methuen to ask some basic questions before voting in November. 

Linda Dean Campbell
Massachusetts State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell (D), Methuen, is seeking her fifth term.

“What has she really done? Are we really going in that right direction? I hate to use the word  “change” it’s over-used, but it’s time to change it up across the board. I am an idea guy. I’m a Mr. Fix-It, and I can tell you this thing [state government] is broken from the head down with the drug lab scandal, DSS, and fighting to give illegal aliens drivers licenses.

There’s nothing, not one study anyone can show that says giving illegal aliens driving licenses makes the road safe. They are just giving them an ID to vote with later on. People need to know what their government is really doing on their behalf. Let’s have a little honesty about what is going on and discuss these issues truthfully.”

DiNuccio said he considers himself a “Tea Party republican” but says that his run against Campbell is far less about party differences and more about taking a stand on his core principals.

“At this stage of the game it’s not a Democrat verses Republican thing. Right now it’s just right verses wrong thing. The middle class, the working guy has been squeezed for too long. They need help. There’s nothing left to squeeze anymore.”

Putting People to Work with a Foot in the Door

Dinuccio said that if he becomes a state representative the first bill he will push is called the “Foot in the Door” program.

“I’m a small businessman. I know the small business economy. My program puts people to work that are on unemployment for a long period of time.”

“Here’s how it works. If you are on unemployment for more than 26 weeks, the state will place you in a job with an employer, a small business, who has enrolled in the state program. The state pays 100% of the employee’s salary with health care. Something we are already paying for.”

“So, the employer gets a free employee. The Employee who was on unemployment doing nothing, is now doing something productive. He gets his foot in the door. He gets to prove himself. After three months the employer can keep the employee and put him on the payroll. If not, the employee goes back into the program and works for some other small business that is more suited to his abilities. This stimulates the unemployed population and it helps out small businesses with productivity. It helps everyone.”

“I think most people agree that it’s better to have people going to work every day instead of watching Oprah in their pajamas. It’s better that those who want to work and can’t find jobs are setting the alarm clock, getting up, going to work and being part of society.”

“We have seen all the studies on how people on unemployment can’t find work because potential employers see them as having lost their edge. They have been out of the game too long. We need to keep people in the game, give them a chance to make contacts, learn skills, help the community and contribute. What we are doing now isn’t working. The people of this state are not working, and my program will put people back to work.”  

DiNiuccio says that he will be pushing for “tons of privatization” of state programs and cutting government waste.

“State government is broken. They’re just not doing job right. Don’t even get me started on state transportation department. I’m out of my mind over waste in public transportation. You know, every day I am in Lawrence watching bus after bus go by me empty, every single day. There’s even a bus that goes to Raytheon from downtown Lawrence with two people… two! You know how much money it costs to run a bus for two people? We are still doing things like we did in the 1800’s. Certain bus routes should be eliminated.”

Overtaxed

“We need to spend the taxpayers’ money on programs where money is needed and where it is going to work. My core belief is that the government at every level; the federal, state, and city governments have too much of our money. We are way overtaxed, way overburdened, we need a structural realignment of the cash and how it is spent. I am going to fight for that in the legislature. We are not getting that now.”  

DiNuccio accepted an invitation to debate Representative Linda Dean Campbell on the Paying Attention Radio Program in the near future. You can listen to Paying Attention live on 980AM or on line at www.980wcap.com. Podcasts and prior program can be found on www.valleypatriot.com in the Paying Attention” tab.