Jim McGovern, Tracy Lovvorn debate at Mechanics Hall

Oct. 16--WORCESTER -- Incumbent U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern and challenger Tracy L. Lovvorn engaged in a sprawling debate Monday night at Mechanics Hall that touched on everything from political polarization, to immigration, to violence against women.

Over the course of more than an hour, Mr. McGovern, a Worcester Democrat, presented himself as an experienced legislator who has supported projects that have benefited the 2nd Congressional District while advocating for the middle class in America. He attacked Ms. Lovvorn, a Grafton Republican, to members of a party and a president who, he said, have veered from traditional American values.

But Ms. Lovvorn said that experience over 11 terms in Congress has made him part of the problem. She often returned to Mr. McGovern's experience and his liberal record; she said he has chosen to represent his party rather than the district in Congress.

"He's part of the dysfunction. He's part of the fabric of dysfunction," Ms. Lovvorn said.

Asked about single-payer health care and ensuring access to quality health care for all citizens, Ms. Lovvorn said focusing on the payer end of health insurance reform ignores the cost side. She said she supported approaches like allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines and publishing prices for various health care services.

Mr. McGovern said he believes health care is a human right, and should be that way for everyone. He said he has fought for lowering the cost of prescription drugs and wants to deal with pharmacy benefit managers. He said he will stand up to insurance and drug companies.

On climate change, Mr. McGovern said he believes the consensus of the scientific community that it is real and it is caused by humans. He said President Donald Trump has set the country back with his emphasis on reinvesting in coal and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.

Ms. Lovvorn said a majority of people believe climate change is real, but said there is disagreement when it comes to the cause. She said the question should be what should we do about it now. She said that as a percentage of population, pollution in the U.S. is relatively low, and the focus should be on bigger polluters like China and India.

But Mr. McGovern said it's hard to argue about solutions if you can't agree that climate change is man-made. And he said that indeed the U.S. should work with other countries to reduce emissions overseas, but there was a framework for that -- the Paris Agreement -- that Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of.

Asked about addressing issues of economic inequality, Mr. McGovern said that in addition to helping attract more development in the region, he supports various education programs that better align students with the workforce, and supports the expansion of vocational education and community college opportunities. He also said he voted against tax cuts passed by Congress that he said largely benefited the wealthy.

Ms. Lovvorn said the situation in the region, particularly in Worcester, is more dire economically than Mr. McGovern described. She said in Worcester, 20 percent of residents make less than $15,000 per year.

Mr. McGovern took issue with her characterization of Worcester, noting that there is a lot going on. He acknowledged there are inequality issues, but said much progress is being made.

"You trashed my city," Mr. McGovern said.

"You trashed your city," Ms. Lovvorn responded.

On abortion and women's rights, Mr. McGovern said he's pro-choice, and said he fears that the confirmation of the newest Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh, could lead to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He said he believed Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Mr. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school, and supports the #MeToo movement. And he said he resents that a male-dominated Congress gets to make decisions on women's rights.

After asking for clarification on the question, Ms. Lovvorn said Roe v. Wade is established law, and said she supports laws as they are written.

The two fell along their respective sides of the political divide on other issues throughout the debate.

Ms. Lovvorn said gun violence should be addressed as a mental health issue; Mr. McGovern favored the banning of assault weapons and bump stocks, and supported universal background checks. Mr. McGovern said he favors comprehensive immigration reform and called the separation of families at the border disgusting.

Ms. Lovvorn called for increased border security, and said people here illegally should be put in the back of the line so they can go through the process legally. She said she also favored streamlining the immigration process.

Mr. McGovern condemned Saudi Arabian military involvement in Yemen and the kingdom's alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The U.S. should terminate arms sales to Saudi Arabia, he said. Ms. Lovvorn said she didn't have enough information on the issue.

"If we're not going to take a stand on human rights, nobody will," Mr. McGovern said.

Ms. Lovvorn said voters are tired of political extremism, and said nobody is happy with Washington, D.C. "I want to go down there and make it work for us," she said.

Mr. McGovern said Mr. Trump's attacks on opponents, denigration of women, and lies make him feel like we are losing our humanity. He said Mr. Trump's behavior is not normal, and it's not who we are.

"Decency is on the ballot as well," Mr. McGovern said. "We need to reclaim our goodness in this country."

The debate was sponsored by the Telegram & Gazette, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and the League of Women Voters of the Worcester Area, the Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition, and Mechanics Hall.

Tensions occasionally bubbled over in the audience, and at one point a man got up and started shouting during a discussion about U.S. policy on accepting refugees. Mr. McGovern said he believes future generations will look back in shame at the current U.S. policy reducing the number of refugees it allows into the country, akin to the shame of how Jewish refugees were turned away during World War II. The man was led out of the debate.

Tony Simollardes, Telegram & Gazette editorial page editor, moderated the debate. He was joined in questioning the candidates by Meryl Kessler, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and Irene Hernandez, vice president, Central Region, Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition.

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