BEVERLY — The four candidates for mayor gathered on the same stage last night for the final time before Tuesday's election to answer questions with a new twist — asked by and for people under 40.
The "Evening With the Candidates" was sponsored by 30 & Main, a new committee of Beverly Main Streets that was formed in May to encourage participation by younger residents in community affairs and to help develop the city's new leaders.
Mayor Bill Scanlon and challengers Mike Cahill, Tim Flaherty and Euplio "Rick" Marciano, who will meet in Tuesday's preliminary election, were asked the usual questions about education, the waterfront and the downtown, but also about how they are connecting to the under-40 demographic and how they would get younger people involved if they were mayor.
The 71-year-old Scanlon, who has been mayor for 16 years, said he talks with his 40-year-old son and his college-age grandson.
"They're pretty good signposts," he said. "I have tried to talk to everyone I encounter. It's important that we pay attention to (young people)."
Flaherty, a former City Council president, joked that he liked the question because at age 44 he is the youngest of the four candidates.
"A lot of my friends are in that age group," he said.
Cahill, 49, the current City Council president, said many of his campaign volunteers are under 40. He also noted that he taught in the public schools for almost 10 years.
"This election is about the future," he said.
Panelists Norrie Gall and Jay Norton of 30 & Main asked the questions, which moderator Jamie Belsito said were solicited via Facebook, Twitter and email. One question cited a recent Boston Magazine story that ranked Beverly schools 89th out of 135 districts and asked the candidates what they would do to improve them.
Cahill, saying the schools account for nearly half of the city's budget, said the mayor should be heavily involved in education.
"I plan to be in the schools on a regular basis," he said.
Flaherty, who has four children in the Beverly schools and whose wife is a teacher at Beverly High, said the system can improve but still described it as "excellent."
"I would rather send my children to the Beverly Public Schools rather than Manchester or Hamilton-Wenham because I think we have more to offer," he said.
Scanlon said Beverly schools fare better when compared to other cities, as opposed to smaller towns. He said the recently opened high school and plans for a new middle school at the Memorial Building will improve the district even more.
"There's no question we must put further emphasis on the academic side of things," Scanlon said.
Marciano, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, said students should evaluate teachers, and the "bad teachers" should be fired.
Other questions centered around quality-of-life issues, such as litter and the condition of roads and sidewalks, while others asked the candidates how they would deal with social problems like homelessness and drug abuse.
Asked about protecting the environment, Flaherty and Cahill both said they would make Beverly more bike-friendly. Scanlon said an emphasis on recycling has reduced by 6,000 tons the amount of trash the city now sends to the incinerator.
On the subject of improving the downtown, Scanlon said he intends to hire an economic development director. The city recently spent $1.4 million to improve four downtown parking lots, but the downtown vacancy rate is 7 percent, he said.
"We have a decent downtown," Scanlon said, "but certainly it could be better."
Cahill said the city needs to encourage residential development downtown so people walk to shops and restaurants. The waterfront, where a planned Black Cow restaurant has been on hold for five years, also needs work, he said.
"We should have a couple of restaurants down there. We should have retail down there," he said.
Flaherty said the downtown's infrastructure, including sidewalks and lighting, has been "ignored for the last 20 years."
"The downtown to me is tired. It's stale," Flaherty said.
Flaherty praised the efforts by Main Streets to revitalize the downtown but said, "The mayor's office needs to lead that initiative, not necessarily the other way around."
Cahill and Flaherty again said they would run more open and collaborative administrations than Scanlon, who has served a record eight two-year terms. Scanlon, in his opening remarks, said he has appointed 35 "new faces" to volunteer city boards and commissions during his current term.
The top two vote-getters on Tuesday will advance to the Nov. 8 final election.
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by email at pleighton@salemnews.com.
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