By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Massena’s Republican and Democrat mayoral candidates went head-to-head in a debate on Thursday night in front of a room at the Town Hall packed to the point that several people had to listen from the hallway.

Police Chief Tim Currier, a Democrat is running for the office against Republican incumbent James Hidy.

Economic Development

Most of the panelists questions revolved around how to keep Alcoa in town and how the candidates want to move Massena’s economy in light of the fact that manufacturing is a shadow of what it once was.

“We have to reinvent ourselves and I think it’s in tourism and recreation,” Currier said. “We have to give the [Massena Business Development Corporation] more resources.”

He later added that he thinks village government should mostly stay out of the BDC’s affairs and let them do what they are there to do.

Hidy took a similar stance.

“The government can’t do everything. Government doesn’t create business. Business people create business,” Hidy said.

One of the panelists asked if the candidates believed Alcoa is taking advantage of Massena and its cheap power, making promises to modernize just to get breaks from state and federal government. They closed a potline at the Alcoa east plant earlier in the year, in light of a pledge to modernize the plant in exchange for cut-rate electricity from the St. Lawrence-Roosevelt Power Project.

“It’s hard to say,” Hidy said. “Modernization is doing more with little … I don’t see it creating a lot of jobs at the end of the day.”

“Alcoa has been a part of the fabric of this community … they’re great community partners,” Currier said, adding that he thinks a local leader would have a greater effect by lobbying state leaders. “We need to get to the table … there has to be good dialogue.”

Currier is also president of the Massena Boys and Girls Club, which this summer received an $85,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation.

Public Safety

One of the panelists asked if the candidates would support a county-wide police force or funding for more officers in the Massena Police Department.

Hidy said he’d like to see that happen.

“Would I like to see something countywide? Absolutely,” he said. “It should happen on the state level as well.”

He said the local angle may be a bit challenging because of the tax base losing payers such as General Motors and Alcoa closing the east plant.

“We’ve got a huge tax burden,” Hidy said.

Currier said he thinks the countywide force isn’t a good idea.

“Cutting patrols … and turning it over to the county would be devastating,” he said.

He said that some operations could be consolidated on a county level, such as nighttime dispatching and felony-level drug investigations.

As far as combating heroin goes, Currier says economic development is key and Hidy believes the boot needs to come from on high.

“We have to create an economy that helps people,” Currier said, adding that job creation is vital to combating the problem since statistics he’s read show most heroin users are in their 20s.

“How did we get here? It’s society … it’s not just Massena, it’s all over,” Hidy said. “Our federal government needs to get a handle on this.”

Bringing Massena Back From The Dead

When asked about how to revive the housing market and make Massena attractive to potential homebuyers, both said that a big part is emphasizing what’s right about the village.

“I think it starts with the rhetoric. There’s too much negativity in this community,” Currier said. “Pick up a newspaper … it’s doom and gloom.”

Hidy said part of the problem starts with the local government.

“We have to stop the bickering … on the village board. We have to stop attacking our department heads,” he said, later adding “I think the newspaper has a responsibility.”

Both agreed that more good-paying job prospects would draw people to look at buying now-empty homes.

“It’s all predicated on income and jobs,” Hidy said.

Rift With Fire Department

A controversial point of Hidy’s tenure has been his relationship with the Massena Fire Department. He has been accused by department members as being against their squad and at one point, clashed publicly with their chief at village board meetings.

One of the panelists asked Hidy if he agrees or disagrees with the perception that he is against the firefighters.

“It’s totally untrue,” he said.

He then read from a letter to the editor where he praised the fire department and then read another letter from a fire official and claimed they were each saying the same thing about the department.

“We provide all the tools necessary to fight the fire,” he said.

While remaining civil, Currier switched into attack mode, which he largely stayed away from throughout the debate.

“He’s cherry-picking a few pieces of those letters,” he said, adding that he thinks the criticism of Hidy is justified.

“They should be respected and they deserve nothing less,” Currier said.