Rep

SWAMPSCOTT - A North Shore state representative was the talk of the town on WZLX in Boston Friday.

Rep. Douglas Petersen, who represents Marblehead, Swampscott and two precincts in Lynn, was a telephone guest on the Karlson & McKenzie show Friday morning along with Swampscott Board of Selectmen Chairman Marc Paster, who ran against Petersen in 2004.

When asked point-blank by the interviewer if he had told Swampscott parents their sons and daughters were going to be captains of industry and Swampscott taxpayers had a responsibility to help educate kids in Lynn so their children would have good employees, Petersen denied making the comment.

“No, I didn’t say it,” Petersen said to the show’s hosts. “Absolutely not.” (Webmaster's note- not in those exact words.)

When contacted by The Item Friday afternoon, Petersen said he wasn’t denying making the comments when questioned on the radio show.

“I took issue with the way it was phrased,’ he said.

Paster said when he saw the tape of Swampscott School Committee meeting where Petersen made the remarks, he couldn’t believe what he heard.

“I was absolutely shocked,” he said. “I couldn’t believe anyone would say stuff like that about our kids.”

Paster pointed out Petersen was sitting next to Sen. Thomas McGee, who is a Lynn resident, when he made those comments.

“If you had seen the face of (Senator) Thomas McGee from Lynn,” he said. “He looked like he was going to throw up.”

When the interviewer asked Petersen if he was given the opportunity to apologize for his characterization of students from Lynn and refused, Petersen didn’t answer the question directly, but he denied making any characterization of Lynn kids. He said he was merely explaining to Swampscott parents why Lynn received more state aid per student than Swampscott.

Paster told Petersen that he owes Lynn students an apology.

“You owe a big apology to the kids in Lynn,” Paster said. “Go to every school in Lynn and apologize.”

Paster also told Petersen he owes an apology to the kids in Swampscott.

Petersen countered by saying he doesn’t understand why he owes Swampscott students an apology.

“Why is what I said an insult to Swampscott kids,” he asked.

Paster said his comments set a bad example for students in Swampscott because Swampscott is a neighbor of Lynn. Paster said Petersen’s comments are not indicative of how the town perceives Lynn and said the two communities have worked together on several projects. He added Petersen’s comments created a lot of ill will.

The host of the show wanted to conclude with a friendly quiz game to determine whether Petersen or Paster were smarter than a fifth grader, which didn’t sit well with Petersen.

“What is the point of this exercise,” Petersen asked. “I resent getting into this kind of thing.”

Friday afternoon, Petersen told The Item the irony of the whole situation is he was trying to defend Lynn when he was speaking in Swampscott.

“I wanted to make sure Swampscott parents don’t resent Lynn,” he said. “I wanted to make sure they know their investment in Lynn is important.”

In addition to WZLX, WTKK dedicated more than an hour Friday to discussions on Petersen’s comments. Petersen also fielded questions during a brief interview on WBZ radio.