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DEVENS — Two of the Democratic contenders for the Fifth Congressional District seat, which includes Hudson, took aim at supposed front-runner Niki Tsongas during a debate last week.

During a sometimes tense portion of the June 19 debate where the five Democratic candidates directed questions at each other, state Rep. James Eldridge, D-Acton, and Eileen Donoghue, a Lowell city-councilor and former mayor, exchanged pointed remarks with Tsongas over what the candidates said were Tsongas’ poor past decisions and vague stances on important issues.

Eldridge said that Tsongas, currently a dean at Middlesex Community College, had not taken a strong enough stand in denouncing the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement, closing corporate tax loopholes in Massachusetts and instituting national health insurance.

“How can we achieve real change in this country when Democrats like you won’t fight for it?” Eldridge said, drawing murmurs from the crowd in the packed Devens Common Center.

Donoghue questioned Tsongas on her role on an advisory committee in Lowell that approved a deal in 2006 leading to the city subsidizing rent for the team’s arena with taxpayer money to keep them from leaving town. The Lowell City Council ultimately approved the deal, but the committee could have killed it beforehand.

“You understood that it was a bad deal for Lowell but you acquiesced under pressure,” Donoghue said during a heated exchange with Tsongas.

Donoghue voted against the lease deal while serving on the city council. She said the deal cost the city $250,000 last year.

Tsongas, the widow of former Sen. Paul Tsongas, who held the Fifth District seat until he won a Senate seat in 1979, said Eldridge and Donoghue’s criticisms were unfounded.

Tsongas said she agreed to the lease deal because she, as well as a majority of the city council, believed it would benefit the town more in the long run to keep the Lowell Devils franchise in the city. In response to Eldridge’s questions, Tsongas said that NAFTA was flawed, but that it provided valuable lessons.

“I think it was a worthy effort and we learned from it,” she said.

On other issues, Tsongas said she supports broadening access to health care, but favors a system built on the model that will be implemented statewide and comprises a partnership between employers and federal and state governments, unlike the single-payer universal health insurance plan Eldridge supports, which is similar to healthcare plans in Britain and Canada.

Tsongas also touted her credentials as a veteran of her husband’s political campaigns, including a 1992 bid for the presidency, and as a member of several corporate and nonprofit boards.

While all five Democratic candidates offered similar positions on education and reducing dependence on foreign oil, they diverged on the war in Iraq and immigration reform.

State Rep. James Miceli, D-Wilmington, was the only candidate to oppose pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. Instead of troop withdrawal, Miceli said U.S. forces should continue shifting the burden onto Iraqi forces.

“It would be utter chaos to set a timetable,” he said. “The only way you can do it right not is how they’re doing it right now.”

Donoghue, Eldridge and Tsongas support pulling troops out soon, while state Rep. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, supports dividing Iraq into three separate states.

The candidates were also divided over the immigration bill currently before the Senate, which would grant approximately 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States a path to citizenship.

Again, Miceli set himself apart from the pack by being the only candidate to oppose the measure outright.

“It was an amnesty bill … and nothing more,” he said. “Can you go out and arrest 12 million people? No you can’t, but you can start.”

Tsongas, Finegold and Eldridge said they opposed certain provisions of the landmark legislation, but were generally supportive of a path to citizenship, and Donoghue supported the measure.

“Doing nothing is de facto amnesty,” Donoghue said. “I would support doing something rather than allowing [the problem] to fester and allowing de facto amnesty.”

The other four candidates in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan are: Republican Jim Ogonowski, whose brother died in the Sept. 11 attacks; Republican Thomas Tierney, who lost to Meehan in 2004; Independent Patrick Murphy, a Lowell bricklayer; and Constitution Party candidate Kevin Thompson.

The primary is scheduled for Sept. 4, and the general election will be held on Oct. 16.

Tsongas joins donors

Fifth District Congressional Candidate Niki Tsongas was joined by more than 350 women leaders from throughout the Fifth District and across the state recently who contributed over $75,000 to her campaign.

Even though the Fifth Congressional District sent the first woman from Massachusetts to Congress in 1925, the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation has not included a woman for the past 25 years, and it hasn’t sent a Democratic woman to Congress in over 30 years.

“Experience has taught me that sometimes change happens to you and sometimes you must make it happen,” said Tsongas said. “I am running for Congress because this country is on the wrong course in so many ways and we need change. Women’s voices are louder than ever, and we can take advantage of this window of opportunity to put our country back on the right track.”

The first lady of Boston, Angela Menino, introduced Tsongas saying, “Tom and I have known Niki and her family for many years. There is no mistaking the impact the Tsongas’s have had on this state. When our husbands worked together, I came to know Niki. She’s genuine, she’s sincere, she’s dedicated to the issues which are important to our cities, our towns, our families, and those less fortunate.”

 “Niki’s experience as a dedicated contributor to our community with a long history of service to this District distinguishes her as the best person to represent us in Congress,” said Brenda Costello from Lowell who attended the event.

Democratic leaders Stephen Kerrigan and David O’Brien, who both also mulled a run for the congressional seat being vacated by Marty Meehan, have endorsed former Lowell Mayor Eileen Donoghue.

In endorsing Donoghue for the Fifth Congressional District seat, Kerrigan and O’Brien said she best represents the voice of the district. Her knowledge of the issues combined with her experience, leadership capabilities and track record make Donoghue the best suited to lead the district in Washington, Kerrigan said.

“Eileen is a strong leader who is committed to working for the entire district and who isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves,” Kerrigan said in a statement. 

Kerrigan was elected as a selectman in Lancaster in 1998, where he served as the youngest elected in Lancaster’s history. O’Brien has been a leader in the Democratic Party on the national and state level for the last two decades.

“Eileen Donoghue has shown a true understanding for the needs of the entire Fifth Congressional District, from how No Child Left Behind is affecting our schools to the need to end the war in Iraq and to bring our troops home and treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve,” said O’Brien in a statement.

ACTON — State Rep. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, recently received the endorsement of five Democratic Town Committee chairs from the Fifth Congressional District.

The town chairs announced their endorsements through the video-sharing site YouTube and on Eldridge’s campaign Web site. Eldridge believes the endorsements reflect his commitment to progressive ideals and grassroots campaigning.

“I am running a grassroots campaign, and these town chairs are playing an instrumental role in that,” Eldridge said in a statement.

In one of the videos, Boxborough Democratic Town Committee Chairman Francie Nolde praised Eldridge for his progressive leadership and organizational work on Deval Patrick’s campaign last year.

“Jamie came out very early along with Jim McGovern to support Deval because he wanted a strong, progressive leader in the state house,” said Nolde.

The video endorsements are available at http://youtube.com/jamie4congress and http://www.jamieforcongress.com/endorse. S

ACTON — The Leagues of Women Voters in the towns of the Fifth Congressional District are joining forces to sponsor candidate debates before the primary and general elections to fill the vacant Congressional seat.

The local Leagues, supported by the state League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, plan to hold debates Tuesday, Aug. 21, and Thursday, Aug. 23, before the Sept. 4 primary elections and Tuesday, Sept. 25, and Thursday, Sept. 27 before the Oct. 16 general election. Debate locations in the northern and southern portions of the 29-town district will be announced in the near future.

The pre-primary forums will include a debate between candidates in all contested races, plus a chance for candidates in uncontested primary races to answer questions separately.

Before the general election, the debates will include all candidates for the vacant seat, created by the resignation of Congressman Martin Meehan on July 1 to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization. The League encourages informed and active participation in government and works to increase understanding of major public policy issues. For more information on the state and local Leagues, see the Web site, lwvma.org.

To submit an item for publication in the Fifth District Campaign Notes, e-mail rburgess@cnc.com.