According to state Rep. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, voters need only look at his track record over the past six years and his commitment to increasing local aid to realize that he’s the right candidate to take over the Middlesex and Worcester state Senate district.

Eldridge, who was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002, said he has spent his time in office helping to attract jobs to the area, pushing for environmental protection legislation and working for increased state aid to the district’s schools.

“I have the track record and I want to continue that work in the Senate and make an even greater difference,” said Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, during a recent interview with Community Newspaper Company editors and reporters in Concord.

Eldridge will face Republican Steven Levy, a two-term Marlborough city councilor, in the Nov. 4 election to replace retiring state Sen. Pam Resor, also an Acton Democrat.

Specifically, Eldridge pointed to his work to create jobs by encouraging companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb and Evergreen Solar to locate within the district, as well as his part in passing legislation to guarantee municipalities a minimum level of Chapter 70 state education aid as his biggest accomplishments. Both are contentions Levy says Eldridge takes too much credit for.

Eldridge added that his experience with education aid is especially relevant as a $1 billion shortfall in the state budget has led to speculation that the economic crisis could lead to cuts in local aid.

The representative rejected criticism from his opponent that he supported excessive spending and helped lead the state to its current fiscal shortfall.

“No one could have expected the financial crisis we were going to have and that revenues would go down so much,” he said. “The budget was balanced in July when we passed it and then revenues decreased so much, especially capital gains.”

Gov. Patrick has publicly stated that he hopes to avoid cuts in local aid and did not include any in his package of budget cuts presented last week. But Eldridge said it’s important for legislators to continue to voice opposition to future local aid cuts.

“We’re particularly glad that he didn’t cut local aid — Lottery aid or Chapter 70 education aid — and we want to keep the pressure on to keep that from happening,” said the 35-year-old state representative.

Eldridge said he opposes granting Patrick the expanded power he has asked for to further cut the budget in areas normally under the Legislature’s control because he fears doing so could lead to local aid cuts.

But the representative supports Patrick’s proposal to generate new revenue by taxing telecommunications companies for telephone poles, which has previously failed to pass the Legislature. Levy says such a move would just force those companies to pass the costs onto consumers, but Eldridge says it’s an issue of fairness and that telecommunications companies need to pay the same taxes other businesses do.

Eldridge said he opposes Question 1 on the November ballot, which would repeal the state income tax, because it would reduce state revenue by about $11 billion and lead to cuts in essential services and increased property taxes at the local level.

“It would be devastating not only in terms of affecting public education, police and fire, but it would cause property taxes to skyrocket,” he said.