It is no secret that during this election cycle, things are a bit tense to put it lightly. However, while all eyes are on the Presidency and Congressional down ballot races, not much attention is being given to the local races, despite them being crucial for enacting the theoretical Harris or Second Trump administrations, even though they’re right in our backyards.
Right now, the State Senate seats are up for election, and the district that Sutton resides in, the Worcester & Norfolk District, is one of four in the Commonwealth that is represented by the Republican Party.
MAGOP was once quite powerful in the Commonwealth; in fact, it used to be dominant, even as Al Smith in 1928 swept the state and began its shift towards Democrats on a presidential level. Prominent Republicans such as Senator Charles Sumner, Vice President Henry Wilson, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (who infamously ended the US government’s bid to join the League of Nations).
More recent figures include Lodge’s grandson, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., who was a US Senator, UN Ambassador, Ambassador to South Vietnam and Richard Nixon’s running mate in 1960. He famously won the New Hampshire and Massachusetts GOP primaries in 1964 as a write-in candidate under the ‘Draft Lodge’ movement, which was formed without his knowledge, even being polled as the best possible performing Republican candidate that year.
Joseph W. Martin, Jr. was a longtime House GOP Leader, two term Speaker of the House and Republican Party Chair. Edward Brooke, was the first black US Senator elected by popular vote, and Leverett Saltonstall, was a popular Governor and Senate GOP Whip. Bill Weld, Mitt Romney, and Charlie Baker were all popular and successful GOP governors.
However, by the 1970’s, the Democrats had overtaken the state due to a mix of liberalization of the populace, MAGOP being slowly overtaken by it’s conservative faction, and the shadow of the Kennedy family, a central figure being JFK’s brother, Senator Ted Kennedy. Because of this, there are only four Republican State Senators and 25 in the House of Representatives, with Democrats dominating both chambers.
Incumbent Ryan Fattman is one of the four State Senators. He faces Democrat Anthony Allard. Allard is actually seeing significant traction, including in Sutton, Senator Fattman’s hometown, where Allard signs can be seen.
Because of this, I decided to contact Allard’s campaign to learn a little about his beliefs, policies, and principles. I asked him eight questions, and to his credit, he answered them. Below are the questions I asked, and the answers he gave for your own reading pleasure, and to help you make an informed decision on whom to vote for on Tuesday.
What is your view on the political deadlock of the current day and age? Do you see any way to mitigate or even do away with the political deadlock in the near future?
The current political deadlock is preventing progress at the federal level from being made. However, in the state of Massachusetts, we are fortunate to have a democratic supermajority allowing most policies to pass through. We also have provisions set up to send measures to the voters to decide on through ballot questions. It’s hard to comment on the political deadlock at the federal level as this is not a federal race. However, with cooperation across the aisle, progress can be made.
What about the Democratic Party appealed to you when deciding to get involved in politics? How would you pitch the party to a young adult, such as many of our readers and fellow students who are interested in politics yet aren’t entirely sure about their political affiliation yet?
The Democratic Party appealed to me as a progressive young individual who believes in progress and rights for all, regardless of class, religion, age, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. The Democratic Party has also encouraged increased public transportation, a key issue of mine. What I tell everyone who’s a young voter is to think about what’s most important in your life. I recommend you research topics that apply to you and look at what candidates appeal to you. My only advice would be don’t vote for someone because they are Democrat or Republican; vote for the candidates that will do the most good for your values.
Perhaps the one issue the district’s constituents have experienced firsthand is the current immigration and migration problem. Quite some time ago, Sutton itself hosted a decent number of Haitian citizens who fled due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis there, stemming from President Moise’s assassination a couple years ago. What is your overall stance on the situation, and what would your preferred solution be for the duration of the crisis?
The migrant “crisis” is not a crisis. Individuals who are refugees are able to work as soon as they arrive, contributing to the economy and doing the jobs that Americans do not usually want to do. Refugees also must obtain green cards within a year of moving to the US. All the individuals who arrived in Sutton arrived legally and arrived on short notice to the state itself. Through the duration of this crisis and in the future, social support services should be increased through legislative funding and grants.
Another pressing issue for many folks here in Sutton on both sides of the political spectrum regards the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens, especially after the whole ConCon Crisis at the school, and also how the national race is concerning them as well. What is your stance on the rights of those LGBTQ+ citizens, and what would you say to people on the other side of the argument in an effort to convince them of your line of thought?
LGBTQ+ citizens deserve all rights granted to non-LGBTQ+ citizens, including the right to marry, be out and themselves, adopt and raise children, go through IVF, and more. To those on the other side of the issue, I would say that you don’t have to accept the decisions of LGBTQ+ individuals, but you should be respectful. If you can’t accept LGBTQ+ individuals, it does not hurt to ignore them.
What is your economic philosophy in general? This is an especially relevant question considering the economy is still slowly recovering from the COVID era downturn and with current fears that inflation may get worse depending on what happens in the near future.
My economic philosophy is to help the middle and lower classes gain ground as a middle-class citizen myself. I want to help increase the ability of the lower and middle classes to buy homes, access healthcare, afford food, and live comfortably. Taxes on the rich have been shown to be effective and have successfully funded programs such as the summer meals for kids, regardless of income.
What is an issue you’re passionate about that you feel doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should? What are some solutions to that issue that you’ve found or imagined?
I feel that transportation in the rural areas of Massachusetts does not get enough attention. There are several solutions proposed, such as the east-west rail with a stop in Palmer. I would like to see more public transportation options like buses and vans able to transport citizens to work, school, doctor appointments, and off-day events.
Many voters appreciate a politician’s independence when deciding to support them or not. With this in mind, is there a stance on an issue that you hold that deviates from your party’s official position on said issue? If so, please discuss it.
The state is majority democratic. We need to work on funding outside of Boston. We need more funding out here in our district, and I plan on working hard to make that happen.
To leave on a good note, is there anything positive you would like to say about your opponent, Senator Ryan Fattman?
Regardless of the outcome of the election, I look forward to working together to help the citizens of our shared district.
Conclusion
I would like to give my sincere thanks to Mr. Allard for answering these important questions for the voters of Sutton. I also interviewed his opponent, Senator Ryan Fattman, and you can read that as well here at SuttonHighNews. I earnestly hope these two articles will have provided you the information you need if you were on the fence this time around.
