Next Tuesday will not be an election day in Massachusetts.
On Monday, news broke that the four special elections to fill vacant seats in the Massachusetts Legislature will no longer take place on Tuesday, March 31 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, the state Senate special elections to fill the Second Hampden and Hampshire District and the Plymouth and Barnstable District seats have been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 19.
The state House of Representatives special elections to fill the Third Bristol and 37th Middlesex seats have been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 2.
New Boston Post reached out to all eight Democrats and Republicans running to fill these seats for reaction. A few of them responded.
Bourne lawyer and Republican Jay McMahon, who is running against Falmouth selectman Susan Moran, a Democrat, in the Plymouth and Barnstable race, told New Boston Post he is pleased with the state’s decision.
McMahon, who hopes to replace former state Senator Vinny DeMacedo (R-Plymouth), said that moving the races back should increase civic participation.
“Many seniors were going to be disenfranchised if the election was held next week,” McMahon said in an email message. “For the safety of the poll workers, seniors, and working families, I am pleased the election has been postponed. I was hoping for a shorter postponement so I could get right to work on my recovery initiatives. I am determined to get people back to work as soon as possible and to revive our local economy.”
The Plymouth and Barnstable District in the Massachusetts Senate covers six towns: Plymouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Bourne, Falmouth, and Sandwich.
Plymouth and Barnstable District of the Massachusetts Senate. Map image courtesy of the Massachusetts Legislature web site.
State Representative John Velis (D-Westfield), who is running for state Senate against Southwick Republican John Cain in the Second Hampden and Hampshire district, also applauded the decision.
Velis, who hopes to replace Donald Humason, a Republican who resigned from the Senate after being elected mayor of Westfield, said he does not have time to campaign at the moment because of the widespread effect of the virus.
“My legislative office over the past week has been inundated with calls and emails from concerned citizens on a number of issues such as unemployment benefits, child care, seniors access to meals and small business’ who are concerned over whether or not they’ll be able to recover from this time period,” Velis said in an email message.
“Many of my constituents need help right now and that is my only priority; I am addressing their needs and concerns 24/7,” he added. “This is why I got into public service, and this is what this moment requires.”
The state Senate’s Second Hampden and Hampshire District includes the cities of Westfield and Holyoke; the towns of Easthampton, Southampton, Agawam, Granville, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, and Tolland; and portions of the city of Chicopee.
Second Hampden and Hampshire District of the Massachusetts Senate. Map image courtesy of the Massachusetts Legislature web site.
Taunton Democrat and school committee member Carol Doherty, who is running for the state House of Representatives against Taunton Republican Kelly Dooner in the Third Bristol District, told New Boston Post that the state made a wise choice to postpone.
Doherty said her team stopped campaigning door-to-door nearly two weeks ago.
“We thought person-to-person contact would put our volunteers and the people at the door in jeopardy potentially,” Doherty said in a telephone interview with New Boston Post. “In the interest of the health of the community, I think it’s a wise choice. It accounts for the well-being of the Commonwealth. I hope everything will be O.K. by June 2.”
Doherty and Dooner hope to replace Shaunna O’Connell, a Republican who resigned from the House after being elected mayor of Taunton.
The city of Taunton has eight wards, each with two precincts. The Third Bristol District of the House includes five wards in the city of Taunton and one precinct in another ward in Taunton (so: 11 of the city’s 16 precincts), plus one precinct in the town of Easton.
Third Bristol District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Map image courtesy of the Massachusetts Legislature web site.
Doherty’s one concern is that the district will not have a say in the state’s fiscal year 2021 budget, which is supposed to be put together during the spring so that it can take effect when the new fiscal year begins July 1.
“We will be absent that representative voice,” Doherty said. “I know that Senator Marc Pacheco, Representative Patricia Haddad, and Representative Norman Orrall will represent Taunton in the best way they can, but it doesn’t compare to having a representative on the ground in the community advocating the way someone from the Third Bristol would advocate.”
Pacheco (D-Taunton) represents a Senate district that includes all of Taunton. Haddad (D-Somerset) and Orrall (R-Lakeville) represent portions of Taunton in the state House of Representatives.
Another vacant seat in the House is the 37th Middlesex District, which includes the towns of Boxborough, Shirley, and Harvard; and portions of the towns of Acton, Ayer, and Lunenburg.
Like Doherty in Taunton, Acton Democrat Danillo Sena, who is running against Lunenburg Republican Catherine Clark in the 37th Middlesex, told New Boston that he thinks the state made the right call. However, Sena said he would have preferred that the special House elections be held on May 19 alongside the Senate races, instead of June 2.
“I share the concern that everyone has in regards to this epidemic,” Sena, who is running to replace former state Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg), said in a telephone interview. “It’s going to become one of the top issues. We weren’t prepared for this epidemic and now, we’ll want to be ready for scenarios like this in the future. Hopefully, it won’t happen, but we need to be ready.”
37th Middlesex District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Map image courtesy of the Massachusetts Legislature web site.
