Cape State Senator Susan Moran Will Seek County Post In 2024, Leaving Massachusetts Legislature

Moran said she “hope[s] to have the opportunity to use my background in mental health and addictions treatment along with my skills as a long-time practicing attorney in federal and state courts, to better integrate services to the community with the DA and Sheriff and to increase the efficiency and accessibility of the Court, for judges, lawyers and consumers.”

The current Barnstable court clerk, Scott Nickerson, a Republican, took office more than 20 years ago after a close victory over the incumbent Democrat clerk.

In the meantime, Moran said, “my focus is on finishing my Senate term and working on initiatives I have fought for since being elected, including competitively funding childcare and protecting our aquifer and ocean while growing a successful economy.”

After serving her first full term as co-chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee, Moran was tapped as the Senate’s lead member on taxation policy earlier this year as co-chairman of the Joint Revenue Committee.

The moderate district — which stretches from Pembroke down to Mashpee, including Plymouth and Falmouth — has oscillated between parties in recent years.

Moran, then a Falmouth selectman, flipped the seat to the Democrats in a 2020 special election. Republican state Senator Viriato deMacedo (R-Plymouth) held the seat for two and a half terms before resigning in 2019 to take a job at Bridgewater State University. Before him, Democrat Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) had represented the Plymouth and Barnstable District since the early ’90s.

On Thursday, November 30, two representatives — Democratic state Representative Dylan Fernandes (D-Falmouth) and Republican state Representative Mathew Muratore (R-Plymouth) — told State House News Service they’re weighing runs for the seat.

Fernandes, who worked on Maura Healey’s first campaign for attorney general and is now serving his fourth term in the House, said he is “seriously considering running for the Senate seat.”

“This presents an opportunity for me to represent my hometown district in the Senate and continue to fight to protect our environment, support attainable housing, and combat our opioid epidemic — issues that I’ve worked on during my time in the Legislature,” the Falmouth lawmaker said. “And this is a district that faces a lot of challenges in the coming years, around building new bridges, holding Holtec responsible for environmental stewardship, and it’s really important that someone is in this seat who brings new energy and perspective to it, but also has the experience to get the job done.”

Muratore, a five-term legislator and former Plymouth selectman, said he got around a dozen telephone calls Wednesday night “encouraging me to run,” starting with a call from former state Senator deMacedo.

“So I’m seriously taking a look at it. Yeah, I gotta take a look at the numbers, look at the district, see what makes sense,” Muratore said. “… I’d like to get out there and hear from the people. I know what the people of Plymouth like, but I need to hear from other people in other parts of the district, as well, and see what it is, what are their concerns, what are they looking for, what help can I bring to them?”

Republicans won a Senate seat in central Massachusetts this month, with new GOP state Senator Peter Durant (R-Spencer) taking his oath of office Wednesday, November 29.

Senate Republican Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), at a press conference before Durant’s ceremony, said he saw “certainly other districts in which I think we could be viable and I think we could win competitive races.”