Hawaii Got Rid Of Its Last Republican State Senator Last Year. When Will Massachusetts Do The Same?

-by Glenn Wiech
Vice Chair, Milford Democratic Town Committee

Southern Worcester County in Massachusetts is like other suburban and semi-rural areas across the country. It’s fair to say that the Blackstone Valley is one of the prettiest parts of the state. Nonetheless we have our share of problems. Many of our once humming factories have been converted to lofts or left to rot. Decaying infrastructure has left towns with low-quality drinking water. More than half of the towns in this area have tried to fund their schools through ballot measures because they’re being starved of state revenue. And the opioid crisis is raging through the area. What we need is a state senator who is an advocate interested in solving the many problems in this district. But that's not what we've got.

Our current state senator is Republican Ryan Fattman. For the four years he has been in office, little has been done for the district. Of all the senators in our state senate, Fattman is the least progressive. He is known for skipping meetings with his constituents, sending a low-level representative in his place or skipping the meeting entirely. Many people call his office for clarification on an issue or his stance on a bill and receive no return call, no answer at all. In this session he voted against a bill that would protect employees against wage theft, and against another bill that had a tax of 4% on the wealthy that would have funded improvements to education and infrastructure. I know what you are saying to yourself: it sounds like every other Republican. Fattman goes a step further.

Fattman has cultivated a working relationship with an anti-immigrant hate group called the Center for Immigration Studies. He appears with them at press conferences to oppose Massachusetts becoming a sanctuary state and he has them writing anti-immigrant legislation on his behalf. He was a mini-Trump before Trump even announced his presidential campaign. How does he get away with this in liberal Massachusetts? Like our current governor, Governor Baker, he uses a nice guy image and demeanor to mask his really terrible policies.

Many of my friends have been stewing over this rein of error. Late last year one of them, Tom Merolli, decided to step up and run against him. Tom is a public employee in the small town of Mendon, where he’s the assistant treasurer. At 28, he is already the chair of the Mendon Democratic Town Committee, is a field consultant for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, and was an intern for Congressman Richard Neal. A pro-Bernie progressive, he’s running on a platform of Medicare for All, increasing state aid for education, stronger environmental regulations, and safe patient to nurse ratios as outlined in one of state’s ballot questions.

Tom and his team have done an impressive job of mobilizing progressives all over the district. They’ve knocked on over 20,000 doors and have had as many as 88 volunteers at his canvassing events. Tom’s campaign has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and his signs are all over the district, however like most other progressive candidates he’s short on money. As a long-time fan of DWT, I would like nothing more than for DWT to help get Tom over the finish line. You can donate directly to Tom and to other DWT-approved state-level candidates by clicking on the 2018 ActBlue state legislative thermometer on the right.

Remember, progressives candidates like Tom can become our bench for future congressional or senatorial races on the national level. Although national races take up most of our attention, races like this will create more opportunities for progressives in the future.