🔨 Your Candidates for State Rep - 7th Middlesex Edition
Primary Election Information | Interview: Jack Patrick Lewis | Interview: Carlton Phelps | The Civic Week Ahead
I'm still stuck in the August rain, Framingham. My garden is happy, that is for sure.
September 3 is Primary Day here in Massachusetts. There are two competitive races I want to bring to your attention: State Representative for the 7th Middlesex District and Governor’s Council.
Framingham has four state representatives - Priscila Sousa of the 6th Middlesex, Kate Donaghue of the 19th Worcester (What up Framingham Precinct 21A!), and Danielle Gregoire of the 4th Middlesex (representing Precincts 21B, 22, 23), and Jack Lewis of the 7th Middlesex.
This week’s newsletter features the 7th Middlesex District: Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis of Framingham and challenger Carlton Phelps of Ashland.
As we get closer to the November election, I will do Q&A with the other candidates on the ballot.
Curious about something? Let’s clear it up! Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com.
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Election Information
Tuesday, September 3 is Primary Day. This is the primary for the general November election.
What is on the ballot:
United States Senate
United States Representative
Governor’s Councillor
Senator in General Court (Massachusetts Legislature)
Representative in General Court (Massachusetts Legislature
Clerk of Courts
Registrar of Deed
Where Do I Vote? What is my precinct?
Voting
On election day: Polls are open in Framingham from 7:00am - 8:00pm. Information about polling locations can be found here on the City Clerk’s website.
By mail: Apply for a ballot by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at 508-532-5521 or email cityclerk@framinghamma.gov. All vote by mail applications for the State Primary must be received in the City Clerk’s Office, Room #105, by 5 p.m., on Monday, August 26, 2024. Click here for more information on how to vote by mail.
Early voting: Begins on Saturday, August 24 at the Memorial Building and McAuliffe Library. See below for the schedule.
If you have any questions, please contact the City Clerk’s Office or check out their very comprehensive website. We are incredibly lucky to have such a great team in the Clerk’s office!
Meet the Candidates for State Representative
The 7th Middlesex District contains Precincts 9A, 17-20, 21C, 24-27 and Ashland.
I sent both candidates this Q&A last week, and it is published without any edits.
Name: Jack Patrick Lewis
Occupation: State Representative, former Executive Director of Framingham-based OUT MetroWest, former Assistant Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills
Elected and volunteer experience:
State Representative since 2017
Chair of the House Committee on Federal Stimulus & Census Oversight
Co-Chair of 66-member Massachusetts House Progressive Caucus
Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Protecting Animal Welfare Legislative Caucus
Member of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Anti-Hate Anti-Bias Task Force
Member of the Advisory Council on Early Education and Care
Steering Committee: Global Equality Caucus
Founding Executive Director of OUT MetroWest, non-profit serving MetroWest LGBTQ+ youth
Former Assistant Minister for Social Justice & Education at a local Unitarian congregation
Member of the Framingham Democratic Committee
Website/Social Media:
Campaign: www.ElectJackLewis.com, Facebook.com/JackPatrickLewis, Instagram.com/JackPatrickLewis, Twitter.com/ElectJackLewis
Office: www.RepJackLewis.com. Facebook.com/RepJackLewis, Instagram.com/RepJackLewis, Twitter.com/RepJackLewis
Why are you running?
I first ran with the promise that I would prioritize increasing public education funding, accelerating our transition to renewable energy, protecting reproductive rights, expanding youth health and wellness, and supporting our communities’ seniors. Over the last eight years, these values have been my guiding star.
While a core responsibility of this position is passing legislation, nothing can be accomplished without strong relationships. What this looks like is responding to thousands of advocacy emails each year and hundreds of requests for support. It is starting my week every Monday serving lunch at the Ashland Senior Center and joining chair volleyball at Framingham’s Callahan Center each Monday afternoon. It's celebrating new businesses and new Eagle Scouts in town and eating my way through the farmer’s market each week. It’s reading the paper each morning so I can help celebrate local young athletes and community volunteers.
We have accomplished so much together because the residents of Ashland and Framingham have opened their hearts and their lives to me. By inviting me into their highest and lowest of days, sharing with me their hopes and dreams, together we have been able to deliver on local projects and pass vital legislation.
I have been able to successfully deliver on my promises, but more importantly, I have succeeded in developing strong connections with my constituents. These are connections that can’t be simply replicated or somehow expedited. To put it simply, I am able to succeed more in this job with each passing year because of these relationships.
What do you believe is the top issue facing Massachusetts residents?
In the face of a Supreme Court hostile to our shared values, our Legislature must continue to be vigilant in preserving our strong laws pertaining to reproductive freedom, gun safety, and environmental protections. If re-elected, these will continue to be among my legislative priorities. But the top issue I believe is facing Massachusetts residents though is affordability.
My husband and I purchased our home in Framingham twelve years ago. We were excited about the prospect of raising children in this area and for what the community had to offer our growing family. But Framingham was also the only community where two young professionals, me working at a church and my husband working at a non-profit, could afford to purchase a home. Many in our neighborhood of mostly one-story ranches were purchased in the last decade and a half by middle-class families like ours. But dramatically increasing housing prices and lack of housing stock, coupled with growing student debt and stagnant wages for many, have made our Framingham “American Dream” inaccessible for many.
Over the last eight years, I have led and supported policies to ensure that our communities’ families are supported. These successes have included:
Passing free community college and Paid Family & Medical Leave
Raising the minimum wage
Prioritizing student debt reduction programs
Expanding rental assistance, access to council, and legal aid
Doubling the senior circuit breaker credit
Supporting first-time homebuyer programs and the production of additional housing
While no one policy alone will “fix” our Commonwealth’s affordability problem, if re-elected, I will continue to prioritize our communities’ families.
What are your accomplishments...
On the state level?
Nothing is accomplished on Beacon Hill without close partnerships and collaboration. Our power isn’t in our individual priorities or projects but in our ability to work together to pass legislation that moves our communities and Commonwealth forward. While I have personally taken the lead on several successful pieces of legislation, most of my energy and political capital are spent supporting legislation for which I am not the lead sponsor. As your state representative, sometimes this means leading from the front and other times supporting from behind.
I have successfully spearheaded legislation and funding to:
Expand adoption options and access to veteran services
Increase access and funding for public health prevention services
Strengthen our Commonwealth's gun safety laws
Support single parents completing college degrees
Assist people with disabilities accessing job training, placement, and retention
Engage over 35,000 students, teachers, and parents in learning about the democratic process through the State Dinosaur Project
I have co-sponsored successful efforts to:
Protect and expand reproductive rights, health care access, non-discrimination protections
Fund free community college, universal school meals, and grant programs for non-profits and faith communities targeted by hate-motivated violence
Increase access to higher education for our immigrant neighbors and people with disabilities
Increasing the minimum wage
Ban conversion therapy and work to close the gender pay gap
Codify Paid Family and Medical Leave, mail-in voting, and criminal justice reform
Accelerate our transition to renewable energy, invest in green energy jobs, and support environmental justice communities.
In Framingham and Ashland?
Successes at the state level have also directly supported the residents of Ashland and Framingham. In addition to great increases to public education funding, locally I have successfully worked with colleagues and local leaders to:
Assist thousands of area residents with local, state, and federal resources (i.e. unemployment benefits, health insurance), along with their legislative advocacy
Expedite flooding mitigation along Route 9 and the construction of a crosswalk across a dangerous intersection on Route 9
Secure long-term COVID-19 testing site in Ashland during the pandemic to complement the site in Downtown Framingham
Obtain local funding for:
Pedestrian and bike path expansions
Accessible playgrounds and park improvements
Framingham Public School Welcome Center
Framingham Mobile Health Clinic
Framingham Homework Center
Clean-up and development of a future arboretum at the former Cadilac Paint site
Future outdoor patio at the Ashland Senior Center
Downtown Ashland Revitalization Project
Warren Barn restoration project
New school building projects
Metrowest Regional Transit Authority
What do you hope to achieve in the next 2 years...
On the state level?
Next session, I will continue to take the lead in the House on legislation relating to youth health and wellness (notably suicide prevention), public health prevention services, expanded programs and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and our transition to renewable energy. While I have had a very successful session so far in taking the lead in securing expanded veteran benefits, gun safety, and public health services, this session is not over until December 31, and I have several priority bills that have passed either the House or the Senate, that I will continue working to get to the governor’s desk. These bills include policies to increase number of primary care physicians, combat youth suicide, and expand animal welfare.
Many of the bills I have filed and had signed into law originated as ideas from constituents and local organizations. While the democratic and legislative process is intentionally a deliberative one, I am always open to suggestions relating to bills that will improve the lives of local residents. With each passing session, the number of my priority bills signed into law continue to grow, and I ask the residents of Ashland and Framingham to continue to share their thoughts, insights, and priorities.
In Framingham and Ashland?
If re-elected, I will continue to support statewide policies, like the ones above, that will have a direct positive effect on our families and communities.
Over the next two years, I will continue to build upon my close relationships with Senate President Karen Spilka, my local House colleagues, Framingham’s Mayor and City Council Chair, and Ashland’s Town Manager and Select Board to identify future projects for potential state funding. I will continue to prioritize funding local projects that support our communities’ youth and seniors, expand public health, and cleanup local environmental waste sites.
My expanded staff have allowed my office to dramatically increase the number of constituents we serve. Over the last eight years, we have assisted thousands of area residents in accessing state services, along with partnering with local, federal, and international colleagues to be a steadfast resource. These vital relationships do not emerge overnight, and with the opportunity to continue serving the residents of Framingham and Ashland, these partnerships will continue to bear fruit for all our families.
Name: Carlton Phelps
Occupation: Sales and Finance
Elected and volunteer experience: Trustee of Ashland Affordable Housing Trust, MetroWest YMCA Youth Volunteer, Clear Path for Veterans
Website/Social Media:
Website: https://www.phelpsma.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carltonphelps81
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlton_phelps
Why are you running? I want to continue the legacy of civil rights; we know our rights are not guaranteed in this country, so it takes strong leadership with new ideas and metric-driven solutions to keep us moving forward as a community in Framingham and Ashland as well as the other cities/towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
What do you believe is the top issue facing Massachusetts residents? Transparency and Affordable Housing. We must first elect officials that are willing to be accountable and that starts with voters deserving to know how their representative votes. Additionally, we must also find solutions to the housing affordability crisis we face in Ashland and Framingham. This begins with down payment assistance, increased state incentives to encourage strategic development of affordable housing, and other potential solutions to this critical issue.
What are your accomplishments...
on the state level? I have worked with Mass Housing through the Federal Home Loan Bank that has coordinated programs like MassDREAMS grant and other downpayment programs which help first time homebuyers. As a Bank Auditor I have evaluated all the Banks in the state and have solutions on how we can reevaluate how we tax Real Estate in Massachusetts and create a more equitable Commonwealth.
in Framingham and Ashland? I was appointed as a Trustee to the Ashland Affordable Housing Trust, and I spend time as a Youth Volunteer at the MetroWest YMCA. My work at the Federal Home Loan Bank and in Ashland and Framingham has put me at the intersection of housing and public policy and as affordable housing continues to be one of our region’s greatest challenges, my years of experience on this issue is needed now on Beacon Hill more than ever.
What do you hope to achieve in the next 2 years...
on the state level? I will advocate and sponsor a bill from day one that will allow Framingham and Ashland residents to know how their representative votes. I will also do the same regarding affordable housing, as we need to reevaluate how we tax Real Estate and create a more equitable Commonwealth.
in Framingham and Ashland? I hope to achieve more progress on how we measure our success throughout a student’s career. We can retain the MCAS but need the flexibility to ensure that it is an effective measurement of progress for all students. Also providing financial assistance for parents to enroll in quality pre-K programs. Additionally, I want to create and implement a more robust green strategy, reaching net zero and eliminating our reliance on fossil fuels will not happen overnight but we need climate action now, I hope to advocate and sponsor bills that would take this step. Lastly, I want to fix the MBTA, ensuring that it is a reliable commuting option for the thousands of MetroWest residents. We must modernize our infrastructure so that our roads and bridges are safe and reliable.
Framingham League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
The Framingham chapter of the LWV held a candidates’ forum on Sunday night. The forum is moderated by an official LWV moderator from another community. Thank you to the LWV for another good forum.
Next week: Candidates for Governor’s Council
The Civic Week Ahead
Monday, August 19
Tuesday, August 20
Wednesday, August 21
Thursday, August 22
7:00pm: Planning Board Agenda
In Closing…
If you are new to The Ham’er, welcome! I hope you subscribe for all things Framingham. Each week I write this newsletter sharing insight and facts on the top issues of the week. I love Framingham and local politics… The Ham’er is my way to share that love.
See you next week,
Mary Kate
Another very informative post!!