Democrat incumbant state Rep. Brian Ashe and Republican candidate Peter Warren.
Reminder Publishing submitted photos
The Nov. 3 election is rapidly approaching and Reminder Publishing reached out to both candidates for the 2nd Hampden District seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to answer questions on experience, policies and general thoughts before voters hit the polls.
Democrat and 17-year incumbent state Rep. Brian Ashe and Republican Peter Warren are up for the seat, which represents East Longmeadow Precincts 2-5, Hampden, Longmeadow, Monson Precincts B and C and Springfield Ward 6, Precincts C and D.
Ashe served on the Longmeadow Select Board for seven years before his 2008 election win against Republican incumbent state Rep. Mary Rogeness.
Ashe said he is feeling good ahead of the election but there’s always a bit of uncertainty when having an opponent. He said he wants to make sure he has done everything he can to achieve reelection.
“I think having been in office for 18 years, I think I’m doing a pretty good job,” Ashe said. “You kind of self-campaign throughout your career if you’re doing your job well, and I try to do that. I try to make as many public things as I can or make as many events or learn as much as I can about people and businesses moving into the district. I’m feeling pretty good but you never know, because when people get in the voting booth, that’s where they make their private vote.”
Warren has town government experience as Monson Select Board chair, Board of Health chair and Finance Committee member. He currently serves on the Memorial Hall Renovation Committee.
Warren said he is feeling good and strong about the conviction of his message ahead of the election.
“It’s the first time running on a state level like this for me,” Warren said. “I’m more used to doing things locally, and it’s a much different game. I feel good. I think based on feedback from residents, there definitely is an appetite for change.”
Ashe said building relationships is something he’s learned in his career that will help him further if reelected. He said it’s important to have open dialogue with residents, town employees and business owners so people know they can call him to get things done.
“They’ll know I’ll help,” Ashe said. “I think that, I know it goes a long way with people because they want to be able to look their rep., senator or whoever it is in the eye and feel like ‘all right, this is a good person, I like communicating with this person and I believe they’re doing the best they can to help me and to help other people in the district.’”
Warren said his fiscal experience from town government and “looking at the whole big picture, not just what one certain group wants out of a budget” will help him in office if he wins the seat.
“I’ve always been fiscally responsible and conservative, and I believe that you don’t live beyond your means,” Warren said. “I think I was successful doing that in town government and I know I can bring the same flavor, if you will, to the state level. There’s so many eyes on it and because I have visibility to, and anybody has the visibility to what’s going on, it’s well documented, I just feel like there’s definitely some fiscal strategies and changes that need to be made and I want to be a part of that because, in my opinion, we’re going in the wrong direction.”
Ashe said he would love to continue working on a relief bill and assistance fund for residents with homes suffering from “crumbling concrete.”
He said he received a call from a Connecticut legislator almost 10 years ago, warning him about crumbling concrete in the foundations of homes.
The issue stems from pyrrhotite contamination — a mineral prevalent in northeast homes built between 1983 and 2015 – and requires lifting the home, demolishing the foundation and pouring a full replacement. The fix can cost between $150,000-$200,000 and upwards of $400,000 for a larger home.
Ashe visited a home in Auburn a few years ago suffering from crumbling concrete and said it looked like it could come down at any moment.
“Right now, there’s between 50-60 cities and towns that have been impacted,” Ashe said. “Most people that I know don’t have a couple hundred thousand dollars that they can just say, ‘oh well, I’ll just pay for it.’ We’ve been working and it’s frustrating because it’s a slow process, but we want to get legislation that will have a positive impact on people, mostly having money that we can use to help try to make their homes whole again.”
He said the fund is in an application process that allows people to have their homes tested. If approved, they will be reimbursed for a portion of the work.
Warren said he would love to get started on changing the Right to Shelter law.
The law provides emergency shelter placements, moving assistance and related family support to families with children under 21 and pregnant individuals with no feasible alternative housing who meet resource and income requirements.
“Some Republicans have already written this and made an attempt at it, or at least an amendment to it,” Warren said. “I think it is absolutely critical. Our own citizens, the people who have fallen on hard times and have been paying taxes here forever get put to the back of the line, and specifically veterans should never be in a position after serving us with high risk. They shouldn’t be put in a position where they’re in line waiting for housing. They should actually be in front of the line.”
He said another “hot button” plan is making sure to move forward with an audit on the state Legislature.
“A lot of citizens around the state don’t know that every town gets audited every single year,” Warren said. “That was written by the Legislature, it’s a state law. Now, they’ve had all this pushback about why they shouldn’t be audited. Those tax dollars are ours and they are working for us. We should have clear visibility about where we’re spending the money.”
Ashe said residents should cast their votes for him because of how his relationships and experience in the Legislature, in Boston and locally, allow him to get things done.
“It takes a long time to properly cultivate relationships, and I’ve done that,” Ashe said. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done and I’m proud I can get a lot of things done because I’ve worked with so many people. They know who I am and they know what I do. They know what I bring to the table … You have to continuously do it. It’s not like you can build a relationship and you’re good to go for the rest of your career. You have to constantly remind yourself there’s new people coming in, new businesses coming in and continuously going out and making sure you’re available to people.”
Warren said residents should cast their votes for him because the district “needs to go in a different direction.”
He said, “we need to be fiscally responsible and we need somebody that will help bring money back to Western Mass more aggressively than what’s going on right now.”
