State Rep. Shirley Arriaga
Reminder Publishing file photo
CHICOPEE — With 2025 in full swing, state Rep. Shirley Arriaga (D-Chicopee) talked with Reminder Publishing to discuss her goals and priorities for her second term.
Arriaga is a lifelong resident of Chicopee and U.S. Air Force veteran. She is the Democratic state representative on Beacon Hill for the 8th Hampden District.
She was elected to state office in November 2022, a role that former state Rep. Joseph Wagner had for more than three decades.
Arriaga said it was an honor to be reelected and thanks the voters for coming out in November to allow her to continue her work as the state representative.
“We are truly honored and blessed to have been reelected to serve the 8th Hampden District. It’s truly an honor to represent my hometown. The first term around, you’re learning as you go. Everyday is something new and you’re hoping you’re doing everything right and you’re not letting things fall through a crack and you hope that your job and your work speaks for itself and I think it did, as my community came out strongly and no one really had any negative things to say so we are super happy and eager to continue the work,” she said.
Arriaga acknowledged there is still a lot of work to do. She reflected on items she worked on during her first term that she plans to continue to work on.
One of her previous and current priorities included housing, or more specifically, housing stability.
She and state Rep. Manny Cruz (D-Salem) were able to champion a bill called Healthy Homes, which helps families across Massachusetts, especially in gateway communities and cities, to have a safe home by providing grants and forgivable loans to eligible owner-occupants to address a multitude of health hazards including asbestos, mold, pests and lead, as well as conditions to improve energy and lower utility costs.
Arriaga said, “With the housing crisis, we came up with how can we come up with a different solution because we’re going to need a lot of tools to address the housing crisis, and the Healthy Homes bill was just one of those tools to help address the unhealthy living conditions of a lot of families, which we of course know that has a lot of physical, mental conditions associated with it and of course they’re irreversible.”
That bill was included in the historic Massachusetts Bond Bill that authorized $5.16 billion in spending over the next five years to counter rising housing costs caused by high demand and limited supply.
Arriaga discussed the continuing efforts to work on the housing crisis and said, “Affordable housing is just a must and something that is needed in our commonwealth. That’s one of the things that we were able to champion and we are going to continue to have those conversations because the housing crisis isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and we need to do everything we can to help everyone in the commonwealth,”
Besides working with the local and state governments on the housing crisis in Massachusetts, Arriaga also highlighted universal free school meals and free community college as successful initiatives during her first term.
“I think our first terms really spoke volumes. Not sure how many other first terms go but our first term was definitely historical, and we did great, great things in the commonwealth.”
Looking back at her first term and applying things she learned, Arriaga said something she learned during her first term that she is going to apply to her second term is perseverance.
“Everything takes time. We have this notion that we want to something down on paper and cross it off, but it doesn’t really work that way, especially in government,” Arriaga said. “We can get something to the finish line and we seconds left of session it can be taken away, stricken if you will from the record maybe due to budget.”
Arriaga outlined that the Healthy Homes bill verbiage was in but the funding was taken away at the very last minute.
She explained, “I learned that nothing is secured even when something seems like it is, it’s not but you have to understand everything is about timing, connections, relationships and preserving. We’re not done, we’re going to continue fighting for that funding. We’re going to continue for all the other things we have.”
Arriaga said there are about 18 or 19 bills she has currently filed that she hopes to see approved including the Play Act, which will provide an opportunity for all the kids in the commonwealth to able to participate in team sports at no cost to their families.
“The cost of living is just skyrocketing, and a lot of families have to choose between food on the table and putting their kids in a team sport. Having kids playing in sports, it really does help and aligns them with future success.”
Arriaga has already allocated an earmark to Chicopee so kids in the city currently can play a sport at no cost to them and their families and hopes to see it be a state law.
She further said she wanted to let all her constituents know she is here for them and she is looking forward in continuing to serve them and work on issues they have brought to her attention.
Arriaga said, “My job is to push forward legislation and that is exactly what I’m going to do. I have about 18 bills just addressing all the issues my constituents have brought up to me, not just this past term but really since I started knocking on doors back in 2021. That is about health insecurity for our elders, it’s about being smart with our pharmacies and tracking certain medications so they don’t fall into the wrong hands and a lot to do with our veterans and making sure they have the resources and opportunities that they deserve in a timely manner.”
