Central Mass Races To Watch

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Adam Joseph Drici, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

GoLocalWorcester takes a look at the State Rep. and State Senate races in Central Mass this November and which candidates are battling it out this campaign season.

14th District State Representative

For the first time since his 2007 special election victory, Democrat Jim O'Day is facing not one, but two challengers for the office of State Representative in the 14th Worcester District, which consists of the town of West Boylston and sections of the City of Worcester. A former social worker with the state's Department of Children and Families, O'Day has made helping those less fortunate a major focus during his time in office, and he was recently honored for his work to fight homelessness in Central Mass.

Republican challenger Bill McCarthy has made several runs for office in the past, twice for Worcester City Council and once for Worcester County Sheriff in 2004. A former Connecticut State Trooper and current professor of Criminal Justice at Quinsigamond Community College, McCarthy is running on a platform of lowering taxes and developing job opportunities throughout the region.

Independent candidate Winthrop Handy is a small business owner and has served as an elected member of the West Boylston Light Board for the past 15 years. Handy shares McCarthy's view on taxes, but adds to it with plans for developing alternative energy in Central Mass and constructing casinos at the Worcester Regional Airport to create jobs.

15th District State Representative

After emerging victorious from a five-way primary contest in September, Democrat Mary Keefe is angling to be the next Representative for the City's first minority-majority district on Beacon Hill. Keefe, a founding member of the Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, has spent the past 10 years working as the Director of the Pleasant St. Neighborhood Network Center, and she enjoys strong support from community and labor groups.

Her opponent, Republican Brian O'Malley, faces an uphill battle in the heavily Democratic district. O'Malley, who has worked as a caseworker in human service non-profits, a mill worker, a warehouse shipper, a security guard and a retail manager, is currently an appliance salesman at Sears after battling the tough economy and has made jobs a top priority in his campaign.

The two are competing for the seat vacated by former State Rep. Vincent Pedone, who resigned his office in January to take on the job of executive director for the Council of Presidents of the Massachusetts State University system after nearly two decades at the State House.

2nd District State Senator

Millbury Democrat Mike Moore has held the State Senate seat for the district towns of Auburn, Grafton, Leicester and Millbury, as well as portions of Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Upton and Worcester, since 2008, and he is seeking his third term on Beacon Hill this November. A former police officer with the Department of Environmental Police and environmental investigator in the state Attorney General's Office, Moore has had a hand in legislation aimed at helping small businesses and received nods from the National Federation of Independent Business and the Restaurant and Business Alliance. He has said that his number one priority if reelected will be to improve job growth throughout the district.

His opponent is Republican Steve Simonian, an Auburn Selectman and Navy Veteran. Running under the banner of a "common sense, can do" approach, Simonian has said one of the biggest assets he brings to the table is two decades of private sector experience in project managment and quality assurance, two key components that he said are missing in the State House. The Republican said he is committed to working across party lines and engaging in bipartisan efforts to make the state more business-friendly and increase efficiency in state government.