David Rosa lives in Dighton, a community just east of Providence in the southeastern corner of Massachusetts. Misspelled on his campaign website, the town of around 8,000 is about 150 miles away from the constituency he says he wants to serve by representing the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire District. The seat is held by first-term Democrat Paul Mark.
“It's not necessarily to peculiar Paul Mark, but it is to offer the people of Western Mass an alternative," Rosa told WAMC. "I feel, right now – and they're not alone in this, by the way – they have somebody who's essentially a party puppet and in a rubber stamp for a state government that has become callous not only to its own constitution, but to the Constitution of United States, and is showing little care for the poor, the working poor and the middle class.”
Rosa frames his run as a reprimand to the administration of first-term Democratic Governor Maura Healey, whose policies he described as “effectively communism.”
“Western Mass – Pittsfield, Adams, North Adams – they would like to see a little more economic growth," he said. "They don't want to be forgotten by a state government that really concentrates everything inside the [Route] 128 loop. But for this to happen, they have to send a message to the State House, and there's no stronger message to send than to elect a Republican at the State Senate level. This will get the attention of the governor and others to stop taking Western Mass for granted. But again, this is- They do this in other sections of the state as well, but, I hope to champion the cause of the people of Western Mass. I feel that we have a great deal in common. They need someone who has a little experience being more forward and aggressive in terms of representing their voice and in Beacon Hill.”
The candidate bristled when WAMC pointed out that he has no legislative experience.
“I have to say, when you when you ask a question like that, it’s just a bit offensive," said Rosa. "The people that you think have served in the legislature have essentially been representatives of a one-party system. They are driven by protecting their own interests, which means aligning themselves with whatever the party line is, and the devil take the hindmost – a very, a saying out of antiquity – and it's creating a one-party system that simply caters to whatever the governor and her associates want or the special interest in Boston want.”
Rosa says he’s campaigning as a pro-Second Amendment candidate and against the current immigration policies of the Healey administration.
On Rosa’s campaign website, the first policy highlighted from his platform is “No Biological Males in Women Spaces.” Asked to explain his stance by WAMC, the candidate once again lashed out.
“I can't believe you're not familiar with that issue," said Rosa. "If you- Clearly on the website, it identifies an example where a female player lost teeth while involved in a competitive game with a so-called biological male presenting as a female. Now, it's- The reason we have women's sports is, it's that women can excel, and be, and receive the credit for excelling within their ranks. That is to give them a chance to enjoy the equality of sports amongst their own ranks, not to have it invaded and to be physically punished by participants and those who think that it's fair for a biological male to compete against a female. It's patently, openly against the very purpose and reason for establishing women's sports. Now, we've been at this for a number of years. You, as a reporter, can't tell me you're unfamiliar with this. There were colleges where they stopped funding wrestling teams because there was no female wrestling team, and they had to meet the intent of equality. You can't tell me you're not familiar with this.”
WAMC asked Rosa if he intends to vote for Republican former President Donald Trump, prompting another testy exchange.
ROSA: I don't think you should ask that question in this interview. This interview has to do with me and the State Senate race in the state of Massachusetts.
WAMC: Right, but if you’re running as a Republican, that’s part and parcel.
ROSA: I'm going to answer the question this way- It's exactly the fundamental question that's being asked across this country. Do you feel you were better off economically when Trump was in office, or do you feel you were better off economically when the Biden-Harris team was in office? And so, if your answer is no, then that should guide you your decisions. If your answer is yes, then I guess that guides you.
WAMC: So, it sounds like you're a Trump vote. Is that fair to say?
ROSA: I and every American should vote for economic prosperity, and they should not be voting to spend millions, really billions of dollars of their hard-earned tax dollars on wars that could have been avoided.
WAMC: Okay, so, I don't understand. Are you uncomfortable just saying you support Trump? I don't understand why that would be a problem.
ROSA: No, I'm not uncomfortable. What you and many reporters do is you try and push somebody into a corner so that the next thing that happens is they get hit with a broad brush without there being any thought to it at all.
Mark won his first two-year state Senate term in 2022 after spending over a decade in the House as a Berkshire County state representative. He serves as chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, and sits as vice chair of both the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets and the Joint Committee on Transportation.
Early voting continues in Massachusetts through Friday. Election day is Tuesday.
