In Westfield and Southampton, Massachusetts, a Democratic candidate is once again trying to unseat Republican State Representative Kelly Pease.
—
Following another term of seeking additional rural school and road funding for parts of western Mass., Pease is facing another challenge for the 4th Hampden House seat he currently occupies.
Colby Hoffman, a Westfield resident, tells WAMC that, after recently becoming involved in the local Democratic Committee and feeling growing anxiety over the Trump administration, he found himself looking to take a stab at running.
Currently working at a local grocery store, Hoffman says he has no bones to pick with Pease, who he says got into “public service for the right reasons.” But, Hoffman says, he would rather see the district represented by someone less in line with the President’s party.
“Running against a current Republican incumbent, I believe that if we had a representative in the majority right now, we'd be able to get more state and local aid - we'd be able to get more assistance for our schools, budget-wise,” Hoffman said in a phone interview. “We've had situations where, for instance, Southampton had to pass a Prop 2 ½ override. It was partially successful back in the spring, but it's very difficult to ask people to do that. But we understand exactly how important it is to keep schools and libraries open. I think if we can get more aid from Beacon Hill, we would not have to have this burden put on our very unique communities out here.”
Pease, meanwhile, is looking to continue a tenure that started some six years ago. He tells WAMC his record of pushing for rural funding speaks for itself – as does his work on PFAS.
“I continue to push for increased funding for our roads and our local [schools] - and we've seen a bump in that, but it's still not the percentage that we need to see,” he said. “I will keep fighting for that and I hope we'll see those increases, so all these cities and towns don't have to do overrides … and I served on the PFAS task force. That's a huge thing - we made lots of recommendations. Unfortunately, we haven't implemented enough of those at the state level. So, we'll continue to push legislation, trying to take care of some of the PFAS out there and make our drinking water and our products safe.”
In 2024, Pease saw off a well-organized challenge from Westfield City Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane.
