By Lucas Willard
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-993726.mp3
Albany, NY – Massachusetts will be losing one seat in Congress due to slowed population growth. Although the new 1st District is geographically smaller than the old 1st District, Democratic Congressional Candidate Andrea Nuciforo thinks the newly drawn district is a fair representation of Western Massachusetts.
"The current First Congressional District has 107 cities and towns, the newly drawn district has 86. So it's more compact and more centrally located in Western Massachusetts and I think that's a fair drawing of the district."
Meanwhile Republicans see opportunities to take back a seat in Congress with the new district lines. Massachusetts has not hosted a Republican U.S. Representative since 1996. Tim Buckley from The Massachusetts Republican Party says that Republicans are going to push their message of a fresh perspective in Massachusetts' representation.
"Our Congressional delegation has been in office for some time and we have little to show for it. We have record unemployment across the nation, and I think voters are looking for a new perspective and fresh faces representing them in Washington DC."
Buckley says the GOP also would have liked to see the redistricting lines approved sooner to give more time for the Republicans to prepare for the next election.
"Every day that went by without the maps being released was one less day the challengers had to campaign for these offices. That's one less day they had to prepare for their campaigns and we would have liked to have these maps come out a little bit sooner."
State Senator Ben Downing will be voting on the new district on Tuesday. Although Downing would have rather seen the small towns of the Berkshires and Western Massachusetts have their own district, the process of redistricting went smoothly and is commendable.
"I think the priorities of a congressman based in Springfield or Worcester are different from the priorities of a congress from small cities like Pittsfield, Holyoke, Fitchburg, Leominster, Greenfield, and North Adams. That being said, I am happy that the Berkshires were not divided among Congressional Districts so that we will continue to have our voice heard by whoever is the Congressman who serves the 1st District in the next Congress. So it was not an ideal outcome but certainly a positive one, and one that was a result of a public process that we can all be proud of."
Next year's First District will be changed to include Springfield, which is currently placed in the Second District. The State Legislature is expected to approve the new District Lines on Tuesday.