Congressional candidate Jeromie Whalen has officially opened his new campaign headquarters in downtown Springfield.
He hoping to represent the 1st Massachusetts District in Congress by unseating longtime U.S. Representative Richard Neal. Whalen said the Main Street base of operations will serve as a central artery for campaign planning, canvassing, and phone-banking.
The new campaign office is inside an old bank building, near the MassMutual Center. The space has the look of a bank that has been occupied by activists: photos of Whalen at local events dot the walls of old cubicles, and a massive cloth banner reading "In Us We Trust" streams down from the second floor.
Whalen said the juxtaposition — classical architecture and scrappy political messaging — is intentional.
"When you look around, the grandeur of this building, the kind of gold-coated architecture of it all," Whalen said. "It's disrupted by a piece of fabric, with recycled fabric on it, that really sends a message."
The South Hadley native is positioning himself as a disruptive-outsider against incumbent Neal, who has held the office for decades. Whalen said he wanted his campaign's home base to reflect that and prioritize the homegrown nature of his platform, which centers working class families.
"You'll see art installations and this kind of eclectic vibe that we're going for," Whalen said. "It's a welcoming space. It's a space where you kind of let down all the pretenses."
Whalen is part of a crowd of Neal challengers that include Democrat Nathan Tracy, and independent candidates Anthony Celata and Nadia Milleron.
Whalen leads that pack of challengers in money raised, currently around $150,000 in campaign funds, according to the Federal Election Committee. The only other candidate with any disclosed funds is Milleron, at around $26,000.
Meanwhile, Neal has raised $1.8 million for his re-election.
Whalen says the fiscal imbalance between his campaign and Neal's is actually a point of pride. He's only accepted individual donations, and sworn to reject money from any corporate interests or political action committees, often called SuperPACs.
The Massachusetts Democratic primary takes place in September for the November general election.
