Republican newcomer Peter Warren is challenging longtime incumbent Democrat Brian Ashe for Hampden’s 2nd District representative seat.
The district covers Hampden, Longmeadow, part of East Longmeadow, part of Monson, and part of Springfield.
Ashe has served as the state representative for Hampden’s 2nd district since 2009.
“I think one of the benefits of being around for 18 years as state rep is that you build relationships and a great deal of the work that we do is contingent upon having good relationships,” he said.
Warren is a former Selectman and Finance Committee Member for the town of Monson. This is his first time running for office at the state level.
“I felt like I could do something better and bigger... So I finally just said, you know, instead of complaining like most people do. I'm going to see if I can do something about it. And that's how I got here,” Warren said.
On the issues
Ashe says supporting education, local small businesses, and public safety have been his top priorities while in office. He has worked to expand access and funding to schools and colleges across the district, including the building of new middle and high schools.
Warren says his main priority would be addressing affordability and high tax rates in Massachusetts.
“I went in with a platform of affordability, and that really got reinforced when I was, um, meeting people when I was going door to door. A lot of things around their minds for the most part, it's taxes. It's the fees on the utility bills. The affordability is a huge hit for them,” he said.
If elected, Warren says he will protect Proposition 2 ½, which limits local property tax revenue.
Ashe believes that supporting local businesses is one way to address the economic issues facing the state. He says he has worked to help make micro-grants from the state available to small businesses in the district.
“Those are the things that really make me happy when you see these small businesses thriving in western Mass., because that's really the backbone of any community are the small businesses,” he said.
For the past seven years, Ashe has been working on passing a bill for a state relief fund to fix crumbling foundations in homes across the state. So far, 51 communities in Massachusetts are impacted, and it can cost an average of $200,000 to fix.
“They can't afford to fix it, and they can't sell their house in the condition it's in. So they're kind of putting this holding pattern, especially if it's older people—they're retired. It's really frustrating. But I'm hoping this session, we can finally get that done,” Ashe said.
The issue of transparency has been top of mind this election season as Question One on the Ballot asks voters whether they would approve making most records held by the Legislature and the office of the governor public under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This comes as State Auditor Diana DiZoglio continues to push for an audit of the legislature.
“Why such a strong pushback? What's what's behind the curtain? I've been saying that for, for many months. But now, if you know that every single town in the Commonwealth gets audited and they get audited, they have to buy and hire an auditor to come in and go through everything, all the books. That's a state law that was written by the legislature. So why did they not want to be audited as well?” Warren said.
The law was proposed in 2024 through a ballot question, and though the voters passed it, the legislature has resisted the audit. Warren says he supports an audit of state legislators in Massachusetts to ensure tax dollars are spent responsibly.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
