Rosemary Sandlin is the Democratic candidate running to be the State Representative for the 3rd Hampden District. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
WESTFIELD – With just days away before Election Day on Nov. 8, the Presidential Election is taking a majority of the headlines.
Although, there is plenty of focus nationally, intriguing races are also happening locally.
In the 3rd Hampden District, which covers Southwick, Agawam, and Granville, current State Rep. Nick Boldyga (R) will be facing off against Democratic candidate Rosemary Sandlin.
After it was declared that Richard Theroux was dropping out as the Democratic Candidate, Sandlin was drafted by the Agawam Democratic Town Committee to run against Rep. Boldyga.
Since Sandlin was too late to be on the September ballot, she began a write-in campaign throughout the summer and needed to get 150 write-ins in order to be on the November ballot.
In early September, it was announced that Sandlin surpassed the proper amount of write-ins by getting 592. Of that number, 500 of the write-ins came just from Agawam.
It is also not a secret that Rep. Boldyga and Sandlin are no stranger to squaring off with each other.
Sandlin held the district seat from 2007 until 2011, but lost it to Rep. Boldyga in the 2010 race by just 98 votes. Rep. Boldyga has retained his seat as the state representative of the 3rd Hampden District since then.
The Westfield News recently sat down with Rosemary Sandlin and got to know more about the Democratic candidate.
Sandlin is a lifelong resident of Agawam. She graduated from Agawam High School in 1964 then went on to attend the University of Massachusetts.
Starting off her career with the Agawam School Committee, Sandlin won eleven elections as a member in that seat. During her time on the school committee, the candidate helped create full-day kindergarten in Agawam.
Another 25 years was also spent as a member of the Agawam Housing Authority. Sandlin also became the first woman in Agawam to be on the Agawam Rotary Club.
During Sandlin’s two terms as the State Representative for the 3rd Hampden District, she sponsored several budget items including the Holyoke Soldiers Home, Sisters of Providence Hospital, and bringing Soldiers On to Agawam.
We then discussed with Sandlin some of the key issues that just don’t affect the whole country, but also the district that she would be representing if elected.
With a medical marijuana facility attempting to have a retail store in Southwick, Sandlin spoke to how she would feel about medical marijuana potentially being in her district.
Announcing that she supports it, Sandlin sees a significant benefit for the constituents that may be in need of it.
“I think people that have severe pain and don’t want to take opiates, they should be able to get a doctor to prescribe it or allow it,” said Sandlin. “I think if you need it, you need it.”
There was then a transition over to Question 4, which is for the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Like medical marijuana, Sandlin supports Question 4, but would like to see a change made if it were passed.
Since there is a 3.5% tax on recreational marijuana, Sandlin wants a higher tax on it.
“I’d like to see that be 15% taxes,” said Sandlin. “If the people vote yes, then what we need is a government to highly regulate it and tax it similar to what we do with cigarettes.”
Another important topic that was discussed was the opioid crisis.
“I think that everybody in their family or friends, knows someone that is affected by this opiate crisis,” said Sandlin.
The Democratic candidate made it pretty clear that she would want to see treatment on demand regarding this crisis.
“If I’m fortunate to get the vote to go Boston, I will be importuning the health committee, private insurance companies, to make this a part of their benefit plan,” said Sandlin.
“We’re losing that war on drugs, we’re losing it,” Sandlin added. “We’re spending a lot of money, but we need to put more money into treatment.”
Helping the local veterans was then the next talking point.
“I don’t think we can do enough to help Veterans across the spectrum,” said Sandlin. “When they come home from service, we should be welcoming them.”
Sandlin mentioned that she wants to look at the average veteran who suffers from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and how they can be helped in a community setting.
Sandlin helped Soldiers On break ground in Agawam for a new facility back in 2010.
“I’m most proud of that,” said Sandlin.
A former member of the Agawam School Committee, Sandlin finds Question 2 on the ballot to be quite important.
According to Sandlin, she will be voting no on Question 2 and sees more charter schools as a drawback to the public school district.
“It really does take away from the public school budget,” said Sandlin. “Charter schools don’t play on the same playing field.”
A transgender bill, called An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination, was officially effective on October 1. According to Mass.Gov, the bill, “Gives transgender people the right to use restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identities, and includes language to provide legal action [against] any person whose assertion of a gender identity is for an improper purpose.”
Sandlin stated that she is in support of the bill.
“I think anytime you set a goal of not being inclusive, when your moors are that unattainable, then you’re discriminating against people,” said Sandlin. “I feel very strongly that we shouldn’t be legislating people’s freedoms.”
As there are many seniors in Agawam, Southwick, and Granville, the topic of transportation for seniors was discussed.
“Transportation is something that Southwick has a need for,” said Sandlin. “I would love to see it in the short run, the FRTA (Franklin Regional Transit Authority) van expand their hours.”
Sandlin specifically talked about how Southwick transportation needs extended hours from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
With businesses continuing to grow all throughout Western Massachusetts, Sandlin gave her insight on potential business growth in the 3rd Hampden District.
“I think that we have to encourage companies to do startups out here in Western Massachusetts,” said Sandlin.
The last topic discussed was Sandlin’s view on supporting law enforcement in her district.
“I absolutely support the men in blue,” said Sandlin.
In order to help continue to support the local police, Sandlin wants to see educated training for police officers.
“When you open that door to a complaint, you don’t know what’s behind that door,” said Sandlin. “I’d like to see availability of grants for cities and towns.”
