Rep. Nick Boldyga will be looking to defend his seat as the state representative of the 3rd Hampden District. (Photo from Nick Boldyga)
SOUTHWICK – 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.
It is no secret that Rep. Boldyga and Sandlin are no strangers to squaring off with one another.
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 Rep. Boldyga to learn more about the current state representative of the district.
Boldyga currently resides with his family in Southwick and is a graduate of Western New England University.
As he was a police officer in Connecticut, Boldyga was honored with a Professional Policing Award for his efforts in combating drunk driving.
Boldyga started off his political career at the local level. He was the Parks & Recreation Commissioner and also a Selectman for the Town of Southwick.
We then discussed with Boldyga some of the key issues that could affect the whole country, not just the district that he would be representing if elected.
As a medical marijuana company is attempting to have a retail store in Southwick, Boldyga is leaving that issue to the Select Board in town.
“It’s up to them at this point whether or not they think it’s good for Southwick to have a medical marijuana facility here,” said Boldyga.
For Question 4 on the ballot, which is for the recreational use of marijuana, Boldyga shared his view on it.
“It hasn’t been thought out, it’s illegal on the federal level,” said Boldyga. “You can’t bring any money received from it into the banking system.”
“Ultimately, I’ll support how the voters vote in my district,” said Boldyga.
With veterans throughout the 3rd Hampden District, Boldyga sees a level of importance for helping veterans. Over the last few years, Boldyga has voted for Valor Acts 1 and 2, as well as the Home Act.
If veterans have had work-type experience in the military with a certain specialty, Boldyga feels that they shouldn’t have to go through the same certification process when returning back home.
“Driving a truck in the military, you should be able to drive a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) or a tractor trailer truck here without going through the same testing,” said Boldyga.
Being a graduate of a public high school and having his children currently in public schools, Boldgya is in support of public schools and is voting no on Question 2 on the ballot.
“I’m going to make sure that there’s always money to the public schools in my district,” said Boldyga. “I have advocated day in and day out for our public schools here in the district and I’ll continue to do so.”
A transgender bill, called An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination, was officially effective on October 1. According to Mass.Gov, the bill states, “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.”
Boldyga was a part of this bill in the House of Representatives and feels strongly against it as he helped file an amendment to not allow level 3 sex offenders to claim protection if this bill was passed.
Since the bill passed, level 3 sex offenders do have that right to claim protection.
“I could not believe it, I was appalled at that,” said Boldyga. “That’s the reason I voted against this bill.”
Transportation for seniors is a popular topic discussed and affects this district. Boldyga has funded money for PVTA (Pioneer Valley Transit Authority) in the past.
“I’m very well aware of the challenges that our seniors face,” said Boldyga. “I’ve always voted to fund those initiatives.”
Boldyga also mentioned that he has worked with both the Agawam and Southwick Senior Centers in the past and will continue to do so.
In the topic of business development, Boldyga has voted for several pieces of legislation and has filed waiving fees for new businesses trying to establish themselves.
“I’ve tried to get rid of those fees for the first couple of years,” said Boldyga. “They can have the extra resources to put into renting a storefront, hiring employees, paying for overhead, and creating websites.”
The opioid crisis is a problem that the entire country is facing and several people are also affected by it at the local level.
As he has voted on the narcan legislation, Boldyga has also voted on several pieces of legislation in regards to opiates.
“At the state level, there have been a number of things that I personally have voted to do to combat the opioid crisis going throughout the commonwealth,” said Boldyga. “I think we’re focused on continuing to do more.”
Being a former police officer, Bodyga said that he supports the police as well as the police in his district.
“I support police officers in every one of their endeavors, whether it’s safety, whether it’s training,” said Boldyga.
The Southwick native does feel that something needs to be done for the community and young people so they can gain more knowledge about their law enforcement.
“We need to educate our kids,” said Boldyga. “Training needs to go a lot into it.”
