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Date: 5/11/2018
WEST SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. James T. Welch will be running for re-election.
On April 26, the senator, who is currently serving the Hampden District on Beacon Hill, handed in his nomination papers to get his name on the ballot for re-election. Welch has been representing constituents from West Springfield, Springfield and Chicopee in the Massachusetts State Senate since 2011.
The senator, who is 42-years-old, told Reminder Publications he’s not ready to retire just yet.
“There’s always work left to do. I love my job; it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to serve as state senator for our region,” he said. “The job is something different everyday and you never know exactly what you’re going to be dealing with – it just continues to be a learning experience, which I enjoy.”
With almost 15 years of legislation experience under his belt, Welch said he plans to campaign based on his long-standing record, as well as other policy-related aspects.
“I’m very proud of my record, I’ve been in legislation for a long time now. I’ve been effective as well. A main component of the campaign will be highlighting some of the great initiatives that I’ve been a part of and able to secure on behalf of our region,” he said. “Education is something that is very important to me, as well as public safety and healthcare.”
Some of Welch’s potential challengers for the position include Amaad Rivera, a former Springfield city councilor, and Adam Gomez, a current Springfield city councilor.
However, this isn’t Welch’s first experience facing Democratic primary challengers. When he first ran for Senate in 2010, he defeated Susan Dawson and Ronald Patenaude in the Sept. 14 primary. Two years later, he beat primary challenger Melvin A. Edwards when he ran for re-election.
“Every election is different, I take absolutely nothing for granted,” said Welch. “No matter how the election shapes out to be, one thing I always pledge to the people is that no one will work harder on the campaign trail than I will.”
Welch has lived in West Springfield his entire life. He graduated from West Springfield High School and continued his education at Springfield Technical Community College. He later transferred to Westfield State College to receive his B.S. in Business Management. In 2001, Welch began his career in public service. He joined the staff of then Rep. Stephen J. Buoniconti. Three years later, in 2004, he was elected to the West Springfield City Council to represent District 4. Finally, in Jan. 2005, the West Springfield native was elected to represent the Hampden District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives – where he stayed until he was sworn into the senate in Jan. 2011.
While the senator is looking forward to working on his upcoming campaign, he said his immediate focus remains on continuing to best serve the Hampden District in his current position.
“The spring and summer tend to be the busiest time in terms of legislative efforts, the House just did their budget last week and then we’ll [the Senate] do our budget the last week of May,” he said. “We have to prepare for what priorities are going to be in the budget and we still have a lot of policy issues that we’ll still have to vote on – it is the second year of legislation. So, that’s part of the job, but I’ll certainly be doing my fair share of campaigning as well.”
The primary elections will be held on Sept. 4 of this year.