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| By Erin O'Connor Staff Writer WESTFIELD "I am always in town," said State Representative, Donald F. Humason, Jr. (R-Westfield) representing the Fourth Hampden District, Westfield, "It is fortunate that I am local because this is what allows me to know my constituents. Every step that you move away from them {constituents} you become more removed from them. If you are serving Westfield constituents out of Washington D.C. then how do you know what they want? I have no interest in positions of this level, I like being local," he said. Humason is currently serving his second term in office and has filed nomination papers to run for re-election in November. "The last few years have reaffirmed in my mind that if I want to do a good job then I need to be out there in the coffee shops and at the church suppers," he said. Humason has been working on a cableshow that is available on Westfield's Community Cable Access Channel- 15 through Comcast Cable. "Every community has its own community channel," Humason said, "Mark St. Jean, in conjunction with students from Westfield State College (WSC), help in producing my show that informs constituents about what is going on in the community." Humason said the show is done bi-monthly or monthly and that features it contains are tours of the State House and guests from the local community. The episodes are aired every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. and each episode runs for about a month. "My show is called 'From the State House to Your House,'" Humason said. "It's my way of reaching out to my constituents, the viewers, and informing them of things happening in Boston and in Westfield. This month we focus on the Westfield Athenaeum. My guests are Bob Brown and Chris Lindquist." "I have been busy. The last 3.5 years have flown by; I remember when I was a neophyte-newbie. Since then work has been done on the budget deficit, gay marriage, death penalty... The more removed you are the less likely you are to do good," he said. Humason spoke of his fiance, Janice M. Tracey, daughter of Janice C. and the late George E. Tracey of Milton, with whom he became engaged on Christmas Day in 2005. "We went to Westfield State College together," he said. "We will be getting married in October and then going to Ireland in November." Tracey is a contract manager with the Housing and Homeless Services Unit of Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance and oversees the agency's shelter and housing contracts throughout the western Mass. region. How he would like to see the public become active: "Involvement in the community and involvement in the elections-just voting, involvement in the media, and following the newspapers." More information on Humason can be found at his newly re-tooled website DonHumason.org. It contains his contact information, bio, photos, news releases, links, and copies of his weekly columns on a wide range of state and local topics. |