Ashe, Puppolo set sights on future of districts
Date: 11/12/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comGREATER SPRINGFIELD — As elections nationwide provided significant victories for the Democratic Party, local Democratic State Reps. Brian Ashe and Angelo Puppolo Jr. were also able to carry the day on Nov. 6.
Ashe won the race for the Second Hampden District seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by a count of 12,589 to 9,466.
The race received major media attention thanks to a voter fraud scandal involving the Republican primary between his opponent Marie Angelides and former East Longmeadow Selectman Enrico "Jack" Villamaino.
"You never really know what the sentiment is until the votes come in," Ashe said. "You hope that people appreciate all the work you're doing, but there are so many people in the district, you are never going to see all of them. So to see the percentage that has come in, it's great."
It was a convincing win for Ashe, who received a concession phone call from Angelides approximately 90 minutes after polls closed after he captured 55 percent of the vote in East Longmeadow and 58 percent in Longmeadow.
For Puppolo, the victory to retain his seat as representative for the 12th Hampden District was even more dominating as he soundly defeated Republican challenger D. John McCarthy 13,288 to 5,603. Puppolo did not lose the vote in a single precinct in his district, which consists of portions of Springfield and East Longmeadow as well as McCarthy's hometown of Wilbraham.
"I'm obviously very pleased with the results," Puppolo said. "We ran a very positive campaign on the issues and that's something we can be very proud of."
While both candidates took the time to appreciate their wins, they acknowledged that there is more work to be done in order to continue building on what they believed to be significant strides forward for Massachusetts.
"For me, it's time to put away the lawn signs and the bumper stickers and get back to work," Puppolo said the day after the election. "I'm proud with the campaign that we ran that focused on our accomplishments, but there's still a lot of work to do."
Puppolo said that his emphasis in his next term would be constituent services, which he said he has prided himself upon.
"I make myself available to the constituents 24-7," he said. "When I'm not at the State House, I'm here in my district office or out in the community. It's the cornerstone of what I do."
In the upcoming legislative session at the State House, Puppolo said his emphasis would be on his continued pursuit of state aid for the communities he serves.
"I'm going to continue to focus on getting local aid for education and for public safety," he said.
Ashe, who identified jobs as the primary concern of the constituents during his campaign, said that in the near future his eyes would be on the Western Massachusetts casino proposals with a specific interest in how it would affect area businesses.
"One of the big things to remember is if a casino does come to the Springfield area, it might give other businesses a reason to come and if the businesses come, then the people come," he said.
Ashe also said the state must begin thinking outside the box when it comes to the utilization of land in Western Massachusetts and its potential uses that could create jobs.
"We have so much vital land, especially in the Berkshires that we could use toward alternative energy sources. We are in a great place to really boost up the state. Obviously Eastern Massachusetts has the majority of business, but it's compact. We have this uncharted, unused land out here and I'm really hoping we can come together to find ways to utilize that land to create jobs," he said.
Ashe also said he would pursue a high-speed rail system that would help make the Springfield area a major component in connecting interstate commerce between Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.
Addressing the ongoing concerns regarding employment, Puppolo said that the state has to continue doing what it can to promote and support small businesses.
"We've already done well in this regard," he said. "We have been able to fight for and secure grants for small businesses and we have been able to freeze unemployment rates that can be such a burden for small businesses and we hope to do that again."
Puppolo said that he and the rest of the House would continue to explore ways to streamline the permitting processes that at times can be restrictive, expensive and time-consuming.
Both representatives, which share the responsibility of representing East Longmeadow, spoke highly of each other and said that they looked forward to working together for the benefit of Western Massachusetts communities.
"It helped a lot, especially when I was first elected because Angelo has been in office one term longer than me," Ashe said of his relationship with Puppolo. "I am from the area, so I knew the towns, but legislatively, I wasn't sure about some aspects and Angelo was a big help. I'll work with anybody, but it really helps when you like and respect your colleagues."
Puppolo said that along with Ashe, it is important that he continue to work with fellow Western Massachusetts representatives, regardless of political party.
"Brian and I have a great relationship, but we have to keep working hard with all of the Western Massachusetts' delegators, whether Republican or Democrat," he said. "It's important to have a united front because there are so few of us compared to the Boston area. We won't agree on everything, but it's important we work together."
