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Date: 1/28/2020
HOLYOKE – After seven years serving as a state representative, Aaron Vega, announced on Jan. 28 that he will not be seeking reelection in the election taking place later this year.
Vega has served as a representative for the Fifth Hampden district, which is made up of the City of Holyoke, since winning his seat in 2012. He called the past eight years, “nothing short of inspiring” in a statement sent to Reminder Publishing.
The statement read, in part: “I could have never imagined that this kid from South Holyoke would go on to advocate and represent the Fifth Hampden district in the Great and General Court, but that is what happened. I believe I always had the best intentions to serve the people of Holyoke while in elected office, and I believe that I served with integrity. I listened, I learned and I advocated for all of Holyoke to the best of my ability.”
Vega said one of the most significant reasons for his decision is based on his ability to spend time with his family. “First, it’s definitely about family. I have a 6-year-old son, I want to be around more,” he said.
He also attributed his reason for not seeking reelection to his want to continue to pursue and follow issues impacting the Western Massachusetts area. “The best description of my job is we’re in a permanent liberal arts education,” he explained. And while Vega said his job was “great”, he continued, “I want to be able to dig in a little more and follow things through that matter to Western Mass.”
Examples of issues impacting Western Massachusetts given by Vega included food insecurity and higher education.
He said he doesn’t have a job lined up at this time, and while he’s unsure exactly what he will do in the future, he is “open to the possibilities.”
“I’m on the 11-month job search,” he joked. “I’m hoping to utilize what I’ve learned and relationships I’ve formed to keep doing work in Western Mass.”
He continued, while he’s always been “Holyoke first, Western Mass. second,” he’s open to job opportunities in the region, not just in the City of Holyoke because similar issues impact people across the region. “People living in Holyoke work in Springfield, and people living in Northampton work in Holyoke. The realities of the work we do crosses boundaries all the time,” he explained.
Vega said despite not running, he is excited about the upcoming election as he’s “hoping there’s some interesting people” that will choose to run. He told Reminder Publishing that Patricia Duffy, who has served as his legislative aide for the last seven years, will be running for the seat in the upcoming election. “I’d be honored to support her, but we’ll see,” he said.
He thanked both his family and the general public for their support, friendship and love during the four state and two local elections he participated in, adding that he was looking forward to serving Western Massachusetts in the future.
“I want to thank my wife, Debra, for her steadfast support, my 3 daughters for motivating me, and my son, Odin, for his daily inspiration,” he stated. “I thank all of you for the support and the friendship over the past eight years. I look forward to finding my next chapter and continuing to work for the people of Holyoke and Western Massachusetts.”