Tom Merolli challenges Sen. Ryan Fattman on priorities in Worcester and Norfolk District

Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)

Oct. 24--The race for the Worcester and Norfolk state Senate district features two candidates who, while members of the millennial generation, have already built up solid experience in government. The question Nov. 6 will be whether voters in the district, which stretches across the south central part of the state, from Bellingham in the east to Southbridge in the west, want to continue the same course or seek change.

State Sen. Ryan C. Fattman, 34, a Sutton Republican, is seeking his third two-year term in the Senate. He previously served as a state representative and a Sutton selectman.

Mr. Fattman faces challenger Thomas Merolli, 28, a Democrat from Mendon, who works as Mendon's assistant town treasurer. He also serves as chairman of Mendon's Democratic Town Committee, chairs the Economic Development Committee, and serves on the Mendon Town Historic Commission.

Touting his 100 percent voting record, Mr. Fattman said, "If you want the job, you've got to do the job."

He added that he has been to 841 events in the last two years, on top of legislative commitments.

He said his work on Beacon Hill has been for "commonsense reforms."

Among his achievements, Mr. Fattman pointed to legislation he helped pass that amended the omnibus criminal reform bill, signed this year, to include a provision that would no longer hide from future background checks the record of a person who has committed murder but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

He also got an amendment included in the Brave Act, which would give veterans the legal right to get time off from work to observe Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

And, he said, he reached across the aisle to work with Democratic legislators on amending the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to include protections for mothers of young children who have to take time off to deal with a child's serious medical condition.

But, Mr. Fattman said, there is more to be done, particularly to change the school funding formula to better reflect district costs. "We're looking at a law from 1993," he said of the current formula.

In particular, he noted that regional school districts have never been fully reimbursed for transportation costs.

"The state, when it makes promises, it should keep those promises," Mr. Fattman said.

"This is ridiculous," he said about unfunded state mandates. "There is no way towns can sustain those costs."

Mr. Fattman also pointed to his record of bringing state aid to local communities, including a $2.5 million MassWorks grant to Oxford for improvements to Route 12; $1.7 million in MassWorks support to Uxbridge for water infrastructure; $200,000 to Milford to address the opioid crisis; and downtown revitalization and public safety communication grants to Webster, Milford, Sutton and Southbridge.

Mr. Merolli said he was inspired to challenge Mr. Fattman because he had heard from area residents that the incumbent was not responsive to many local citizens' concerns.

"I felt frustrated with the lack of representation this area has had," Mr. Merolli said.

"The district has too much at stake. Honestly, he is the one I haven't seen show up. He's missed too many important meetings."

Mr. Merolli said that while Mr. Fattman touts the state resources he's brought in, the district ranked 31st out of 40 Senate districts in state grants.

He also called for new legislative focus, emphasizing education funding, long-term addiction recovery coverage, policies to help seniors age in place, and expanded public transportation. He would also like to study the feasibility of a single-payer health insurance system.

Citing the inadequacy of current state funding for education through Chapter 70, Mr. Merolli criticized Mr. Fattman's support of measures to increase the number of charter schools in the state without linking it to more money for district schools that lose students, and money, to charter schools.

"I think he's pushed a very different set of priorities," Mr. Merolli said.

Mr. Merolli also called for stronger protection of drinking water resources, including a measure to prevent dumping of reclamation soil from construction sites on top of aquifers. He said Uxbridge residents' concerns about such soil fill projects went unanswered by the incumbent.

Mr. Merolli also criticized Mr. Fattman's stance on immigration, which included inviting a representative to Milford from the Center for Immigration Studies, which Mr. Merolli said has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, to testify against amendments related to "sanctuary state" policies.

Both candidates have been knocking on doors and making personal pitches. Mr. Fattman said he personally has knocked on 8,000 doors, and the Merolli campaign said it has visited 20,000 so far.

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