Fattman: 'I Am Concerned About The State Of Political Discourse'

Mendon Democrat Tom Merolli, took on two-term incumbent Sen. Ryan Fattman, R-Webster, for the Worcester-Norfolk District State Senate seat. Fattman held on to head for a third term, declared the winner by 11 p.m. on Tuesday with 61 percent of the vote at the time.

By Wednesday afternoon, Fattman showed 58 percent of the vote with 78 percent of precincts reporting, and was widely declared the victor. Fattman posted no victory statement on his Twitter or Facebook pages, but told Patch, "We were somewhat surprised to win as big as we did in this political climate winning by over 10,00 votes and earning more votes in all 49 precincts than four years previous. However, we were confident we would win and are happy, honored and humbled to serve again."

The Worcester-Norfolk District includes Blackstone, Douglas, Dudley, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford, Millville, Northbridge (precincts 1 and 3), Oxford, Southbridge, Sutton, Uxbridge and Webster in the county of Worcester; and the town of Bellingham in the county of Norfolk.

"We worked hard during the legislative session, maintaining 100 percent voting attendance and attending over 900 events in the district," said Fattman to Patch, "and when we kicked off the election, we took the challenge seriously and I knocked on over 8,000 by myself, and nearly another 12,000 was done by volunteers."

Fattman said that he was surprised to see several of his colleagues defeated this term, including democrats knocked out during the primaries, and some republicans defeated in general. He told Patch it reinforced his belief that nothing can be taken for granted in elections.

Merolli is the assistant treasurer of Mendon and chair of the town's Economic Development Committee. He also holds a degree in political science from Westfield State University and is proud to have been an Eagle Scout.

"I was on the committee that successfully passed a historic district in the town of Mendon and organized alumni to vote in favor of a successful school override," said Merolli.

But it wasn't enough to knock out Fattman, who, less responsive to media and candidate forum debates in general, was victorious.

Fattman, R-Sutton, was elected to State Senate in 2014 after after serving two terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and two terms as a selectman in the town of Sutton. He is the first Republican to win an election to the Worcester-Norfolk Senate seat since 1938, when Dr. Wilfred Bazinet was elected from Webster.

Fattman, on his official website, said that he "vowed to bring Massachusetts in a new direction: away from the 'Taxachusetts' mentality that drives people and jobs to other states, and toward a Massachusetts that is more accountable and affordable," when first running for Senate.

He boasts a 100 percent attendance record for voting, and points to the senate's first day of the 189th session, when he offered a further amendment to increase transparency to votes taken on Beacon Hill. The amendment mandated that all recorded votes taken in senate should be posted no later than 48 hours later.

"I am concerned about the state of our political discourse these days," he told Patch. "I ran a very positive campaign, as we have in the past, and I am committed to working across party lines in a bipartisan fashion to get things done for the people I represent."

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