Voters across Franklin County had warm and sunny weather as they made their way to the polls to vote in statewide and local races on Tuesday.
Contested races include the Franklin County sheriff, the 1st Franklin District seat in the state House of Representatives, the 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and a position in the U.S. Senate.
1st Franklin District
After state Rep. Natalie Blais resigned on Jan. 19, Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano opted not to call a special election to replace her, leading Blais’ seat to remain open until the November election. On the ballot for the Democratic Party is Greenfield City Council President Lora Wondolowski, who defeated Corinne Coryat, former legislative aide and former staff director for Blais, in the Democratic primary in September. Wondolowski is matched up against Whately Town Clerk Amy Lavallee, an Independent.
In Shelburne, Maya Winfrey, 47, shared that she voted for Wondolowski, citing her experience both on Greenfield’s City Council and her work as a private citizen.
“This election is important because I think it’s just a way of exercising our civic duties and remembering that we are all in this together,” Winfrey said. “We need to be working together to get the things that we want, and I know that people power is something that needs to get activated. … That’s one of the reasons why I support Lora Wondolowski. I feel like she can support that people power, getting out there and letting our legislators know what we want.”
Charlemont resident Molly Cantor, 60, holding a Wondolowski sign on Bridge Street in Shelburne Falls, said she voted for Wondolowski due to her “progressive values.”
“I appreciate her presence in the community. … A lot of her priorities are my priorities,” Cantor said. “Education, the environment, housing. … She has a lot of experience as a civilian; she’s spent her life working for important issues outside of government.”
Lisa Khanna of Buckland, 70, said she voted for Wondolowski. Her main motivation for going to the polls was the simple act of participating in democracy, and “making sure that democracy continues in a really robust way.”
Nate Woodard, a Greenfield Community College student, also voted for Wondolowski.
“I support Lora because Lora is ready on Day 1 to lead. I was campaigning with [Democratic primary opponent] Corinne [Coryat] when she was running, but I came back and supported Lora because she’s ready on Day 1,” he said.
Congressional seats
Jennie Ladew-Duncan, 65, of Charlemont, said she was hoping for a blue wave across the country, and voted for Democrats down the ballot.
“It’s an important process,” Ladew-Duncan said. “I understand it’s just one vote, but if we all say that, then nothing gets done.
“I hope Massachusetts doesn’t mistake the fact that overall, we’re a blue state, [and] we get complacent,” Ladew-Duncan continued. “I think we have to do our part, and I think also, for me and for other people who feel similarly, if you want a more progressive movement, then you have to get involved in different kinds of ways and not just always go with [the] status quo.”
Margaret Lawless, of Orange, voted for U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton “because Ed Markey’s been in there forever and I think we need some fresh blood.” Markey served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 37 years and then was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013.
David Lewis, who chairs the Greenfield Republican Town Committee, voted Republican down the ballot first thing in the morning. He said he has met Deaton multiple times and has read his book, “Food Stamp Warrior: A Memoir.”
“I had breakfast with him last Tuesday, here in Greenfield,” he said. “He’s great.”
Donna Festinger, secretary of the Greenfield Republican Town Committee, voted exclusively for Republicans, except for Democrat Diana DiZoglio, who is running for reelection as state auditor.
“I like the way she’s pushing for an audit,” she said.
While the 1st Congressional District race has an impact on major towns and cities like Springfield, Pittsfield and North Adams, some small communities in the western portion of Franklin County are also represented: Charlemont, Hawley, Monroe and Rowe.
The incumbent, 77-year-old Richie Neal, was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988. Challenging him is Independent candidate Nadia Milleron, 62, who ran for Neal’s seat in 2024 as well.
Outside of Hawlemont Regional School in Charlemont, Ladew-Duncan shared that she had voted for challenger Jeromie Whelan in the Democratic primary, and wrote his name in again for the general election.
“I voted for Jeromie Whalen,” Ladew-Duncan said. “I realize it’s not really going to happen, but I also know that in this case, it would be extremely unlikely in Massachusetts for it to go a way that I felt really uncomfortable with.”
A similar sentiment was felt by Cantor, who also voted for Whalen in the primary. Sharing that she was the first in-person voter in Charlemont, she said she didn’t have much to share about the 1st Congressional District race. Cantor said she would have voted for Milleron, however, her husband’s connection to the Trump administration (Michael Stumo serves as the associate director for economic policy) led her not to vote for the challenger.
“I really worked hard on Jeromie Whalen’s campaign,” Cantor said.
Franklin County Sheriff
In Buckland, Jim Eagan, 83, and Khanna shared that they voted for interim Sheriff Lori Streeter.
Woodard also voted for Streeter and stood outside the polls at Greenfield High School holding one of her campaign signs. He said he supports Streeter because of her extensive experience in law enforcement and her commitment to protecting Franklin County.
“We’ve seen her in action. I’ve seen her in action. And the constituency knows what Lori’s all about,” she said.
Lewis and Festinger voted for Gary Gagnon for sheriff. The third candidate is Northfield Police Chief Jon Hall.
“He’s going to stir things up over there,” Lewis said of Gagnon, referring to the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction.
He and Festinger said they loved Gagnon’s campaign pledges, especially the ones about combating nepotism and expanding the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Animal Shelter so it can hold more animals.
Governor
Lewis voted for Mike Minogue, having first met the gubernatorial candidate as a delegate at the state’s Republican Nominating Convention in Worcester in April.
“I think … even Democrats are fed up with Maura [Healey],” he said.
Lawless said she also voted for Minogue.
“I’m hoping he’ll bring some of his business sense to the commonwealth,” she said. “He’s successful.”
Minogue served for nearly 19 years as chair, president and CEO of Abiomed Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical device company headquartered in Danvers.
Husband and wife Ed and Jeanne Berry, of Orange, voted for Healey and Markey, who he thinks have a great deal of support due to the frustration over the Trump administration.
“If you listen to [Trump] speak, he never talks about the issues,” Ed said. “He’s more into making monuments for himself than he is … anything else. I believe he belongs in prison. That’s my particular opinion and I think that … hopefully this election will help steer us in that direction. We need to get him impeached.”
Greenfield residents Pamela Goodwin, Ryan Whitney and Stephanie Duclos proudly identified as Independents who typically side with Republicans.
Goodwin said she likes that Minogue has repeatedly pledged not to take a salary as governor.
Whitney said he and Duclos, his wife, made it their mission to get to know all the Republican candidates, “to the point where their daughters are asking, ‘When is my hair going to be as long as Stephanie’s?”
“The thing is, they’re more Independent than they ever were Republican,” he said. “They’re conservative Independents.”
