Four candidates are running to take the 9th Bristol District representative's seat left open with the decision by eight-term incumbent Democrat Chris Markey's decision to run for Bristol County District Attorney.
On the Democrat side the candidates are Stephen J. Medeiros, 3 Basswood Ave., Dartmouth, and Edward M. Pacheco, 188 Hixville Road, Dartmouth.
On the Republican side the candidates are Henry George Bousquet, 3870 Acushnet Ave., New Bedford, and Chester M. Tam, 355 Carroll St., Dartmouth.
The Sept. 1 Primary will determine the respective parties' standard-bearer in the Nov. 3 election.
The Ninth Bristol District consists of the town of Dartmouth, and Ward 1 Precincts D, E, and F, of the city of New Bedford.
The Standard-Times asked the candidates several questions, including why they are candidates in 2026.
Stephen J. Medeiros, 48, Dartmouth
Certified residential specialist, accredited buyer's representative, seniors' real estate specialist, and specialist in modern real estate technology and professional ethics
2021president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and past president of the Realtor Association of Southeastern Massachusetts
Dartmouth Town Meeting member from 2008-2013
Former member of Dartmouth Alternative Energy Committee
Campaign finances as of July 31:
Receipts year to date, $36,997.63
Expenditures year to date, $30,877.66
Medeiros said public service is a natural extension of the values he acquired growing up in a family that believed in doing the right thing and helping others. "Even if no one's looking." That's also a product of their faith, he added.
He was also inspired by stories he heard growing up of his great uncle, Antone Silva, a former state representative and state senator.
Medeiros said his focus "first and foremost" as state representative from the Ninth Bristol District will be to listen to the people, to find out what their needs are and understand their concerns.
"My grandfather always said to me. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen more than you speak," Medeiros said.
He also sees his role as fighting to bring more money back to the district from Beacon Hill to address those areas of concern. And if it's a concern that needs to be brought to a municipal, county or other authority, he will point the way, he said.
He will also keep in close contact with local officials, the mayor, select board, and city councilors to learn what they need at the state level and fight for their funding needs.
He's informed himself on constituent concerns during the campaign by knocking on doors, making calls and attending numerous community events, he said. Medeiros added they've knocked on close to 5,000 doors.
And what's a common reply when voters are asked their greatest concern?
"The cost of living," Medeiros said.
From high utility rates to water rates going up in Dartmouth to the feeling expressed by many voters that everything seems to be going up, he said.
Medeiros said New Bedford concerns include keeping Fire Station 9 open. Another concern is South Coast Renewables, formerly Parallel Products, and its plan to develop a trash processing facility in the New Bedford Business Park, which is currently the subject of a court battle.
In Dartmouth there are concerns with 40 B developments straining town resources, from water and sewer to the spinoff effect on traffic, public safety, and schools, he said.
An underlying concern in the district, Medeiros said, is maintaining the character of the South Coast, and that involves protecting the local environment.
Jobs are also a concern, Medeiros said. People want to see jobs available that pay fair wages allowing them to continue to live here.
He added that helping vibrant local businesses – large and small – is key to their reinvestment in the community and job creation and retention.
Edward M. Pacheco, 52, Dartmouth
Degrees in criminal justice and general studies with a concentration in human resources
Director of transportation for non-profit
Former Dartmouth Town Meeting member
Former Dartmouth split tax committee member
Former New Bedford Democratic Committee member
Campaign finances as of July 31:
Receipts year to date, $19,721.25
Expenditures year to date, $12,738.64
Pacheco said that devoting yourself to public service is something that comes from the heart. "It's not something that you get talked into by your friends or your family or even the establishment"
And over the past eight months, he said, it's "become very clear that I am not the establishment candidate."
Pacheco said he's the married father of six daughters "who is looking to do right by the Ninth Bristol district and represent the working people of the district, not a special interest."He works two jobs, he said. He is director of transportation for a non-profit organization working with individuals with intellectual disabilities during the day and supplements his income as a bartender at night.
Like many working families in the Ninth Bristol District, he needs the extra income, he said.While he shares that background with many of the Ninth's constituents, it has also helped him realize that they're not being adequately represented, he said. That's why he has attracted union support, he said.
Pacheco said among the things he would like to do in office is modify and refile a piece of legislation that Chris Markey had started.
It would basically create a coastal commission of 23 people, which would evaluate the wastewater situations of all Massachusetts' coastal communities.
The task would be to determine how to financially support infrastructure upgrades to protect the environment and to give relief to the taxpayers, he said.
Dartmouth, for example, needs a new $50 million wastewater system in today's money."By the time it gets built, it'll probably be closer to $70 million," Pacheco said.
Dartmouth taxpayers, including retirees living on fixed incomes and hard-working families will get buried if they have to shoulder that burden, he said.
Pacheco also wants to revamp 40 B legislation, which he said is very flawed.
It was meant to support the development of affordable housing, but it actually cripples the infrastructure of communities where it's implemented, Pacheco said.The law should take into consideration whether a community's infrastructure can support additional housing and should also provide more local control. "They're changing the character of communities by taking away the control from the local government," Pacheco said.Utility bills continue to be on everyone's mind, he said. "We all have the same sticker shock when we open our electric or gas bills," Pacheco said.
He would hold the state Dept. of Public Utilities to a higher standard of accountability in their dealings with utility companies, which are making net profits while ratepayers struggle with past due balances, Pacheco said.
Henry George Bousquet, 50, New Bedford
Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
Associate's degree in communications
Licensed Massachusetts educator
Lead culinary arts instructor at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
Former Ward 3 New Bedford city councilor
A leader in Neighborhoods United for 17 years
Campaign finances as of July 31:
Receipts year to date, $8,606.10
Expenditures year to date, $6,183.27
Bousquet said his candidacy was motivated by frustration with the direction state spending was taking - "like many homeowners."
An example, he said, is the pursuit of the net-zero mandate for greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to eventually reach zero emissions by 2050.
That creates undue costs and burdens on residents, Bousquet said.
"These mandates to get to zero combustion are putting undue financial stress on this segment of the market that works and pays probably the majority of the taxes."
He said, "That's not fair, and we ought to slow down and take a more thoughtful approach to energy generation and not try to throw the baby out with the bathwater."Bousquet added, "That was impetus enough to urge anybody to run."
Bousquet said he brings a very particular brand of constituent services to his public service role.
In his five years as a city counselor, he was always responsive to constituent needs and stood by his word.
But, he added, he never over-promised and pledged to fix things that he knew were beyond the board's control.
Bousquet said his agenda would include reducing costs for his constituency, starting with utilities.
Improvements are also in order to the state's formula for local aid to the communities, particularly Unrestricted General Government Aid.
Communities need additional funding provided through the state to spend locally on what residents really prioritize, Bousquet said.
Bousquet said issues that are prioritized by the residents he has talked with while campaigning center around the increased cost of living.
"They feel like utilities are out of control," he said.
Bousquet added, "They also feel like their local taxes are becoming burdensome, particularly those folks who are on fixed incomes. Those are the high-flying issues," he said.
Bridgewater State University with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
13 years in family restaurant business, starting as a child.
25 years in the technology sector in a software company, pharmaceuticals, financials and healthcare.Systems analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Systems engineer at Mass. General Brigham
Candidate for Dartmouth Board of Health
Campaign finances as of July 31:
Receipts year to date, $14,223.51
Expenditures year to date, $9,207.15
Tam said he is running to address transparency and affordability issues. He also said he feels there's a disconnect on Beacon Hill where representatives are not asking themselves whether their decisions are helping or hurting their constituents.
On transparency, he said 72% of the voters supported an audit of the state Legislature by state Auditor Diana DiZoglio in a 2024 ballot measure. "And they have yet to even allow that to happen," Tam said.
Question one on the November ballot that would make records held by the Legislature and governor subject to the state's public records law also shows how shielded they are, Tam said.
"I really want to do something about that."
On affordability, he said the older and younger generations in Massachusetts are having a difficult time staying here.
Seniors on fixed incomes can't keep up with high energy costs, he said.
The younger generation is struggling to buy homes and make enough money to start a family here, he added.
Tam said his grandparents came to this country in the 1960s in the pursuit of the American dream. "I'm a product of that, but I feel like a lot of that is being squandered."
The father of three added, "My family roots are here in Massachusetts. I don't want to see them have to leave the state to pursue their American dream."
He's hearing about rising costs while knocking on district doors in terms of housing, insurance, groceries, and "the big one" energy.
Tam said he wants to advocate bringing more state aid to local communities. That aid has been stagnant for the last 15-20 years, he said. The lag in aid forces communities like Dartmouth to consider overrides.
"How much more can people continue to give and then get nothing back?"
Tam said he's level-headed and doesn't want to get caught up in knee-jerk confrontational, bipartisanship.
"A lot of people don't want to talk because they're so far apart on a specific issue," Tam said.
Tam said he's willing to listen to different views and come to a compromise or agree to disagree. What's important is to pursue the conversation to determine how a problem can be solved, he said.
Tam said he wants to focus on attainable goals rather than spew political talking points.
"I want to be someone who will find the solutions, not be up there to just fight a narrative."
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Meet the candidates vying for the 9th Bristol District seat