Springfield Area State Legislators
The Massachusetts General Court, the legislative branch of government, is a co-equal part of the commonwealth’s government. However, in practice, because of the traditional dominance of the Democratic party in both the House and Senate and many years of Republican control of the governor’s office, it has assumed a stronger role relative to what the state constitution technically provides.
The General Court has two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both possess the same power to pass legislation, but both must agree for bills to become law. The Speaker of the House and the Senate President control their respective chambers’ committee assignments, the real estate on Beacon Hill and, largely the agenda. Lately, the Senate, simply because there are fewer members, has had a more open, cordial atmosphere, while the House has more centralized power.
In Massachusetts, districts are named according to the county they principally represent, a rarity among state legislatures. This can be confusing in Eastern Massachusetts where districts can have similar names rather simply being numbered sequentially. In Western Mass, the changing name makes tracking a district’s history difficult, but distinguishing them from one another is not terrible difficult. This guide only includes Hampden County’s reps for now. Resources and time permitting, an expansion to all of the 413 is possible
Senate
Hampden Senate District: Adam Gomez-D
1st Hampden & Hampshire Senate District: Eric Lesser–D
2nd Hampden & Hampshire Senate District: John Velis-D
House
1st Hampden: Todd Smola-R
2nd Hampden: Brian Ashe-D
3rd Hampden: Nicholas Boldyga-R
4th Hampden: Kelly Pease-R
5th Hampden: Patricia Duffy-D
6th Hampden: Michael Finn-D
7th Hampden: Joseph Wagner-D
8th Hampden: Jake Oliveira-D
9th Hampden: Orlando Ramos–D
10th Hampden: Carlos Gonzalez-D
11th Hampden: Bud Williams-D
12th Hampden: Angelo Puppolo-D