REMEMBER TO VOTE THURSDAY  SEPTEMBER 8!

*NOTE: Not sure if which rep or senate race is the election you are looking for? Enter your address on the Secretary of State’s website and find out where your polling place is and what ward/precinct is yours.  After primary, defeated candidates’ names will be stricken out. Candidates arranged alphabetically. Winning candidates will be transferred to the general election page if they face an opponent on the ballot. Races with no opposition on November ballot, thus the primary will all, but name the winner have *

(all candidates arranged alphabetically)

Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Senate District

All communities in Berkshire County, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington (of Hampshire County), Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Conway, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Rowe and Shelburne (of Franklin County), and Blandford and Chester (of Hampden County)  MAP pdf
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Rinaldo Del Gallo

Other Offices Held: None elected.
Profession: Attorney
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Andrea Harrington

Other Offices Held: None elected.
Profession: Attorney
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Adam Hinds

Other Offices Held: None elected.
Profession: Community activist, UN operative
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Eleventh Hampden

Springfield (Wards 4, and precincts 2H, 3A, 5A, 5B, 5E, 5F, 6F, 7A, 8C) Census bureau MAP pdf
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Ken Barnett

Other Offices Held: None elected, service on Bay, Upper Hill and Old Hill neighborhood councils.
Profession: Unknown
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On the Candidate (briefly): A relative newcomer to the political scene (insofar as they he has not run for office since WMassP&I has been watching), Barnett is probably the least known of the four Democrats running the primary. All of the other contenders either have prominent political connections or have run for office before. His website, though Spartan, emphasizes this point. As an outsider he promises to deliver “MORE” as central Springfield’s state rep.

Larry Lawson

Other offices Held: none known
Profession: Social Services/case manager (historical)
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On the Candidate (briefly): Your guess is as good as ours, but Lawson has challenged Swan at least five or six times since the latter won the seat in 1994 including in 2014. Archives suggest Lawson has a history of activism, but his perennial candidacies have historically been underfunded and un-competitive affairs. His account with the Office of Campaign & Political Finance shows no reporting in 2015, which prompted the agency to fine his campaign. As of 2014, his campaign account had zero funds.

Benjamin Swan, Jr.

Other offices Held: none elected; Chair of Springfield Planning Board, service on McKnight neighborhood council.
Profession: Independent consultant; former IT systems professional: MassMutual, Smith & Wesson
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On the Candidate (briefly): The namesake of the incumbent, Swan, Jr. cuts a reserved figure, bookish compared to his father who once ran the local NAACP. Long thought of as a successor to his father, Swan entered the race rather quietly–even as the elder Swan had pulled papers, too. It became the first test for the candidate who had largely eschewed politics up to now. He has continued his foray into the thicket of Springfield politics undeterred and put forward a list of concrete policy ideas as he goes up against three candidates, including one former rival of his father’s.

Bud Williams

Other offices Held:Springfield City Council at-large 2012-present, 1994-2010.
Profession: retired probation officer
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On the Candidate (briefly): But for his ill-fated decision to run for mayor in 2009 that left him off the council for two years, Bud Williams would be the dean of the Springfield City Council. Serving since 1993, he is arguably one of the most recognizable city politicians a factor Williams is no doubt relying on to secure a seat he has long coveted. The elder Swan crushed him in a 2002 primary, but has been hoarding campaign cash for years (having easily won reelection to the Council for several cycles) in likley anticipation for this bid. Few issues have defined Williams’s time on the Council, although residency for city employees is a favorite of his. However, Williams is by far one of the premier showmen of Springfield politics ready, willing and eager to step in the limelight at a moment’s notice.

Third Hampshire

Amherst, Pelham and Precinct 1 in Granby Census bureau MAP pdf
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Viraphanh Douangmany Cage

Other Offices Held: Amherst School Committee 2015-present
Profession: ACLU organizer, activist

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On the Candidate (briefly): An ACLU organizer and Amherst School Committee member, Douangmany Cage, like her colleagues in this race, has emphasized her progressive credentials, key in this Amherst-based race. She has emphasized her immigrant background–she was born in Laos–to connect her personal experience to issues of immigration and the economy.

Solomon Goldstein-Rose

Other Offices Held: student member of Amherst School Committee
Profession: climate activist
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On the Candidate (briefly): Though still a student when the campaign began earlier this year, Goldstein-Rose has hit the ground running for this open House seat. Despite being a first-time candidate, he has presented himself well. Rather than running from his youth, he has tried to leverage it as an asset. Whether that will be enough to distinguish himself in this crowded field of avowed progressives remains to be seen.

Sarah LaCour

Other Offices Held: Amherst Historical Commission; Elected member Amherst Town Meeting
Profession: environmental conversationist; business improvement district executive
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On the Candidate (briefly): La Cour, the Executive Director of the Amherst Business Improvement District, has pitched her experience in business and project management. While she is not alone in this regard, it could prove helpful in drawing contributions and support in a highly fractured race such as this.

Bonnie MacCracken

Other Offices Held: Elected member Amherst Town Meeting (2013-present)
Profession: small business owner
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On the Candidate (briefly): Of the candidates for the 3rd Hampshire, MacCracken may be the most seasoned. Other candidates in the race show polish, but she also ran a competitive primary for Hampshire Register of Deeds four years ago and lost narrowly to Mary Olberding. But in a good sign for MacCracken, she did incredibly well in Amherst. Whether she can pull such numbers with so many competitors from Amherst is unclear, but she has a lengthy resume of advocacy, seats on the state and local Democratic committees and visibility to leverage as well.

Eric Nakajima

Other Offices Held: former director, Massachusetts Broadband Institute; assistant secretary of housing & economic development.
Profession: consultant, state government official,
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On the Candidate (briefly): Nakajima, a former official with the Deval Patrick official, provides the executive branch perspective to the race. The work on the Massachusetts Broadband Institute could be especially relevant. While connectivity is not a particular problem in Amherst proper, it remains a big issue in the environs. But he has also emphasized his student activism at UMass, which towers–literally and figuratively–over the district.

Lawrence O’Brien

Other Offices Held: former Amherst School Committee member
Profession: teacher
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On the Candidate (briefly): Rounding out the race is O’Brien, a teacher and a union activist, whose history with labor goes back to his own graduate school days. Unsurprisingly, primary and secondary education has been an issue of his as has labor issues. O’Brien has argued in debates that his time as a grievance officer for the Massachusetts Teachers Association provides him with a background in conflict resolution…to be applied to Beacon Hill.

Hampden Sheriff

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Michael Albano

Other Offices Held: Governor’s Councilor 2013-present; Springfield Mayor 1996-2003; Springfield City Council 1992-1995, Springfield School Committee 1986-1989
Profession: politician
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On the Candidate (briefly): The former mayor of Springfield returned to office as governor’s councilor ten years after a rather ignominious departure from City Hall in 2003. In that time, he has attempted to repair–others might say whitewash–his image after serving as Springfield’s mayor just before the state sent the Control Board to manage its finances. Albano has waged a campaign against the incumbent sheriff, Michael Ashe, at least partly an attempt to cast shade on Nick Cocchi, the incumbent’s preferred successor. Though Albano has secured some labor support and backing from prominent African-American Springfield leaders, it is as of yet unclear what support he can build outside of the city he once led.

Thomas Ashe

Other Offices Held: Springfield City Council 2010-present; Springfield School Committee 2000-2009
Profession: corrections worker; government affairs (YMCA)
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On the Candidate (briefly): A long-serving figure in Springfield politics, Ashe–no relation to the incumbent–upended the race’s  Albano v. Cocchi theme when he entered the race earlier this year. He represents the closest thing to a public safety candidate and has secured support from some of the largest police unions in the county (Cocchi has some public safety endorsements, too, however). At the same time, he has suggested no break with in the incumbent’s reputation for rehabilitation and has secured the endorsement of one-time rival Jack Griffin. Griffin’s campaign had focused on the opiate crisis. Like Cocchi, he has actual experience in jails, namely Hampden and Worcester counties’, which could prove helpful in this race. Four years ago, he ran for Clerk of Courts, but lost out to someone who worked in that office. Voters have come to like candidates who have worked in the offices they still elect countywide.

Nicholas Cocchi

Other Offices Held: none elected
Profession: corrections worker; assistant superintendent, Ludlow jail
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On the Candidate (briefly): Cocchi’s campaign has been around the longest, which may ultimatley be its biggest assset after the endorsement of Mike Ashe. As a career corrections official within the jail in Ludlow, Cocchi entered the race with zero name recognition. Since then, he has scored a slew of endorsements and support, building on his experience within the sheriff’s office, specifically within the jail itself. His backing from the sheriff and a message of continuity, however, has made him the indirect target of virtually all of Albano’s fusillades. As the race has built up in earnest, Cocchi has come to define himself more and more and stood as the anti-Albano candidate. But Tom Ashe’s strong challenge shook up the field, prompting Cocchi to switch gears. Cocchi’s head start has helped there, employing a stable of ground troops to fan out across the county to gather support, which could decide this election.

Hampshire Sheriff

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Patrick Cahillane

Other Offices Held: none
Profession: corrections officer
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On the Candidate (briefly): Like Cocchi in Hampden County, Cahillance the experience inside Hampshire County’s jail. That has attracted him some high-profile support such as from Northampton’s mayor.

Melissa Perry

Other Offices Held: none known
Profession: registered nurse
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On the Candidate (briefly): In an era where opiate addiction is spilling into all races and into corrections, Perry’s career as a nurse working with behavior health patients appears timely. After all, Hampden county’s Mike Ashe came to office as a social worker, not a corrections officer.

Kavern Lewis

Other Offices Held: none known
Profession: teacher, correction officer
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On the Candidate (briefly): By far the youngest person running for sheriff in the 413, Lewis appears to be positioning himself as a social justice candidate for the Hampshire sheriff’s office. It’s certainly plausible in a county anchored by liberal communities like Northampton and Amherst, but stints as a correction officers in Springfield and out-of-state may not be enough for many voters.

Eighth District Governor’s Council

All communities in Berkshire & Franklin Counties, all communities in Hampden & Hampshire County (excluding Brimfield, Holland, Monson, Palmer, Wales & Ware) and Royalston (Related articles)

Mary Hurley

Other Offices Held: former district court judge 1995-2014; Springfield Mayor 1989-1991, Springfield City Council 1980-1989
Profession: attorney
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On the Candidate (briefly): In returning to the spotlight, Hurley has attempted to pitch her experience on bench as an asset in vetting judges nominated by the governor. The Governor’s Council is a unique–some would say obsolete–body in Massachusettts, but it is certainly misunderstood. Hurley’s approach and resume certainly makes the more cogent cases for election to the somewhat esoteric office. However, some feel her stance on criminal justice issues are too conservative and there are lingering bad feelings from some tough, but probably unavoidable decisions she had to make as mayor.

Jeffrey Morneau

Other Offices Held: none elected
Profession: attorney
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On the Candidate (briefly): If some view Hurley as too conservative, Morneau has found use of those fears to power his campaign. An attorney whose firm represents unions and employee-side employment cases, Morneau has found support in the more progressive regions of the sprawling governor’s council district. He has touted his time heading the Hampden County Bar Association as well, although it is hard to say how deeply his message can resonate given how far down ballot this race is. For better of for worse, he has less name recognition than his opponent.