BREWSTER – The three candidates for the First Barnstable State Representative District are heading to the finish line with just one week to go before the election.
The district includes Brewster, Dennis, and most of Yarmouth. The three candidates are hoping to fill Republican Tim Whelan’s seat as he runs for Barnstable County Sheriff.
Democrat candidate Chris Flanagan is a member of the Dennis Select Board and an executive officer for the Homebuilders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod.
Flanagan said he would address Cape Cod’s housing crisis through focusing on legislation surrounding redeveloping housing stock.
Flanagan said this could involve converting structures like old plazas and hotels into multi-family housing units.
“We’re giving Cape Codders more options in terms of the type of housing the type of housing that they can afford and need,” he said.
Flanagan also wants to support the Common Start bill for early education and childcare and increase access to childcare for people of low- and medium-income levels.
Republican candidate Tracy Post served on the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen for 12 years in addition to her work in other local government positions.
If elected, Post said she would meet with the three town administrators in the district to create a plan to address any barriers they’re facing at the state level.
Post said she supports universal pre-K and wants to coordinate with other legislators to make it a reality.
She would also want to meet with Cape Cod Healthcare to work towards the Cape having a trauma center and address the lack of primary care physicians in the region.
Abe Kasparian, a We The People party candidate, said his one of his main priorities would be to address minimum wage.
“I’d like to see us eliminate minimum wage in the commonwealth of Mass and call it a living wage,” he said.
Kasparian said he would want companies with over 75 employees to start pay rates at $25 per hour.
“We need to figure out a way to make sure that when people are here that they have access to proper health care,” Post said.
Listen to the full Sunday Journal segment featuring the three candidates.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About Brian Engles
