BOSTON (WWLP) – Senator Ryan Fattman is the sole Senate Republican in the area.
Senator Fattman was first elected at the age of 21 when he joined the Board of Selectmen in Sutton. Since then, he has stayed involved in politics and is now representing parts of western Massachusetts in the Senate.
Senator Fattman joined western Massachusetts after picking up the towns of Brimfield, Monson, Holland, and Wales during redistricting. The fiscally conservative republican applauded the governor for her latest proposal to increase the estate tax to $3 million, but he would like to see it raised even further, to $5 million.
The father of four would also like to see child care taken on. “We have the highest childcare cost in the country. What I’d like to see is for us to increase the childcare tax deduction and the child-dependent deduction. You know, make it so families can have children, that those children have great experiences both educational and social in Massachusetts and want to stay here for the rest of their life and raise their own families.”
A bill that the Senator is passionate about would allow all employees to take time off of work without repercussions due to injuries sustained from a domestic violence altercation. This is particularly important to him because a constituent of his lost her job due to injuries sustained in a domestic attack. She was later killed by her attacker.
“I’m trying to change the law, I do think we’re gonna get it to happen this session. The dignity of work, the being a part of a bigger thing where she was succeeding, was taken away from her, through no fault of her own and that’s something we need to change for temporary contract employees.”
He also is sponsoring a bill for what he is calling an “electronic backpack” for foster children. This would be a digital document of foster children’s records, so foster families are aware of the children’s health and educational needs.
If you are looking to speak directly with Senator Fattman, he is holding office hours this coming Wednesday from 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. at the Monson Senior Center.
