20 Aug 2 Trump backers cite immigration as key issue in GOP race for House seat held by Straus
Bob McConnell of Fairhaven and Joe Pires of Rochester will face off in the Sept. 3 primary, hoping to fill an open seat.
by Colin Hogan; The New Bedford Light, August 19, 2024
NEW BEDFORD — For only the third time this century, Bristol County’s 10th state representative district will have a contested Republican primary. Bob McConnell of Fairhaven and Joe Pires of Rochester will face off in the Sept. 3 primary, hoping to fill an open seat. The retiring Rep. Bill Straus, a Mattapoisett Democrat, has held the job for more than 30 years.
The winning Republican will advance to the November election and face Mark Sylvia, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
To compete in the district — which leans Democratic and includes Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Fairhaven, and parts of Acushnet and New Bedford — candidates McConnell and Pires are hoping to attract independent or frustrated voters by running campaigns that promote moderate values and civic participation. Many of their specific policy agendas, however, are more strictly conservative or libertarian.
McConnell returns for second campaign
McConnell says the central theme of his campaign is to give voters a choice and encourage their participation. “My candidacy gives people a choice on the ballot,” McConnell said. “That was my primary impetus to run.”
But when asked about his goals if he were to win a seat on Beacon Hill, McConnell described a philosophy of disruption and dissent. “If there’s little I can do to cancel certain bills, I will,” McConnell said. For his governing philosophy, McConnell recited words from the 19th century Tammany Hall Democrat, Gideon J. Tucker: “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”
McConnell, who first ran for Bristol’s 10th seat in a failed 2022 primary campaign, cited Donald Trump’s rise to political prominence as the inspiration for his own political life. “My genesis in political activism was truly begun by working on [Trump]’s campaigns,” McConnell wrote on Facebook. Now serving as the chair of Fairhaven’s Republican Town Committee, McConnell attended the July kickoff party for Trump’s Massachusetts campaign, hosted by former Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson. “I am more MAGA now than ever,” McConnell posted after the event.
Still, McConnell, who has worked for more than 35 years in the Plymouth County corrections department and maintains licensure as a nurse, said that he hopes his campaign inspires civility and voter participation. “I have a proven track record of increasing participation and involvement,” McConnell said, “and I will continue to do so after being elected.”
Pires promotes moderate values after contentious tenure on ORR School Committee
Joe Pires, who has served three terms on the Old Rochester Regional School Committee, has described himself as a moderate, common-sense conservative in written campaign materials and an interview with The Light. “I want to focus on what we can do in the spirit of the betterment of the whole South Coast region,” Pires said, adding that some of his closest friends are Democrats and independents.
In an interview with The Light, Pires, who grew up in New Bedford, did not seek to highlight his most high-profile work on the ORR School Committee, in which he voted to remove books and curriculum materials that were previously approved by school librarians. Asked about education issues, Pires focused on new ideas, including increasing opportunities for vocational education.
But the books issue dominated public attention during Pires’ three terms on the ORR School Committee and has been a subject of his recent political activism. Pires said he believed that some books that taught sex education were not appropriate for schools or children, and that he did not agree with the district’s “opt-out” approach — where any parent could decide which materials were not suitable for their own children. “There was no compromise,” Pires said, but added that “no student should go without their needs met or feel that they’re excluded.”
In April of this year, Pires joined with other community activists in the Rochester area to found Tri-Town for Protecting Children (TTPC), a nonprofit advocacy group that says, “sexually-explicit literature and social influencing are being promoted to our children within our public schools and in our community.”
Among his cofounders of the book removal advocacy group are Jaqueline Eckert, who last year formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) to raise money for Pires’ School Committee re-election at the same time that he did not file campaign reports himself. Eckert and her husband are the largest contributors to Pires’ current campaign, which has raised more than $13,000 in total.
Pires, however, chooses to speak about other aspirations of his campaign. He said that he hopes to lower the cost of living by cutting taxes and fighting regulations. He said that he worries about the health of the fishing community — both the industry itself and the livelihoods of fishermen — and said he thinks that many promises of green energy have been lies.
Pires cited misinformation in social media posts and an interview with the Light, claiming that offshore turbines only last five years. The actual lifespan is 25 years, according to the Department of Energy, and can be extended with maintenance. Pires had agreed to send the source of his information during the interview, but never did.
Preparing for the general race
Both McConnell and Pires say that immigration is an important issue for them and for Bristol County residents, and both say they align with former President Trump’s ideas to deter illegal immigration and increase deportations.
“Illegals now have the right to homeless shelters,” Pires said, while many other Massachusetts residents are fighting homelessness. “If that doesn’t make us outraged, then I don’t know what does.” Pires said that an increase in undocumented residents means that, “we could have people that are not the best people living around us. It’s not fair to me and it’s not fair to you.”
McConnell shared similar concerns, calling illegal immigration “the most urgent problem we are facing in our state.” He said, “The solution is to stop the flow immediately and to work with the population we have here to bring a resolution that is safe and fair to all people. The system is currently overwhelmed.” McConnell said enforcing laws and deportation must be part of immigration reform.
McConnell said he primarily hopes to sell voters on a track record of building the Republican Party in Massachusetts that shows his commitment to civic engagement. “If you want to see changes in government and an end to one-party rule, please vote for me and show these changes are possible,” he said. To date, McConnell has raised the least amount of campaign funds, at just over $1,000.
Pires said that he’s a better communicator and more moderate than his primary opponent, and says that he’s prepared to “fight hard to maintain our standard of living and quality of life, which has significantly dropped over the last four or five years.”
Whichever candidate prevails in the Sept. 3 primary will face Mark Sylvia, the lone Democrat. The solar company executive and former state undersecretary of energy has received Straus’ endorsement. “He easily gets my vote,” said Straus, whose endorsement in an already Democratic district will give Sylvia many of the advantages of an incumbent. Already the first-time campaigner for state office has raised more than $30,000, leading Pires and McConnell by a wide margin.
Sylvia has served as Fairhaven’s elected town moderator for more than 15 years and was Plymouth’s town manager from 2004 to 2009.
The general election will take place on Nov. 5.