Plymouth resident Stephen Michael Palmer has secured a spot on the ballot for the special election for the vacant Plymouth & Barnstable District State Senate seat.
PLYMOUTH – Another Democrat has entered the field of candidates seeking the open Plymouth/Barnstable District State Senate seat left vacant by Vinny deMacedo in November.
Plymouth resident Stephen Michael Palmer is a commissioner of the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority and a trustee of the Plymouth Affordable Housing Trust. He also works as an auditor.
Earlier this month, Palmer secured a spot on the ballot for the special election.
Palmer seeks to represent the working class with tax cuts, affordable housing and healthcare.
“I’m not a liberal Democrat. I’m more of a moderate Democrat,” Palmer said.
“I don’t believe in taxing and spending. I’d like to get the democracy back to being what Hancock, Adams and Revere made it to be and not a ‘demockery’ of what it is now.”
Palmer said he joined the race for the seat to have the Democratic Party serve the people more than it has been.
“Affordable housing is in a crisis. Healthcare is in crisis and everyone is getting pay raises up at Beacon Hill,” Palmer said.
The seat has been Republican controlled for the last three terms.
Prior to deMacedo winning the seat, it was held by Democrat Therese Murray from 1993 to January 2015. Murray also served as President of the Massachusetts Senate from March 2007 to January 2015.
“She improved the district tremendously with new schools and councils on aging,” Palmer said.
Palmer believes the seat would be more effective if it was back under Democratic control.
“I think a Democrat gets more leverage up at the State House than a Republican would,” he said.
Palmer said he has served as a town meeting member in Plymouth and Braintree and understands how budgets are put together and approved.
Palmer is not a newcomer when it comes to running for the seat. He previously campaigned for the position in 2018 but lost in the Democratic primary.
“I did get over 5,000 votes out of the district last time,” he said. “I thought I had a pretty good chance of winning and we are going to roll the dice again.”
Palmer received over 42 percent of the vote in the primary and lost to Deborah Rudolf, who received 41 percent of the vote against deMacedo in the general election.
“I just hope everyone who voted for me last time realizes that I haven’t changed,” he said.
Palmer also supports full-time pre-school, pilot money for watershed associations, and money for the repair of historical buildings.
Other Democrats seeking the seat include Rebecca Coletta, John Mahoney, Thomas Moakley, and Susan Moran. The two Republicans running are Jesse Brown and James McMahon.
Democrat Jack Stanton announced last week that he was dropping out of the race.
Palmer has lived in Plymouth for more than 22 years and has raised two children as a widower.
The district consisting of the towns of Kingston, Pembroke and Plymouth in Plymouth County; and the towns of Bourne, Falmouth and Sandwich in Barnstable County.
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