AMHERST — The first year that Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, was elected to serve in the Legislature, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” was atop the charts.
Elected first as a state representative in 1987, Rosenberg moved up to become a senator for the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District in 1991, where he has served since with few serious challengers.
This year, a challenge emerged from an unexpected place — the Democratic Party.
Chelsea Kline, of Northampton, announced in March that she would run against Rosenberg in the Sept. 4 state primary, saying she believes western Massachusetts “deserves more.”
During his time in the Senate, Rosenberg rose through successive leadership positions until he became the first openly gay person elected Senate president in 2015. He was the first Senate president from western Massachusetts since Maurice Donahue of Holyoke served in that position from 1964 to 1971.
But almost three years later, in December 2017, Rosenberg was forced to step down from the Senate presidency after sexual misconduct charges were brought against his now-estranged husband, Bryon Hefner, who pleaded not guilty to 10 charges Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court.
The Senate Committee on Ethics hired a law firm to determine if Rosenberg had broken any rules. The results of that investigation have not been made public. Sen. Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, took over as acting Senate president after Rosenberg stepped down. Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, is expected to become the permanent president in July, after announcing last month that she had the votes to be elected.
It’s rare to have a challenger like Kline oppose an incumbent like Rosenberg who has been a leader in the Senate and who traditionally has had strong support from voters in his district, said Raymond La Raja, an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Typically, La Raja said, such a challenge may arise if there has been a scandal involving the incumbent or if the challenger is running to send a message. In this case, he said, there may be some of both.
“Scandals make candidates vulnerable, but it’s by no means a death sentence,” La Raja said. “There are so many other factors that affect whether an incumbent wins again.”
He added, “Within any party, the primaries are in place to play out factional disputes within the party. It sounds like Kline is running on a platform that doesn’t seem too different from what the senator has been supporting all along.”
La Raja said the odds are stacked against Kline because of her lack of political experience. She seems like an “interesting, talented person,” La Raja said, but up against a senior legislator like Rosenberg, she looks like a “tough shot.”
When it comes to their platforms, Rosenberg and Kline do not have radically different positions.
Rosenberg is running on his record, citing his experience with important issues for western Massachusetts, including health care, transportation, climate change and income inequality. “Progress is incremental,” he said. “These problems are so large, it takes a lot of focus and incremental change to be able to close the gap.”
Kline said she is focusing on rebuilding a social safety net, reclaiming tax breaks given to companies such as General Electric, and reinvesting in town centers and downtown areas.
“I really respect all the work he’s done for the past 27 years, he’s done great work on Beacon Hill, but I believe western Mass. deserves more,” Kline said of Rosenberg. “It’s about building on what he’s done. I’ve been waiting for the right moment and the right position. I respect what he’s done, but it’s time for change.”
Kline said she was a teenage single mother who went from public assistance to graduating from Smith College and later Harvard Divinity School, and as such, she said she knows what it’s like to struggle.
Rosenberg is no stranger to struggles himself. He grew up in foster care and was on his own at age 18.
Rosenberg also went through radiation and chemotherapy treatment for a serious form of skin cancer, and told Commonwealth Magazine he was glad to be three years cancer-free when he assumed the Senate presidency.
“So far, I would say we’re going to have difficulty in finding differences,” Rosenberg said of his and Kline’s positions on the issues. “They’ll be differences of degree and of detail.”
Rosenberg said he met Kline recently when he ran into her while she was collecting signatures for her nomination papers. He said they had a nice conversation, after which he signed her nomination papers to help her get on the Democratic primary ballot. Choice is good for democracy, Rosenberg observed,.
“A lot of people got energized as a result of (President Donald) Trump’s election,” Rosenberg said. “For folks on the left, many of whom were not previously interested in politics at a high level, there is, right now, a political dynamic that is inspiring people, particularly women, to run for office.”
Rosenberg said he’s faced challengers before, mostly Republican, but some from his own party. He said his seniority and experience would be a benefit to the district if he is re-elected.
One of Rosenberg’s constituents, Dorothy Fradera, of Hadley, said Rosenberg told her that he’s looking forward to the ethics investigation being in the past so he can focus on being a legislator for western Massachusetts.
Rosenberg said he cannot comment on any of the events surrounding his estranged husband until the Senate ethics investigation is completed and the results are made public.
The Boston Herald reported this week that sources close to the investigation said it is complete and is now being reviewed by senators on the ethics panel in the next few weeks before the results are made public.
The ethics committee could find Rosenberg did nothing wrong and that Rosenberg did not breach the “firewall” he pledged to place between his work at the Statehouse and Hefner.
Or, if a majority finds there has been a violation of rules or other misconduct, the panel could recommend disciplinary action such as a reprimand, censure, temporary or permanent removal of authority, suspension with or without pay, or expulsion.
La Raja said if the ethics investigation finds there was no wrongdoing by Rosenberg himself, he has a very good chance of “a comeback” in regaining the trust of voters’ trust.
“This is a guy who has battled a lot, including cancer. He’s tough-minded, he’s worked hard for the constituency, he’s built up support,” La Raja said. “It’s a tough one, because the senator has done a lot of good things here, but there are probably some people who think it’s time for change.”
Though Rosenberg has not commented on the investigation, he has said that the subject of him stepping down from the Senate presidency does not come up when talking with constituents.
And until the results of the ethics investigation are announced, it seems voters are not overly concerned.
On a sunny, spring morning in downtown Amherst on Thursday, some of Rosenberg’s constituents walked dogs, hustled to class and waited for public transportation.
Gina Kapuscinski, a resident of Amherst for 18 years, said she has heard only a little bit about the ethics investigation and charges against Hefner and has not heard much at all about Kline. Rosenberg, she said, has been very hardworking for his district.
“It certainly has affected his reputation, but I’m still going to vote for him. In this world …?” Kapuscinski said with a shrug, saying the “scandal” seems like nothing compared to current events.
Another Amherst resident of 14 years, John Strickland, also said Rosenberg stepping down from the Senate presidency, the charges against Hefner and the ethics investigation are not of great concern to him. He said he finds the whole situation sad.
“I like Stan. He’s an honest, upright guy,” Strickland said. “In the current political climate, he looks awfully good.”
He said that Rosenberg made a bad personal choice in Hefner, but as a representative of Amherst and the district, Rosenberg has been reliable and good for the community.
“Even if you think his personal judgment is terrible, as a representative, he’s been great for the community,” Strickland added.
But one constituent, Patrick “Patches” Burke, who has lived in Granby for four years, said that western Massachusetts is ready for change.
Rosenberg has been “good, fine, positive, good” for his district, Burke said, but there’s not much excitement surrounding his run for re-election.
He said he’s heard less about Hefner and the ethics investigation, and more about a new Democratic challenger in Northampton.
“Unusual for politics? Yes. Unusual for the Pioneer Valley? No. That’s what I expect here, for people to take a gander at the status quo and then decide to do something new,” Burke said. “Personally, I think we could use a refresher, some new blood and some new perspective.”
Strickland added that he doesn’t think voters have lost trust in Rosenberg, but there’s a new push for change from the left that saw “a crack in the door” when Rosenberg stepped down for the ethics investigation. “Now, they’re going to try and burst that door wide open.”
M.J. Tidwell can be reached at mjtidwell@gazettenet.com.