GREENFIELD — Three of the five candidates vying for the open state representative seat in the 1st Franklin District to replace former representative Natalie Blais will appear on the ballot this fall after the deadline to submit the required signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office passed on May 26.
Corinne Coryat, 27, of Deerfield, Amy Lavallee, 49, of Whately and Lora Wondolowski, 57, of Greenfield all secured enough signatures across the 18 towns that encompass the 1st Franklin District. Johnathan Creque, 25, of Greenfield, who was running as a Democratic-Socialist in the Democratic primary also received enough signatures, but decided not to submit them and withdrew from the race, he said last week.
Sabra Billings, 51, of Bernardston, who was running as an unenrolled candidate, did not receive enough signatures by the deadline.
In an email statement, Creque said that he was “deeply grateful for the opportunity to meet so many members of our community and discuss how we can improve our district and the Commonwealth. With leaving the race, I want to share that I am throwing my full support behind Lora Wondolowski,” he wrote. “Lora is an incredibly dedicated community leader who understands the needs of our district and neighbors. Lora has the empathy, experience and drive needed to advocate for us on Beacon Hill, and I know she will make a fantastic State Representative for the 1st Franklin District.”
As Lavallee is not running as a Democrat or a Republican, she will not appear in the Sept. 1 primary. Wondolowski and Coryat will face off in the Democratic primary. The general election is Nov. 3.
Before the signature deadline, a candidates night was held on May 12, hosted by Franklin County Continuing Political Revolution (FCCPR).
In addition to the candidates night, FCCPR had Coryat, Creque and Wondolowski fill out questionnaires where they asked each candidate the same questions. Some were more general, such as, “what are your plans for community outreach,” while others were more specific, asking the candidates their positions on specific legislation. This questionnaire was filled out in advance of the candidates night and is available to read on FCCPR’s website.
During the event, the three candidates all had five minutes for an opening statement, before 45 minutes of Q&A before about 35 audience members.
Wondolowski thanked those in attendance for coming, and said she doesn’t need let the audience know “that we’re living in perilous times right now.”
“From the climate crisis, to unaffordability and a government that is terrorizing our citizens and taking away our rights,” Wondolowski said. “Talking to people across this district, I continue to hear stories about rising costs of healthcare, worries about school budgets and lack of housing. As a city councilor, I’ve struggled with many of those issues, and how do we balance our budgets. I’m running because Franklin County towns deserve a voice on Beacon Hill that understands the challenges facing our Selectboards and town administrators.”
In addition to serving as president of the City Council, Wondolowski works as the director of advancement and communications at the Peace Development Fund, a foundation based in Amherst that supports social justice organizations across the state and country.
Coryat had previously served in Blais’s office before resigning to focus on her campaign. She told the audience that she felt “overwhelmed, not just with gratitude, but with hope.” She said she had the privilege of serving the people of the county under Blais, and when Blais announced her resignation, Coryat “felt a responsibility” to run for the open seat.
She is also finishing a law degree with a concentration in public interest law at Western New England University.
Lavallee was not at the candidates night hosted by FCCPR as she was not seeking the organization’s endorsement. She currently works as the town clerk in Whately, and had previously said she viewed the jump from town clerk to state representative as a logical next step.
“I can do the favorite aspect of my job now on a broader scale — I have a bigger community that I can help and that I can problem-solve with,” Lavallee had said previously. “I have a chance to be a voice for people on this side of the state, when sometimes it feels like we don’t really have that voice from Boston, and to be able to have that opportunity — I don’t know how to say this without sounding hokey — but it fills my soul. I don’t know any other way to put it and that’s why I’m doing it.”
At the FCCPR event, someone in the audience asked the candidates what their top two priorities would be once they were in office. For Wondolowski, she said that funding education and schooling was “the reason I stepped up into public service,” and that housing would be second.
Coryat had a different response, saying that being a state representative “is a seat that you cannot have a one, two, three, four or five top priorities.” She did say that she is “dying to get her teeth into Chapter 70 reform” and that environmental causes would always be a priority of hers.
“I would love to be able to pick,” Coryat said about priorities.
Material from State House News Service was used in this report.
