Change is Needed on Beacon Hill

To the Editor:

I am the Republican candidate for State Representative for the Fifth Essex District, and I am running because I believe the people of Cape Ann deserve a choice, and a representative who answers to them.

Nearly 60% of Massachusetts House and Senate races are uncontested this election cycle.  That should concern all of us, regardless of political party.  Democracy depends on competition, debate, and elected officials who know they must answer to the people they represent.  When too many elected officials face no competition, accountability suffers and power becomes concentrated in the hands of too few.

The people of Cape Ann have a choice this November.

My campaign is built on three principles:  Affordability, Accountability, and Local Control.

Affordability means recognizing that government decisions have real consequences for household budgets.  Families across Cape Ann are being squeezed by rising energy bills, housing costs, groceries, insurance, taxes, and fees.  Seniors are increasingly worried about whether they can afford to remain in the communities they helped build, while small businesses struggle with many of the same rising costs.

Massachusetts is an expensive place to live, but accepting that as inevitable is not good enough.  Every new mandate, tax, fee, and regulation should be examined through a simple question: What will this cost the people who have to pay for it?

Accountability means remembering who government works for.

In 2024, more than 72% of Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question authorizing our independently elected State Auditor to audit the Legislature.  The message from the people could hardly have been clearer: Open The Books.  Yet the Legislature continued to resist the Auditor’s efforts to obtain records.  Auditor Diana DiZoglio ultimately sought relief in court, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the Legislature to provide access to specific categories of records.

Rather than embracing greater transparency, legislative leaders responded by advancing H.5469 on an emergency basis, without a public hearing and with legislators given little time to review it.  The legislation narrowed the scope of the Auditor’s review and restricted judicial oversight.

Representative Dru Tarr voted for H.5469.  Had I been your State Representative, I would have voted no.

This is not about Republican versus Democrat.  The State Auditor is a Democrat, and I am a Republican.  I stand with the Auditor on this issue because transparency and accountability should never depend on which political party holds power.

When more than 72% of voters speak, their elected representatives should listen—not look for ways to narrow or legislate around what the people overwhelmingly demanded.

Local Control means recognizing that the people who live in our communities deserve a meaningful voice in decisions that fundamentally affect them.

Too often, major decisions involving housing, zoning, education, infrastructure, and land use are made on Beacon Hill and handed down to our cities and towns.

Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, and Manchester each have their own character, challenges, infrastructure, and priorities. I will fight to ensure that Cape Ann has a meaningful voice before decisions are made, not after.

I am running because I believe representative government works best when representatives remember exactly who they represent.

I will ask questions.  I will read the bills before I vote.  I will

challenge leadership when the interests of Cape Ann require it.  And I will never forget who sent me to Beacon Hill or who I work for.

My commitment is straightforward: Make Massachusetts more affordable.  Open the books.  Protect local voices.

The people of Cape Ann deserve a choice.  More importantly, they deserve to be heard.

Christina Delisio

Republican Candidate for State Representative

Fifth Essex District