Brendan Roche: Candidate For 1st Bristol District

MANSFIELD, MA — Mansfield's Brendan Roche is running to represent the 1st Bristol District.

Roche is running as a Democrat and trying to unseat Republican incumbent F. Jay Barrows.

The 28-year-old architect in training served on the Mansfield Master Plan Committee from 2019-2020, but otherwise has not held public office. Roche holds a bachelor's and master's degree in architecture from Catholic University of America and is an alumnus of Mansfield High School.

The 1st Bristol District includes Foxborough, Mansfield and Norton. The district has been represented by Barrows since 2007.

The general election is Nov. 3.

Patch sent both Barrows and Roche candidate questionnaires ahead of the Nov. 3 election — although between early voting and absentee voting, many votes have already been cast. Here's how Roche responded.

Brendan Roche

Age: 28

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Family: Mom: Joanne Roche, 60 Brothers: Conor Roche, 24 and Ryan Roche, 22 Sister: Chiara Rohce, 16

Education: Mansfield High School 2010, B.S. Architecture, Catholic University of America, 2014 Master’s Architecture, Catholic University of America, 2016

Occupation: Architect in Training, 6 years total, 4 years at current office, Andrew Sidford Architects

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Mansfield Master Plan Committee, 2019-2020

Campaign Website: brendanroche.org

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running because our State Legislature has been slow to address the challenges we face. From the response to the pandemic, to the challenges we had before it, we have not supported the members of our community through tough times. Before the pandemic we had infrastructure and education that is underfunded. We need to make sure we can invest in our future and do so that everyone had the opportunity to work towards their American Dream. Now with the pandemic our state legislature has not passed legislation to help our workers. We need to keep our small business alive, our workers safe, and students and teachers able to continue the school work for the year.

How would you rate the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic on a letter-grade scale (A, B, C, D or F), and how would you explain that rating?

I would rate our state's rating as a C. I give Gov. Baker credit for the strong moves early in the pandemic, especially having to put in so many restrictions on our businesses to slow the spread. However, I believe we were in too much of a rush to reopen. As we have seen over the last couple of weeks, our daily cases and positivity rate have been on the increase and we are still easing more restrictions. We need to be extra vigilant as across the country we are seeing new highs and a lot of people are going into a false sense of security. Our legislature deserves some of the blame for a lack of response by the state to helping those in the pandemic. We need to expand hazard pay for our essential workers and add emergency paid leave so workers do not have to choose between their life and their job. We can provide funding to our small businesses to stay open, continue to pay staff, and keep the staff protected from the virus. We can extend the eviction moratorium so people do not have to worry about being homeless in a pandemic.

Is Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing law, working, and if not what would you change?

No it is not working to extent that it should be. We need more investment from the state to create more affordable housing and to provide more vouchers locally. In Mansfield alone, there is a 3 year wait to receive a voucher for families. That is unacceptable. We need to lower the threshold for passing zoning laws from 2/3rds to a majority and we need increase the amount of affordable units in multi-family housing.

What steps, if any, should the state take toward police reform?

I think a statewide reform of our law enforcement is long overdue. I am happy to see many of our local police departments have already taken proactive steps to provide reforms and training but we need to make sure there are statewide requirements for our police to follow. I want to see the restriction of facial surveillance; restrictions of no-knock warrants and the banning of choke holds kept as part of the bill. The most controversial part of the bill is qualified immunity. I believe we need to limit its’ use so that those who have had their civil rights violated are able to hold those accountable. Those who abuse their position and are not held to account cause a loss of trust for all law enforcement and that is dangerous for everyone.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

My 3 main issues for my campaign were invest in public transportation, pass legislation to decrease our emissions, and invest in education. For public transportation we need to electrify the MBTA and invest and expand our Regional Transit Authorities. For the environment we need to pass legislation to invest in green infrastructure, increase renewable energy resources and set goals for decreasing our carbon emissions and pollution. For education, we need to fully fund the promises we made in the Student Opportunity Act, invest in our technical and vocational schools and begin to move away from MCAS.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

One difference are our votes on critical legislation. The incumbent has voted to keep the status quo or undermine existing laws on numerous occasions, including voting against the Fair Share Amendment, voting against police reform, and voting to undermine the rights of unions. I am pushing for a large amount of changes that have stalled in the state legislature for years that would directly benefit many families in the district. I would be proud to be a co-sponsor of many bills regarding the environment, public transportation, education, voting rights and raising revenue. The status quo is not working for many people and we need to have leaders in the State House pushing for change.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

He doesn't support or vote for legislation that is supported by members in the district and helps the people who live here. He is focused on constituent services, but if you are not helping them by also changing policy at the state level, how much of a difference does that make? Many voters in the district support common sense changes at the state level and the incumbent has voted against them or will not support them multiple times.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Graduating from school with a degree in Architecture takes a lot of time and effort to design projects and work in teams and individually to achieve a goal of a complete comprehensive project. Working locally on the Master Plan in Mansfield to take public input, personal ideas and working with the committee to create a guide for the town of Mansfield. Helping organize events locally for other candidates and activists to help improve our representatives and policies in practice.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Listen. Listening to other people whether it is advice, personal stories or experiences, can give you a lot of information. You can learn about a person's history and what works and what doesn't. You can learn about what things need to change to improve lives or how you can help more people. Listening is a key trait of a leader that I continue to work on every day.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My priority in office would be to help people. If there is a way to help anyone through constituent services or helping a large group of people with similar problems through legislation, I will find a way. The government is there to help people who have been left behind and forgotten and to help make sure we are on the path to justice and equality for all.