SOUTHBOROUGH – There’s a new candidate in the race to represent the new 19th Worcester House district in the State Legislature.
Southborough businessman Jonathan Hostage announced his campaign on Monday, seeking the votes of residents in most of Westborough and Northborough, as well as all of Southborough and part of Framingham.
This district was created through the state’s redistricting process following the 2020 census, meaning there is no incumbent currently occupying the seat.
Candidate criticizes Beacon Hill leadership, notes small business experience
Hostage shared a statement on Wednesday, detailing the motivations behind his candidacy and citing “the need for all concerned citizens to get involved with so much at stake in Massachusetts.”
“The Massachusetts Legislature’s hard swing to the left hurts workers, families, and taxpayers,” said Hostage, who is running as a Republican.
“Our public schools have become centers for indoctrination and not critical thinking,” he continued. “The disconnect between Beacon Hill and those it supposedly represents has never been worse. I refuse to accept the status quo, and that’s why I’m running.”
Hostage is small business owner, serving as the owner and Vice President of Allegra Marketing. He is also the owner of Allegiance Graphics, according to his Linkedin page.
Hostage is married with four kids, emphasizing in his campaign statement that he is “not a career politician.”
Hostage criticized the current state legislature’s “growing disdain for transparency” as well as its “troubling history of prioritizing itself ahead of the public.”
“They were happy to take a back seat and continue collecting a paycheck while our businesses were being arbitrarily shut down,” Hostage said, noting COVID-19 lockdowns. “Yet when it came time to allocate federal emergency funding, backroom deals and earmarks took preference over true relief, and the public was shut out of discussions because for far too long that’s the way they’ve done business up there.”
Hostage’s statement noted that he “believes it is time for some fresh, conservative perspective in the State House.”
“They govern as if power is their birthright, and that needs to change immediately,” he said of the state’s current leadership.
District includes area communities
What will become the 19th Worcester District is currently split between representatives Hannah Kane, Danielle Gregoire and Meghan Kilcoyne. The area also includes part of what is now the 8th Middlesex District, which is now without a state representative following the resignation of Carolyn Dykema in February.
Hostage is the first Republican to enter the race for the 19th Worcester District.
He joins Democrat Kate Donaghue, though, who announced her candidacy in January.
Contacted on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin confirmed that both Hostage and Donaghue have secured spots on the ballot for this year’s election.
Brett E. Peters had also pulled papers to run in the election, though he had not secured his spot as of Wednesday.
Jonathan Hostage’s campaign website is www.jonathanhostage.com.
