Meet the only candidate for the Legislature’s least suspenseful election

Like plenty of candidates for the Massachusetts Legislature, Sudbury Democrat Ravi Simon plans to spend the weekend knocking on doors. He'll just be doing it in Maine. 

Simon is one of nine newcomers — six in the House and three in the Senate — poised to claim open seats in uncontested races Tuesday. Unlike the others, he also ran unopposed in the primary for the seat now held by Rep. Carmine Gentile, for whom he worked as an aide. 

"I have some complicated feelings about being unopposed because I really do think democracy in a sort of general sense benefits from competition, right, and having multiple choices on the ballot," Simon said. "But I also choose to believe that I'm in this position because people kind of know and trust me and like me and feel that I'm going to be good for this job."

Simon chairs the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, helping set policies and budgets for the district he graduated from  in 2015. He spent almost five years as Gentile’s sole staffer, and during that time was involved in the push to create a union for legislative aides. Before that, Simon worked at the Providers' Council, the trade group for community-based human services providers.

Gentile in February announced his retirement from the House, and Simon organized a campaign committee the next day.

Though he started his campaign running like he would have an opponent — knocking on thousands of doors, phone-banking and attending as many community events as possible over the past several months — Simon said he's lately been taking the space to think about potential legislation and start meeting other lawmakers. 

Simon will visit polling places on Election Day and plans a watch party Tuesday with state Sen. Jamie Eldridge (who has a Republican opponent) and Governor's Councilor Mara Dolan (who won her primary with 75% of the vote). In between, he’ll head to Maine to canvas for Democrats. 

"The single most helpful thing, I think, for my ability to deliver for the district and to get important policy priorities done on the state level is if we're able to flip Congress and have a Congress that's not just sort of on-board with the president's irresponsible cuts and the budget and war with Iran and everything else that he's doing that's making life much worse here in Massachusetts," Simon said.

After he's sworn in, Simon says he hopes to work on issues including school funding, climate change and housing affordability. Simon's mother is a botanist, and he says he was "practically raised in the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge and Great Meadows." Now, the candidate lives in what he says has "got to be one of the cheapest market-rate one-bedroom apartments in Sudbury," which still cost "well over" a third of his staffer salary.

So does he feel like he cleared the field early on or is working toward a job that nobody else wants?

“I mean, a little of both, to be honest,” he said with a laugh. 

After Tuesday, MASSterList will be looking to catch up with some of the other incoming state lawmakers. Who are you hoping to hear from? Drop me a line at [email protected].

10:30 | Taxpayers for an Affordable Massachusetts, the campaign backing Question 5 holds a "Get Out The Vote" press conference with other groups backing the question that proposes changing the cap on state revenue collections and increasing the likelihood of taxpayer rebates | Location available upon RSVP to [email protected]

11:30 | Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, holds a press conference to announce than endorsement from the Guardian Fund, a political action committee created in 2011 meant to support conservative veterans and minorities seeking elected offices | Brockton War Memorial Building at 156 W Elm St., Brockton

1:00 | Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs holds a public hearing on adding a PFAS to the Toxic or Hazardous List under the Toxics Use Reduction Act. The change would align Massachusetts with the federal government | More Info and Zoom

1:00 | Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr convenes a Wrong-Way Driving Task Force meeting. The task force is set to discuss updates from MassDOT on deploying wrong-way driving detection and prevention devices, next steps in implementing the law aimed at curbing wrong-way driving included in the fiscal 2027 budget and other ways to reduce risks | 3rd floor conference room of Essex Town Hall at 30 Martin St., Essex

1:00 | Candidate for governor Mike Minogue visits Cowbells Cafe in Whitman, followed by a 3 p.m. visit to Plymouth to hand out Halloween candy and meet residents at Promise Keeper Coffee Co. in Plymouth | 25 South Ave., Whitman

5:00 | Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Minogue holds a rally for supporters on the South Coast | Cultural Event Center, 205 South Main St., Fall River | RSVP

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WHAT SUPP IN THE SENATE: State senators are gearing up for a post-election vote on a $2.6 billion closeout budget. Like the House version, the Senate's supplemental spending bill does not include Gov. Healey's gas-tax suspension proposal. | State House News Service (gift link)

2028 ON DECK: The group that wants to repeal the new state law expanding access to abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy announced it's gathered nearly 100,000 signatures and submitted them to the state to be reviewed. That's more than the number needed to put a referendum on the ballot in 2028 and potentially suspend the law until then. | Boston Herald

THINGS THAT DIDN’T COME UP IN THE DEBATES: Gov. Maura Healey picks "The Departed" over "The Town" and Mike Minogue can breakdance. One picks roast beef and the other fried clams as their peak Massachusetts food in a lighthearted "20 Questions" round. | Boston Magazine

TIME WARP: As the end of daylight saving time nears, the Senate advanced a bill that would keep Massachusetts on its March-to-November clocks by moving the state to Atlantic Standard Time. Senate President Karen Spilka backs the idea, but a 2025 hearing drew testimony from people who'd rather see Massachusetts stay on Eastern Standard Time all year instead. | State House News Service (gift link)

DOGGED SEARCH: MSPCA investigators searched the Springfield home of state Sen. Adam Gomez in an inquiry into alleged unlicensed dog breeding. Gomez, who supports animal rights legislation in the Senate and owns three dogs, said he was cooperating fully and denied running a kennel or puppy mill. | The Republican

REBRAND: Nipmuc Regional High School's sports teams will now be known as the Coyotes. The Mendon-Upton School Committee voted to drop its previous Warriors nickname and logo after hearing concerns from the Nipmuc community. The district's mascot committee considered more than 200 potential names. | Telegram & Gazette

HOME SHOW: The new Veterans Home in Holyoke features a memorial garden honoring residents who passed away at the original home, including the at least 76 veterans who died in a 2020 COVID outbreak. The new long-term care facility, unveiled Thursday, is designed in a "small-house" model, with upgraded clinical and rehab spaces. | NEPM

REPORT STATUS REPORT: A report examining discrimination against Black Bostonians after 1940 might not be publicly released this fall as originally anticipated, after the city's reparations task force scrapped a separate, never-completed report on slavery and its legacy amid controversy around a researcher's work. | Boston Globe

SPONSORED How to Choose the Right Contractor for Your Home Energy Project: Whether you’re planning a major upgrade or a smaller project, the right contractor can help you understand your options, navigate technical decisions, and ensure the work supports your long-term comfort and energy efficiency goals. | Learn more

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KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller moderates a mini-debate between the candidates for state treasurer, incumbent Democrat Deb Goldberg and Republican challenger Elizabeth Dionne.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard holds a pre-election roundtable with political reporters Chris Van Buskirk of The Boston Globe, Mike Deehan of Axios Boston and Katie Lannan of MASSterList.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5’s Ed Harding and Sharman Sacchetti host an Election Day preview with political analysts Mary Anne Marsh and Rob Gray.

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