Voters across nine Western Massachusetts towns and part of Agawam head to the polls today to decide a three-way fight for the 3rd Hampden House seat, a contest that has featured accusations of empty committee chairs, a disputed financial disclosure and AI-generated campaign videos. Incumbent Republican Nick Boldyga, who has held the seat for nearly 16 years, faces Agawam City Councilor Tom Hendrickson, a Democrat, and independent Jason Perron, a former police officer and Southwick Selectboard member.
The district covers Blandford, Chester, Granville, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Huntington, Middlefield and parts of Agawam, according to State House News Service. WAMC describes the Hilltowns as extending into Hampshire County. It is an area that has historically favored Republican candidates, and Boldyga, first elected in 2010, has built his career there. As WAMC Northeast Public Radio reported, the station submitted multiple interview requests to Boldyga and his campaign but received no reply.
An Ethics Complaint Over a Police Job
The sharpest clash of the campaign emerged late last month, when the Massachusetts Republican Party filed a complaint asking the State Ethics Commission to look into Perron's financial disclosure. The party alleged that Perron failed to report his employment at the Westfield Police Department on required statements of financial interest, per MassLive. According to WAMC, the omission covered his final months as a Westfield officer.
Perron did not deny the error. “Did I make a mistake? Yes. Did I intentionally attempt to hide my public employment? Absolutely not,” he told the station in comments reported by MassLive. He said he had since traveled to Boston to submit amended financial statements that include his prior Westfield Police Department employment, correcting the matter with the state.
A No-Show Rep and a Disputed Stipend
Months before the ethics flap, Boldyga's own attendance record became a flashpoint. State House News Service reported in March that he had not attended a single committee hearing that session, even as he accepted a $29,907.95 stipend for travel and office expenses. Hendrickson seized on the report, accusing Boldyga of missing his committee assignments.
Boldyga pushed back hard, telling the outlet the Beacon Hill committee process is a sham prone to corruption and secrecy. “I've still voted in nearly every committee poll,” he said, maintaining he had participated in votes even without sitting through hearings in person.
Hendrickson has continued hammering the issue on the trail, and has also released reports detailing reprimands and a suspension Boldyga received while working at the Simsbury Police Department in Connecticut. For his part, Hendrickson brings his own political history to the race: he helped manage Justin Hurst's Springfield mayoral campaign, which was the subject of a state investigation over voter fraud allegations tied to the 2023 mayoral election.
AI Ads Target the Democrat
The closing weeks of the campaign brought a new wrinkle: AI-generated videos and flyers shared by the Agawam Republican Town Committee on Facebook, which largely targeted Hendrickson. Hendrickson, who supports single-payer healthcare and other progressive causes, called the tactics frustrating and disappointing, according to WAMC.
Perron has tried to carve out space between the two major-party rivals, describing himself as a conservative independent and an alternative to political extremes. “As an Independent, my philosophy is based on individual liberty, constitutional rights, limited and accountable government, fiscal responsibility, and local control,” he told The Reminder. He has said he is not the candidate for people who lean far-right or far-left.
Where the Candidates Diverge on Policy
Hendrickson has pitched a rural-schools funding guarantee, telling The Reminder he would co-sponsor legislation requiring $60 million in the annual state budget for rural schools in Massachusetts. Boldyga has staked out different ground on energy costs, advocating for a ballot initiative known as Question 1 and proposing an amendment to suspend public policy and public benefit charges on electric and natural gas bills, which he said would help constituents keep the lights on.
Whether any of those pitches, or the dueling accusations over attendance, expenses and disclosures, move voters in the nine-town district won't be clear until today's results are counted. Boldyga has previously run up lopsided margins in the district, including a 98.2 percent showing in the 2024 general election and a 62.4 percent win over Kerri A. O'Connor in 2020, according to the Massachusetts Elections Division's PD43+ results pages. This year, he faces not one but two challengers on the same ballot.
