Voters will have a choice to make in the Worcester & Middlesex District where incumbent Sen. John Cronin is facing off against unenrolled candidate Ming Zhang in the election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Cronin was first elected in 2020 and says he’s been working hard ever since to find solutions to problems seen in the district and statewide while Zhang is a former high-tech worker who went into housing management and was inspired to run to help people negotiate their way through some of today’s vexing issues.
The district includes Fitchburg, Leominster, Ashby, Clinton, Groton, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Shirley, Townsend and Westford.
Cronin
Cronin said he’s working on several issues as a state senator, saying that since he became the chair of the Gateway Communities Legislative Caucus, “I believe I’ve been able to use my position to drive some important legislation … and really putting North Central Massachusetts on the map at the State House.” He highlighted the working relationships he’s forged with local community leaders as well as other legislators, which he said helps in identifying and solving problems.
“I feel like I’ve been able to deliver on some of the most pressing challenges,” Cronin said.
One area he worked on was to help get Fitchburg $10 million for downtown revitalization and at the same time “working with the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority to bring private capital and investment to Downtown Fitchburg.” He said that created hundreds of new units of housing and a development boost “that Fitchburg hasn’t seen in decades.”
The additional housing should provide “an opportunity for the kids graduating from Fitchburg High School to stay in the city and drive down housing costs.”
Another key area has been in vocational-technical high school education which has exploded in popularity in recent years, but which has had the unexpected consequence of leaving some high school students unable to get into vocational school to learn a trade.
He said he helped push for and got two important changes, adding an additional 500 seats statewide in vocation schools for high school students looking to learn a trade, and ending the ability of trade schools to pick and choose the best students from the high schools, and rather go to a lottery system for admissions, which was instituted this year.
A third wrinkle for those looking for voc-tech opportunities is that traditional high schools have also been encouraged to start offering some of those programs once again, and targeted funds have been used to create viable shops, “getting the trades back in public high schools,” including Fitchburg High School.
Cronin said he’s recently been appointed to the Veterans Employment Commission, which he said is near and dear to his heart, being a veteran himself.
“I’m working to make sure that veterans have an opportunity when they leave service to find another job and career that has meaning.”
He not only have veterans struggled in that regard, but society has struggled to find effective ways to help.
Other ways they’ve found to help veterans is increasing funding to several veterans homes in the state, including building a new home in Holyoke and rehabbing the one in Chelsea, and working with Clear Path for Veterans on supportive services and housing in Leominster.
Health are costs are also on Cronin’s radar. He said he serves as the vice chair of the Health Care Finance Committee, and they have been looking at ways to incentivize the industry to have more primary care doctors, which has been a need.
He said the state sent $10 in scholarships to the UMass Chan Medical School, to doctors that that commit to providing care in struggling communities and health centers.
He said there’s a bill he’s been working on that he thinks could be passed in January that would do that and help shift the emphasis in health care from to primary care and preventative care as opposed to emergency care.
“We’re attempting to bring down costs,” in part by “bringing down emergency room visits,” Cronin said.
Zhang
Having been inspired by talking to people in his role in property management and seeing their struggles, Zhang said he’s been pounding the pavement to listen to what people have to say.
“I’ve been talking daily with the residents and local leaders,” to get a feel for what the pressing issues are, Zhang said.
“I find it so meaningful as a way to give back to the community. I’m learning so much and that’s translating on the ground, coming up with tangible solutions.
“The issues that I see are all revolving around affordability, including the energy bills, which is becoming a burning issue as we come in to winter, and housing and groceries.”
“On the housing part,” Zhang said, “For young families, they have a hard time finding suitable housing. And the seniors, they’ve been paying taxes and it’s really hard for them to stay in the same house that they love. … The seniors should be able to stay in their own homes with dignity.”
He said he applauds the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., which recently passed on the federal level, which keeps private equity firms from buying up single-family homes, streamlines red tape in buying a house, boosts affordable housing and provides first-time homebuyer support.
“It’s really a great advancement as far as housing is concerned. Oftentimes we say we want to keep local control, but what do we mean by that? It can be very different from town to town. It gets complex and people can be misinformed.”
Data centers are another thing on Zhang’s mind these days. He said with his tech background he feels confident the data centers will not be a problem, as long as regulations are in place.
He said opponents like artificial intelligence, but not data centers, “You want the milk but you don’t want the cow, so that doesn’t make sense. To me, data centers are here to stay and we have to embrace that. The question is how do we implement the data centers and where should we locate the data centers, and who pays?”
He said that on the federal level, the Frontier Act being spearheaded by U.S Rep. Lori Trahan “Is a step in the right direction so the local leaders can see what guidelines they are working under. … I welcome the arrival of data centers with open arms, but there are details that need to be worked out. I think the arrival of AI is as significant as the internet. Back in the 1990s there were dreamers and doomers as well. Some people are very optimistic and some are not.”
He mentioned that in medicine alone, AI could be crucial in working out the intricacies needed to attack different cancers on a case-by-case basis and potentially push breakthrough care.
“We are at a crossroads now, but it’s the same as when we were facing the internet in the 1990s … now we can’t imagine life without the internet. I wouldn’t say that I have no concerns, but I have no fears and as a state senator I hope to help write the guardrails for that.”
He said his campaign to run as an independent candidate is also important to him. “I think there is an insider vs. other (mentality), and insiders tend to protect each other. It’s all about institutional relationships rather than the fair assessment of individuals as candidates.”
And he feels candidates shouldn’t run unopposed, and that’s one reason he is running, in part just to stir the conversation and challenge the status quo and get his ideas out there. He said in general he’s in favor of more civic participation.
He said that with State Auditor Diana DiZoglio pushing for the audit that was approved by a ballot question in 2024 but has still not succeeded in getting cooperation, “It’s really not a party against another party at the State House, it’s the power against everything else.”
“Sometimes one-party rule leads to that extremism and corruption.”
He said “I don’t think my ideas are 100% aligned with either party. Running as an independent allows me the flexibility to focus on the votes … look at the issues, not party line politics.”
He said he’s torn over Ballot Question 3, which would change primary elections to not go by party votes.
“I do see some advantages to it, but there could be some gaming … A Republican could win if Democrats split the vote. That’s probably why both parties don’t support it.”
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