In the 24th Middlesex District race for state senate, incumbent David Rogers is facing opponent Nomita Ganguly, his first challenger in six years. This district includes Cambridge in Ward 11, precincts 1 & 3, all of Belmont, and parts of Arlington.
Rogers, who has served as the district’s state representative since 2013, is confident that the relationships he’s built with his constituents will carry him to victory. Ganguly, an attorney who previously served as a legislative aid and advocate, is looking to beat Rogers and bring a different perspective to Beacon Hill.
Rogers: Prioritizing Higher Education, affordability, and environmental protections
Rogers, who chairs the Joint Committee on Higher Education, was involved in making community college free and public universities more affordable in the state. Of the bills Rogers has helped propose and pass during his tenure at the legislature, he emphasized that the improvements to higher education stand among those he is proudest of.
“We have now made community college completely free in Massachusetts, and enrollment is up 70 percent,” Rogers said. “Because I’m chair of a higher education committee, I meet with college presidents and university presidents. Most of them would be thrilled if enrollment went up three percent. To have enrollment up 70 percent is sort of a staggering statistic, and it really proves that for people of modest means that was money holding them back from pursuing and obtaining higher education.”
Rogers is also proud of efforts he and other legislators are planning for immigrant protections. Rogers outlined plans to push for an Immigrant Legal Defense Fund that would allow the state to hire 20 lawyers to defend individuals who are facing deportation, though that fund has not been made law.
Moving forward, Rogers said he’s dedicated to creating more affordable housing. “I was the first in the legislature to propose bringing back a form of rent stabilization,” said Rogers. “The housing crisis requires an all-of-the-above approach. That one piece of legislation in and of itself is not a panacea or a cure, but I do believe it would be an important step to give municipalities the tools to address the affordable housing crisis in their city or town.”
Since announcing his bid for re-election, Rogers has received endorsements from Gov. Maura Healey and Linda Levin-Scherz, a former Belmont School Committee Member and Chair of the Belmont Democratic Town Committee.
Ganguly: Better access to healthcare and advocating for unheard voices
Ganguly may be new to running for office, but she is not a newcomer to the state legislature. Ganguly is a lobbyist, whose priorities include protecting access to community healthcare for older adults and promoting transparency within the legislature.
“I have been working in and around the legislature for 25 years,” Ganguly told Cambridge Day. “I worked in the State House [in the House and the Senate], and then I worked for a healthcare consumer advocacy organization. For the last 20 years I’ve been working as a legislative advocate for older adult nonprofits.”
She said she decided to run for office as a direct result of the end of the last legislative session, which ended in July 2024. Frustrated by the priorities and “the consolidation of power” of Beacon Hill, Ganguly decided it was her opportunity to step in.
“I thought maybe this is the time where we need to change.” Ganguly said. “We need new people at the statehouse to hopefully move things forward and change the culture so that we are getting bills passed, that things are addressed, and that voices are being heard.”
Ganguly hopes to ensure that no resident of Massachusetts is left without necessary care, no matter the circumstance. “I am also really concerned about all the cuts we’re seeing from the federal level in terms of healthcare,” she said. “We have over 300,000 people who are going to lose Medicaid because of work requirements and other cuts … I have done a lot of work in the healthcare space, at least as far as Medicaid, and I would love to be involved in finding answers to this.”
Ganguly also raised concerns about people losing access to healthcare because of changes to the Affordable Care Act and rising insurance premiums.
In addition to her advocacy work for the growing elderly population in Massachusetts, Ganguly also emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency. In the past, Ganguly said that the legislature has fallen short in providing residents with information about bills and testimony, and when they do it is hard to understand. To solve this problem, she hopes to make sure legislative decisions are available under the public records law, to make written testimony publicly available, and to have legislators/the legislature put on the record why bills are referred for study.
Ganguly has received endorsements from Cambridge Mayor Sumbil Siddiqui and City Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.