Get to know Wareham’s new State Senator Kelly Dooner

Newly elected State Senator Kelley Dooner began her first term this month, representing Wareham and the rest of the 3rd Bristol and Plymouth District.

Dooner, a Republican, took over from longtime Democrat Marc Pacheco, who served the district for 32 years.

This week the former Taunton City Councilor sat down with Wareham Week reporter Bobby Grady to discuss immigration, government spending and horseback riding.

Where are you from and where did you go to school?

I grew up in Randolph and I went to Norfolk County Agricultural High School. I ended up going to Suffolk University for two years before I transferred to Boston University where I studied Political Science. I moved to Taunton about ten years ago and I do real estate law as a paralegal.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I do have a horse. I actually grew up working on a cattle farm near horseback riding stables. Being out on the farm is definitely something I'm extremely familiar with. I spent a lot of my childhood doing cattle drives up in Vermont.

Why did you get into politics?

My husband and I intend to have children at some point and I just quickly realized how important every decision that is made is and how much it can impact, not just the now, but the future too.

How will your experience as a city councilor help you as a state senator?

They are similar bodies of government and as a city councilor, you represent the entire city and you don't represent one party. It's about what's in the best interest for the entire city as a whole. I think that's very beneficial at the state level because I don't represent one town, I represent an entire district.

It's important that I'm hearing from everybody in the community. That's how we're going to figure out what is the best decision for our district as a whole.

What are the main principles that inform your decision making?

Fiscal responsibility. No matter how you look at it, the finances of a city are extremely important just like they are with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and we need to make sure that we have some clear oversight on where every dollar is going. That's the taxpayer's money at the end of the day and I want to make sure that their money is not being spent frivolously. I was a big advocate for veterans and seniors here in Taunton and that's something that I am continuing to do at the state level as well.

What are the things you're looking to accomplish in the early stages of your term?

I want to create a task force for small businesses where if you have a question as a small business owner, you receive a response in a timely manner because right now, some questions that are asked can take almost eight weeks to get a response, which is just unacceptable. It's already hard enough to get a business going here in Massachusetts. It just makes it that much more difficult for the little guy so I want to cut the registration fees and streamline the permitting and communication process.

You’ve expressed strong opinions on the Right to Shelter law. Can you elaborate on your views?

I want to amend the Right to Shelter law. I did file legislation to do so. I especially want to prioritize housing our veterans, our seniors, and our vulnerable families here in Massachusetts that are struggling to get housing. This kind of really came to a forefront when I was serving on the city council. The state came in and took over our only hotel to house migrants. Nobody in the city of Taunton was notified. The mayor didn't know this was happening until after the contract was signed. I actually found out after the Commonwealth had already come in and already had moved the migrants in.

I want housing for veterans, seniors and vulnerable families prioritized because they are not taking priority right now. I think a residency requirement is extremely important as well as background checks. There are exceptions like domestic violence cases that do come in from out of state.

What are your thoughts on the MBTA Communities Law?

I put forth an exemption process that I hope both the Senate and House will have a conversation on because we have to look at each community individually and not put a mandate on every community in one size. All our communities are different and they deserve to be looked at differently and not lumped into the same communities.

You’ve raised concerns about potential EBT (food stamp) fraud. Can you explain your concerns and how you want to address them in the legislature?

I sent a number of public records requests starting last March asking the state what the number of EBT cards being issued is. There was a significant increase in EBT cards. What really drove me to look into this is I had several people reach out to me who did not qualify by any means. I started doing some digging and I found an influx of EBT cards that had been issued. There is no oversight on these EBT cards being issued, which is why I reached out to the auditor asking her to audit the Department of Transitional assistance. There is no oversight happening. I pushed for photo identification just to make sure that whoever is getting those cards are the ones using it among a number of other things.

Many of your constituents are democrats. Is there anything you’d like to say to voters on the other side of the aisle?

In any decision that I make I am looking at what's in the best interest of the entire district. For example, I don't view migrants and the Right to Shelter law as a party politics issue. That is a challenge the entire Commonwealth in Massachusetts is facing right now. That's how I view every challenge. My job as an elected official is to represent the entire district. It is not to represent one side. My job is to represent the residents in my district and make sure that their voices are heard.

How can people reach you?

The best way would be my office line at 617-722-2551 or my email which is Kelly.Dooner@masenate.gov.