ANDOVER — Count Jamison Tomasek among the many local Republicans energized by Scott Brown's recent special election victory for U.S. Senate.
In November, Tomasek, 50, of Andover, will run against Democratic state Sen. Sue Tucker, for the 2nd Essex and Middlesex District seat which covers Andover, Lawrence, Dracut and Tewksbury. Tucker has held the seat since 1999.
"As a candidate, it's given me more confidence that the people in my district that are unenrolled voters will come out in support of me, like they did for Scott Brown," said Tomasek.
"Change in Massachusetts will not happen overnight," he said. "Nothing will change without more Republicans in the legislature."
Tomasek lives on Magnolia Avenue and is a married father of three. A certified public accountant, he works as the director of internal audits at the Courier Corporation, a Chelmsford printing and publishing business.
Tomasek has a master's degree in accounting and a bachelor's degree in political science.
If elected, Tomasek said he will work to gradually shift the balance of power in state government away from the current Democratic stronghold.
"I'm basically a centrist, center-right, and in another state center-right would be an independent," said Tomasek. "Republicans offer a chance to go in a better direction. The pull is toward the middle. I don't picture Massachusetts being a conservative state, but it could be a centrist state ... I believe that's what most people want, some spot in the center."
Tomasek said Brown's rise in popularity is symbolic of a greater push against Democratically controlled government, both in Washington, D.C., and on Beacon Hill.
"If Massachusetts had a working political environment, I wouldn't even be running," said Tomasek. "I'm running because I've had no one to vote for."
Tucker ran unopposed in the last two elections. She became a state representative in 1982 before being elected to the state Senate.
Tomasek said the issues Tucker cares about the most are those concerning children, the elderly, and housing. But those aren't the biggest concerns of the voting majority, which are jobs and tax policy, he said.
Tomasek also criticized Tucker for a lack of leadership with the city of Lawrence's recent financial woes.
"She should have been minding the store with Lawrence and seeing where the state's money was going," said Tomasek. "Instead she's done nothing."
Contacted yesterday, Tucker's spokeswoman Rachel Heller did not respond directly to Tomasek's comments, but said the senator will continue working hard for the district before kicking off a re-election campaign later this year.
"She is independent," said Heller. "She responds to her constituents and she has a record of fiscal discipline."
Tucker has been a vocal opponent of casino gambling coming to Massachusetts. While Tomasek said he does not think casinos benefit the communities they are built and operated in, he does support placing slot machines at locations where gambling is already allowed, like horse and dog tracks.
"It doesn't make sense to have busloads of people drive down to Connecticut to spend their money when they could be spending it here," said Tomasek.
Tomasek said he supports a rollback of the recent sales tax increase from 5 to 6.25 percent. He said he will support efforts to reduce spending and reorganize state government to make it more efficient and will oppose proposals to increase taxes.
"I think people are — I don't want to go as far as to say angry — people feel disenfranchised," said Tomasek. "That's one of the reasons I'm running."
