NEITHER CANDIDATE HAS PREVIOUSLY HELD HIGHER OFFICE.
STEVEN XIARHOS is a GOLD STAR FATHER and attended the SUPER SPREADER GOLD STAR EVENT in Washington with his daughter - WORE NO FACE MASKS! IS THAT THE LEVEL OF UNINFORMED IGNORANCE THAT DESERVES THE SUPPORT OF VOTERS?
ANTI-MASKERS HAVE SPREAD THE VIRUS & IT'S TIME TO STOP THE SPREAD!
MORE THAN 200,000 AMERICANS ARE DEAD DUE TO THIS IGNORANCE.
5th Barnstable District: Xiarhos, Dever vie for state representative seat
By Ethan Genter
Posted Oct 23, 2020
The race for state representative in the 5th Barnstable District blew open last year when Rep. Randy Hunt, R-Sandwich, announced he would not be running for re-election in what would have been his sixth term. The seat, which represents Sandwich and parts of Barnstable, Bourne and Plymouth, is up for grabs in a race between Democrat James Dever, a lawyer from Sandwich, and former Yarmouth deputy police chief Steven Xiarhos, who is running as a Republican.
Both candidates have prioritized getting through the pandemic, but once that’s done, Dever is looking to push the Cape further into the blue economy, using the area’s knowledge of the oceans and aquaculture to bolster the burgeoning industry. Xiarhos has been a major proponent for reform to the state’s legal system after the death of Yarmouth police Sgt. Sean Gannon, but is also trying to convince voters he’s not just a one-issue candidate. He says he wants to continue to battle the opioid crisis, protect water quality and bring high-speed internet to the Cape.
Neither candidate has ever run for higher office, but each says he is the right man for the job.
“I’ve been fighting fraud, waste and abuse within these state agencies my entire career,” Dever said. “So now to be able to take that knowledge and apply it for our constituencies. I think it’s going to end up with terrific results.”
Xiarhos wants to continue his work in public service and helping people.
“I have a big heart,” he said. “I have a heart that is willing to do whatever we can to help the people in my district, but also, obviously, all over the state.
These interviews have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Name: James Dever
Age: 48
Residence: Sandwich
Education: Union College, Suffolk Law School
Employment: Attorney for National Association of Government Employees
Political experience: Six years on the Sandwich School Committee
Other community service: Coached sports in Sandwich, vice president of homeowners’ association, active member in Corpus Christi Parish
Why are you running? What most motivates you?
I’m running because, as a member of the Sandwich School Committee, I saw at budget time our budget get cut every year. Now we may get a percent increase, but our services were cut every single year. So, as a member of the school committee, I went to town meeting to try to make a case for more money for our public schools, and you find out everybody’s fighting over the same pot of money. Do we pave a road? Do we get a fire truck? Do you hire a teacher? Well, you find out for the last 20 years we’ve been arguing amongst ourselves, and what we should be doing is bringing a stronger voice to Beacon Hill. I will be the first Democrat in 20 years to represent Sandwich, Bourne, Barnstable and Plymouth up in Boston, and what that finally means for our district is resources coming back home.
What is the most pressing issue in your district and how would you address it?
The biggest issue we have right now is the same for everybody: COVID-19. We need to figure out what we’re going to do with our public schools. We need to figure out how we’re going to fund our public services. And after COVID-19, the next pressing emergency is our environment. I think they’re parallel concerns that we need to be greatly aware about. And as somebody who’s been endorsed by the Massachusetts nurses, Massachusetts teachers, health care workers, Stop & Shop workers and the Sierra Club, I like to think that those on the front lines of COVID are with our campaign because they know we’re the campaign that’s going to make a difference.
How do you differ from the other candidate? What sets you apart?
We both have a love of public service and we both have a commitment to it. That’s where the similarities end. The biggest differences are I’m going to be ready to go day one. As I said, for the last 20 years I’ve been a labor attorney dealing with Massachusetts agencies — fighting for people who are treated unfairly by those agencies. There’s going to be no learning curve for me on day one. Also, I’m going to have a voice in the Democratic Party. The majority party on Beacon Hill. That is going to make a world of difference, as I stated before, bringing back resources to our district. So, the two biggest differences between myself and my opponent, I’m ready to go day one and I’m going to be able to bring back the resources we need. No questions.
I think I would want people to know that the whole idea of this is just to try to improve the lives of people, and I think right now there’s too much fighting against people. And I think it takes somebody to go to Boston that knows how to negotiate. And for the last, as I say, 20 years as a union attorney, every day you handle negotiations. Because unlike other areas of the law, where people go their separate ways after their cases, our folks go to work together the very next day. So when you go up to Beacon Hill, it’s not going to be philanthropy. There’s going to be other reps looking to get the same resources for their communities. I have 20 years of negotiation skills that are going to be paramount when it comes to giving back toward Sandwich, Bourne, Barnstable and Plymouth.
Name: Steven Xiarhos
Age: 61
Residence: West Barnstable
Education: New Bedford High School, associate degree from Cape Cod Community College, bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University, master’s degree from Anna Maria College
Employment: Yarmouth police for 40 years
Political experience: First run for office
Other community service: Member of the board of directors at Massachusetts Military Support Foundation, Barnstable Board of Human Services, Nicholas G. Xiarhos Memorial Fund, volunteer for several other causes.
Why are you running? What most motivates you?
People. I love people. All kinds of people. In 40 years of policing, you get to meet all kinds of people, and sometimes it’s in bad situations where someone has been hurt or even killed. And a lot of times it’s in good situations. So, you get to meet people. I’m a people person. When this position became open, if you remember, Randy Hunt is the state rep., he decided not to run, and this was my chance to continue serving in a broader base. Policing 40 years now, it’s time to broaden that experience and be the voice for people in Boston, and it’s for all people. One of the motivating factors was the murder of Sean Gannon. When Sean Gannon was murdered, those officers left my office. That was a mission that I sent them on. And I think we all kind of know the story, but a wonderful police officer was murdered. A devoted police dog was nearly killed. And when that happened, when I saw that happen — and I was there and saw the aftermath — it was the motivating factor to go for this position and work hard, to make changes. That murder never should have happened. That was the failure of the criminal justice system in Massachusetts.
What is the most pressing issue in your district and how would you address it?
The (coronavirus) pandemic. I retired on my birthday — 61 years old, Dec. 8, to do this — to run for this position. In the meantime, I’m feeding veterans, and all of a sudden this pandemic hits in March. And what did we do? I can’t really campaign. I just kept seeing veterans. I drove a truck all over the state, all over Cape Cod, to feed veterans and military families in every town on Cape Cod, including every town in the district, but also New Bedford, Chelsea. And I saw the human aspect of the coronavirus, where people didn’t have food, and also I saw how our first responders didn’t have personal protection gear, and I went around collecting that. I sought donations and ended up getting masks and gloves, and I would bring them to the hospital and to the police and fire stations to make sure they had what they needed.
I’ve been to all kinds of businesses. I always make it a point to stop into a business, especially a local business, and see how they’re doing. So the coronavirus really is the biggest thing. Initially, it was to get the safety equipment that we need. It was to help the hospital get ready. It was to help feed people, and now as it’s gone on longer probably than everybody thought and there’s no real end in sight, we need to help these businesses. A lot of them have gone out of business. A lot of the restaurants and the small businesses are closed. We all know the schools. That’s a huge issue, where kids are on modified programs, some are in school, some are not — there’s home learning. So, I think the biggest issue right now for us in the district is to deal with this coronavirus.
How do you differ from the other candidate? What sets you apart?
I’ve lived here for 45 years. I have the gift of working with people. For over 40 years in all kinds of situations, good and bad, that gives you a unique perspective on people and how to help people also. I also was a school resource officer and I think that’s important. Because I worked in the schools and got to help children and teachers and parents, and so that on-the-ground experience of helping people for over 40 years, including working in the school, that sets me apart. Also, I will work full time. That’s a key thing. My opponent is an attorney and he has a regular job. But this for me would be a full-time job that I would commit to, and I believe I’m an independent voice. You know, I am a Republican and I try to do the right thing for people. And when you do that for over 40 years, it’s really not a big change, you just keep doing it. I think another issue is, you know, I’m a Gold Star father, so I lost a son in war. He came home in a flag-draped coffin. And what did we do? We were brought down to our knees as a family, but we got back up and we created this foundation and we’ve given back every day and will continue to do that. All those issues I think are important.
What else would you like voters to know about you or your policy positions?
We’ve always talked about public safety, law and order, but I also think it’s important to know that you know my campaign issues are more than that. We have two new bridges coming, the Sagamore and Bourne bridges. That’s a big issue to everybody on Cape Cod, but it’s also huge to people that live in Bourne and Sandwich. So we have to stay on top of that, make sure that’s done properly, and I would never want tolls on that bridge and I would never want to raise taxes.
We also have to protect our drinking water. I think people should know that I’m very concerned about that. Our drinking water obviously is so critical here on Cape Cod. It affects the people that live here and it affects the tourism business, so we have to make sure we keep it safe and clean, and that ties in with wastewater management. That’s a huge issue.
