Hidden Common Ground

WESTMINSTER — Politically, Westminster is never a sure thing.

It’s just too purple for a Democrat or a Republican to bank on. In 2016, just 215 votes separated Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, tipping in favor of Trump.

Scanning further down the 2016 ballot, it’s clear that party isn’t the ultimate driver of the local electorate. They don’t pick Sen. Elizabeth Warren, going for her Republic competitor, but they do go for Attorney General Maura Healey, who is very much a Democrat. Keep going down ballot to the local races, and voters re-elected State Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, D-Gardner, and State Rep. Kim Ferguson, R-Holden, setting up a Democrat and Republican to have to work together.

“They pretty much always split the ticket,” said Zlotnik.

For eight years now, the Ferguson-Zlotnik, Republican-Democrat dynamic has been the set-up in the small town.

And it’s looked nothing like national politics.

“The last thing people want to see is partisan politics,” said Ferguson. “There are times when you are in a party for a reason … but it’s very concerning what you see in Washington. I always tell people that’s not what you see here. I have a strong dislike for it. That’s not me.”

Zlotnik and Ferguson have conscientiously gone about promoting a different front, particularly in Westminster, where their district’s footprints overlap. They make sure their offices have a coordinated response to constituent concerns. They work together on bringing in budget appropriations. At public events, they make a point of talking about how they enjoy working together and with other members of the local delegation.

This respect is a group rule many members of the northern part of the Central Massachusetts delegation have shared for years.

“I have to give credit to one of my best friends, Jen Flanagan,” Ferguson said, about the former Democratic state senator who now serves on the Cannabis Control Commission. “She set that one from the beginning that we work together. It was such a breath of fresh air.”

As a member of the minority party at the State House, Ferguson is aware that, politically, her local cohort don’t necessarily have to work with her to get bills passed. They could likely find enough support within their own party, she said.

But, this region of Central Massachusetts tends to have a pragmatic attitude that values the practical nature of getting something done above politics. Plus, being from a less populated part of the state - which in turn means fewer representatives - further encourages cooperation.

“It helps that I’m a moderate and a lot of the Republicans from here tend to be moderate,” said Zlotnik. “We haven’t had too many really partisan people. The district couldn’t really support an extreme candidate.”

Those extreme candidates, he said, don’t last long. A couple of cycles and then they’re voted out and replaced with someone who moves the area’s representation closer to the middle, he said.

This middle area - where ideas are sharpened through differences and respect is a prized political currency - is one they’ll openly campaign together for, holding signs side-by-side on the street.

It’s the space where they’ve passed education reform, liquor law reform, brought in state funding for service dogs and brought in funding for the on-site academy, which is a PTSD clinic for first responders.

This election cycle, Ferguson is unopposed, but Zlotnik has a Republican challenger, Bruce K. Chester, an Iraq War veteran. With less than a month to go, Zlotnik has been out with Ferguson in a show of unity, delivering Halloween candy to the Westminster police and fire departments for reverse trick-or-treating, and has picked up an endorsement from a Republican, former Gardner mayor and current Westminster Town Manager Mark Hawke.

“I’m sure Hawke, Ferguson and myself could sit down and find things to disagree about,” Zlotnik said. “But, we have a lot more in common in how we approach things, and we’re all more focused on finding solutions than on making a point.”