Brendan Phair

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brendan Phair

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Personal

Birthplace

Pittsfield, Mass.

Religion

Christian

Contact

Campaign Facebook

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Brendan Phair (independent) ran for election to the Massachusetts State Senate to represent Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Phair completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brendan Phair was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Elections

2022

See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District

Paul Mark defeated Brendan Phair in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Mark (D)	76.3	47,989
		Brendan Phair (Independent)	23.5	14,806
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	139

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,934
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District

Paul Mark defeated Huff Tyler Templeton III in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District on September 6, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Mark	85.6	22,797
		Huff Tyler Templeton III	14.4	3,824
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	12

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,633
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brendan Phair completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Phair's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Brendan Phair from Pittsfield, MA. Growing up I attended church at Sacred Heart Church in Pittsfield. I graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1988. I graduated from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in 1992. I worked in the financial service industry and in customer service for 16 years. Since 2008, I have worked with the Pittsfield Public Schools. I currently work in special education at Taconic High School on Valentine Road. I have also worked at several summer service learning programs with the public schools. I also worked independently as a private tutor.

I was the treasurer of the Dalton United Methodist Church from 2013 to 2020. I also volunteered at the Berkshire Dream Center for their Adult Learning Center as a tutor. I was involved in officiating youth football for Pittsfield and Dalton for a few seasons. I also volunteered my time for the learn to skate program at the Boy's Club, for the Berkshire Bruins youth ice hockey program.

I am married to my wife Alison and we have two boys. I enjoy spending time outside with my boys and watching them play sports. The entire family loves to bike, hike, swim and go canoeing. We enjoy going to Six Flags, Old Orchard Beach, Hammonasset Beach, and attending Pittsfield Suns baseball games.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I want to reverse the trend of people leaving the state. I will advocate for policies that will retain people here in our great state of Massachusetts. Our state ranks 5th in the country for highest net loss of people moving out of state. This has resulted in losing a U.S. Congressional seat 10 years and this November we will lose a state rep seat for Berkshire County. I will advocate for reducing the sales tax and the meals tax from 6.25% to 5%. I will advocate for changing the threshold on the estate tax from the current one million dollars, to two million dollars. I also support eliminating the inventory tax. I support tax relief for farmers, seniors, investors, and consumers. All businesses are essential.

• I stand for economic freedom, consumer choice, and personal freedoms. I support the right to own and operate gas operated vehicles. Therefore, I would have voted against the 2035 electric car mandate. I support an all of the above approach to our energy needs. It is unfair to subsidize foreign wind turbine companies on the backs of electric and gas ratepayers/customers. I support freedom from government vaccine mandates, mask mandates, and vaccine passports. I support the 2nd Amendment. I am pro-conservation, pro-hunting, and pro-gun. I will propose a state of emergency bill to prevent the gov't from shutting down gun stores and required firearm training during a pandemic or natural disaster. I am a NRA and GOAL member.
• I will be a proponent of increased transparency and accountability in state government. I believe that all statehouse votes need to be public, not anonymous. We need to be accountable to the taxpayers. Truth in Accounting(TIA) ranks Massachusetts 47th in the country in reference to our fiscal health. Our financial grade is an "F". This is based on our debt to asset ratio. We have 127B worth of debt compared to only 29B in assets . This amounts to an individual taxpayer burden of $38,100. The disparity results from unfunded liabilities(public pension plans and retiree health care benefits). It is crucial that we retain people and businesses here in our state by ensuring a better business climate to offset gov't spending and debt.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am pro-life. In December of 2020, the statehouse passed the ROE Act. The ROE Act is abortion on demand. This was "a bill to increase abortion access". The law allows for abortion at any time, for any reason, right up to the point of the mother dilating. It decreases the age of consent from 18 to 16, and it took away language from the previous law that required live saving medical care for babies that survive an abortion. I would have voted against this bill. This law puts Massachusetts on par with China, North Korea, and Vietnam in terms of our disregard for human life. In 2019, our same legislators voted in favor of giving 8 million dollars of our taxpayer money to a billion dollar company that is in the business of ending the life of innocent babies and the illegal sale of body parts. Think of all of the well deserving, struggling people, agencies, and organizations that could have benefited from this money. I will be an advocate for life. I will be an advocate for you, my fellow taxpayer and fellow citizen, not the abortion lobby.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Dr. Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr., Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Betsy Ross, Susan B. Anthony, James Madison.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Common sense. Rational, objective thinking. Personable. Determined to do what is right and just. I listen to people and care about what they have to say.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Protecting and ensuring individual rights, liberties, and freedoms.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember Pope John Paul the Second becoming the new Pope and the first Polish Pope. I was 8 years old. My Mom and my maternal grandmother are Polish. So they were very proud and excited.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was delivering newspapers. I delivered the Sunday edition of the Springfield Republican to customers around my neighborhood. I believe I delivered the paper for about 4 years, from the time I was 11 to 15 years of age.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Unfortunately, "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Holding each other accountable and pushing each other to perform at the highest level possible in an effort to best represent the interests of the citizenry.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

The state's greatest challenge will be to reduce spending and debt to manageable levels. Part of that challenge is successfully electing an ample amount of legislators who share that goal and sentiment.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

I support a bicameral state legislature.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I believe it is essential to build relationships with other legislators. Building relationships in all avenues of life is important to me.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A Ukrainian born business owner in Pittsfield told me how much he values freedom and the economic opportunities that America provides. However, he told me that he is concerned about the direction that the state and the country seems to be heading. He told me that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet and he is not sure how long he will keep up the battle to operate his business.

I have heard from countless residents who are concerned about a lack of jobs, economic opportunities, high cost of living, and inflation. Crime, drugs, and homelessness are other frequent concerns. Another issue is a lack of fun things for the kids to do. Many people/families are contemplating moving out of state. These are some of the concerns, among many more that people related to me, when I went door to door introducing myself.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe that being civil and respectful is necessary for policy making.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Massachusetts State Senate

Senators

Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District

Paul Mark (D)

Bristol and Norfolk District

Paul Feeney (D)

Cape and Islands District

Julian Cyr (D)

Hampden District

Adam Gomez (D)

Hampden and Hampshire District

John Velis (D)

Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester District

Jacob Oliveira (D)

Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District

Jo Comerford (D)

Middlesex and Norfolk District

Karen Spilka (D)

Middlesex and Suffolk District

Sal DiDomenico (D)

Middlesex and Worcester District

James Eldridge (D)

Norfolk and Middlesex District

Cynthia Creem (D)

Norfolk and Plymouth District

John Keenan (D)

Norfolk and Suffolk District

Michael Rush (D)

Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol District

William Driscoll (D)

Norfolk, Worcester, and Middlesex District

Becca Rausch (D)

Plymouth and Barnstable District

Dylan Fernandes (D)

Suffolk and Middlesex District

William Brownsberger (D)

Worcester and Hampden District

Ryan Fattman (R)

Worcester and Hampshire District

Peter Durant (R)

Worcester and Middlesex District

John Cronin (D)

1st Bristol and Plymouth District

Michael Rodrigues (D)

1st Essex District

Pavel Payano (D)

1st Essex and Middlesex District

Bruce Tarr (R)

1st Middlesex District

Vacant

1st Plymouth and Norfolk District

Patrick O'Connor (R)

1st Suffolk District

Nick Collins (D)

1st Worcester District

Robyn Kennedy (D)

2nd Bristol and Plymouth District

Mark Montigny (D)

2nd Essex District

Joan Lovely (D)

2nd Essex and Middlesex District

Barry Finegold (D)

2nd Middlesex District

Patricia Jehlen (D)

2nd Plymouth and Norfolk District

Michael Brady (D)

2nd Suffolk District

Liz Miranda (D)

2nd Worcester District

Michael Moore (D)

3rd Bristol and Plymouth District

Kelly Dooner (R)

3rd Essex District

Brendan Crighton (D)

3rd Middlesex District

Mike Barrett (D)

3rd Suffolk District

Lydia Edwards (D)

4th Middlesex District

Cindy Friedman (D)

5th Middlesex District

Jason Lewis (D)

Democratic Party (34)

Republican Party (5)

Vacancies (1)