ORANGE — Three conservatives vying for political office visited the Orange American Legion Post 172 on Tuesday to meet voters and give their pitch two weeks before Election Day.

Jeffrey Raymond, Cornelius Shea and John Deaton were the guests of honor at a meet-the-candidates event and addressed a crowd of about 30 people to ask for their votes.

Raymond, an Athol Republican, is again challenging Susannah Whipps for her seat in the state House of Representatives, having done so in 2022. Shea is running as an Independent to unseat longtime U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, and Deaton won the Republican nomination to try to defeat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Raymond cited former President Donald Trump as his inspiration to run for office.

“You don’t have to like the man, but you’ve got to look at his policies. And everybody in this room, I think, does that,” Raymond said. “I mean, none of us think that Donald Trump’s this great guy, you know. ... But you can’t deny when he was in office his policies were awesome. We had low gas [prices], we had low taxes. I mean, you can go on forever.

“And he’s the reason I decided to run against Ms. Whipps, because we need leadership. Ms. Whipps has been in this job for way too long,” he continued, saying it’s “time for a replacement.”

“She started off great,” Raymond said of Whipps, who was once a Republican and is now an Independent. “So good I even voted for her twice. That’s how much I liked Ms. Whipps at the beginning. Problem is, I think she lost her way.”

Whipps is the only member of the state House of Representatives who does not belong to a political party. She was one of the 33 “nays” in the House on the 124-33 vote that passed ”An act modernizing firearm laws,” which was signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey in July. Eight Democrats joined all Republicans in opposition.

Raymond mentioned he is a U.S. Air Force veteran who worked as a firefighter/EMT for 36 years. He also mentioned he drives a school bus and sits on the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School Committee, leading to public education being an important issue for him.

“One of the big things I want to advocate for is the fact that we have got to get this wokeness out of our schools,” Raymond said.

“And the other thing is, let’s get these doggone boys out of the girls’ bathrooms. They don’t belong there,” he continued to applause. “We need them out of girls sports. Girls sports are there for a reason. ... There is a physical, biological difference between a man and a woman.

“I’ve got two girls, got to take care of them,” he added. “If I saw a boy go in a bathroom when my daughter was in there, I’d be in jail — because I will not allow it.”

Raymond also said most people fit into one of two categories — sheep who do as they’re told and don’t question anything, and wolves who take advantage of others. He said he wants to be a sheepdog, who protects the sheep from the wolves. He also said he opposes the new gun law, which he called unconstitutional.

Cornelius Shea

A Shrewsbury conservative running as an Independent, Shea said he has “caught Mr. McGovern sleeping.”

“And I’m telling you right now, as God as my judge, we are going to do better than he ever imagined,” he told the crowd.

Shea said he is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served for 20 years. He then spent five years in the corporate world working for AT&T before teaching at-risk students in Worcester’s public schools, which he called “an incredibly rewarding job because what you do is you give people hope for the future.” He accused McGovern of being “an entrenched politician” corrupted by an adulthood spent in the public sector.

“He never worked a job outside of government,” Shea said. “And I think my background gives me a well-rounded approach to problems that may be coming before Congress.”

Shea said immigration is a major issue for him, as the state’s housing of migrants burdens its education and health care systems in an unsustainable way.

“What we have in the country right now, we have no idea who’s here. And we don’t know what their intentions are,” he said, adding that he would prefer to house homeless veterans in motels rather than migrants. “They earned it. They deserve it. Give them whatever they need. In fact, as a congressman, I don’t think I’ll take a penny until every homeless veteran is housed. That’s just me. I’m a little stupid like that, but I think that every congressman should take that vow.

“And, you know, charity begins at home,” he added. “We have a lot of homeless Americans that deserve to be in these motels and not migrants who we don’t know what their intentions are.”

As a retiree, Shea also said he wants to curb inflation, which is a personal issue.

Turners Falls resident Edwina Kreps, who said she identifies as strongly pro-life, asked Shea about his stance on abortion. He replied that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the issue to the states. He advised electing Raymond to fight at the state level to restrict abortion access in Massachusetts.

John Deaton

“I decided to get in the race because I don’t recognize the country,” Deaton told the crowd.

Deaton said he has twice debated Elizabeth Warren and took great joy in calling her corrupt. He explained how he overcame a difficult childhood in Highland Park, Michigan, which he said is one of the poorest and most crime-ridden municipalities in the United States. He said he dropped out of high school, like all of his siblings, and was fortunate enough to meet a Catholic school principal who offered him discounted tuition.

Deaton grew up to become a U.S. Marine and eventually a trial attorney, representing people with mesothelioma and lung cancer caused by asbestos and fighting major corporations like Dow Inc. and Monsanto.

“I realized I am the American dream,” he said.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.