ATHOL — The roots of state Rep. Susannah Whipps’ family tree run deep in Athol and, in addition to her involvement in local commerce, she has long been active if local civic affairs.
Incumbent Susannah Whipps, an independent, is running for State Representative in the 2nd Franklin District, which includes the towns of Athol, Belchertown (Precinct A), Erving; Gill; New Salem; Orange; Phillipston, Royalston, Templeton, Warwick, and Wendell. The primary election is Tuesday.
“I’m a seventh-generation Athol resident,” Whipps said proudly. “I went to Athol High School, Mount Wachusett Community College, Johnson and Wales (University), and then Fitchburg State.”
Whipps once owned a restaurant in New Salem, the second she had opened by the age of 25.
“I taught for a while at Monty Tech, and then one summer I went to pitch in at my parents’ company and just loved the idea of working with my family, and our employees are tremendous.”
Whipps Inc. of Athol designs and manufactures equipment for the water and wastewater industry domestically and worldwide. About 12 years ago, ownership of the business was transferred from her father to Whipps and her siblings and she has been involved in its operation ever since. In that time, the company has grown from 28 employees to approximately 80 at present.
“It’s not just 80 employees, it’s 80 families that depend on us to be successful,” she said. “I’m really proud of the legacy my father started. I’m even more proud of the growth my siblings and I have accomplished.”
Whipps served nine years on Athol’s Selectboard, winning her first term in 2006 in a five-way race for one open seat while garnering more votes than her five male competitors combined. In 2014, running as a Republican, Whipps was elected to her first term as state representative from the 2nd Franklin District. It was her second run for the office.
In 2012, she was defeated by just over one percentage point by then-incumbent Denise Andrews in a three-way race. Two years later, she vanquished Andrews in a head-to-head match, out-polling her opponent 54 to 45 percent.
While first elected as a Republican, in 2017 Whipps changed her voter registration to unenrolled. She is currently the only Independent lawmaker in either chamber of the Legislature.
“I looked at the makeup of my district,” she said, “and 67 percent of my district is unenrolled. I just wanted to make a genuine statement that I’m on Beacon Hill for the people I serve, not for any political entity. I chose people over politics.”
The issues of most importance to Whipps include funding for public education, increasing PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments to towns with large tracts of state-owned property, support for economic development, and increasing awareness among her colleagues of the contributions the mostly rural communities of western Massachusetts make to the state. Most of all, however, she prides herself on constituent service.
Whipps said her interest in public service comes from her mother and grandmother.
“My grandma was an amazing woman,” she related. “If there was a storm coming, she worked for the Red Cross and she’d pack me up as a kid and take me to a shelter so I could help. If there was a blood mobile, my grandmother had me go down and serve the snacks.
“I just watched these two women in my life give everything they could to their community. It was kind of what I saw in my life growing up. Both worked full-time and served their community. I think it’s kind of engrained in me that you do what you can to make your neighbors lives a little better.”