Overview:
Nicole Gough, a member of the Phillipston Selectboard, has announced her intention to secure the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent 2nd Franklin District state Rep. Susannah Whipps in the upcoming election. Gough, who was first elected to the Selectboard in 2024, has expressed concerns regarding education and healthcare in Massachusetts' more rural areas, and wants to fight for more funding to be spent in these areas.
PHILLIPSTON – Selectboard member Nicole Gough is hoping to secure the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent 2nd Franklin District state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, this November.
The Primary Election is scheduled for Sept. 1, with the General Election taking place on Nov. 3.
Gough was first elected to the Selectboard in 2024 when she defeated Earl Sweat, a member of the town’s Board of Assessors, in a special election to serve the final year in the term of Dan Sanden, who had resigned from the Selectboard. Last May, she bested Richard Wilkins to win a full three-year term.
Gough has made her intentions to run known to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance in advance of withdrawing nomination papers.
Whipps was first elected to the Massachusetts House as a Republican in 2014, changing her party affiliation to independent in August 2017.
“I saw what small towns go through once I became a selectman in Phillipston. I realized we are not getting the funding we need to keep our towns going,” said Gough. “I see so many issues where we seem to get left behind and all the money is allocated to Boston and Worcester and the bigger cities, and I’m tired of seeing that. They have different problems than us, but they seem to think our problems aren’t worth funding and our communities aren’t worth protecting.
“I want to fight for people out here; I want people to be able to say, ‘She fights for us and she listens to us,’” Gough added. “It’s time for politicians to start working for the people and be their voice, not simply pushing their own agenda.”
She cited education as one of her more immediate concerns.
“Our school systems are suffering, and our kids are paying a price for it,” Gough said. “I want to fight for our kids. I want to fight for more funding to be spent out here, fight for more Chapter 70 funding, for regional transportation, for our teachers. It’s very important. Our children are our future and we need to start fighting for them.”
Gough also expressed concern regarding health care in Massachusetts’ more rural areas.
“Our hospitals are going away – our doctors are leaving,” she said. “In the hospitals we do have, we don’t have the specialized medicine needed to treat very specific problems. I’m hoping I can do something to address that.”
The 2nd Franklin District stretches from Precinct 1 in Winchendon to Greenfield and includes the towns of Athol, Erving, Gill, Northfield, Orange, Phillipston, Royalston, and Warwick.
“I know what it’s like to live paycheck-to-paycheck,” she said, “and I understand the fear of being faced with that expensive, unexpected disaster. It’s a horrible way to live; wondering if you’ll be able to put food on the table or keep a roof over your head. Who do you go to? Where do you go? Who can help? That’s my reason for running. To bring attention to these issues. I don’t want to see our communities die.”
“I have to say that I’m proud of the work I’ve done and continue to do,” Whipps added. “I’m the only independent in the entire Massachusetts Legislature, and only one of 19 in the country. And I think right now, especially with the partisan fighting and divisiveness, I’m just going to continue serving the people of my district and not worry about partisan politics.”
Gough said she has the enthusiastic support of her husband, Trent, who will be serving as her campaign treasurer. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Gough and her husband Trent have lived in Phillipston for more than 20 years. In addition to Phillipston’s Selectboard, she also serves on the town’s Historical Commission.