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The candidates for the 31st Middlesex District seat met Oct. 15 at a candidate forum to debate their solutions for the affordability crisis, environmental concerns and government transparency.
Incumbent Michael Day, the Democratic candidate for the race, has held the seat since 2015. He’s running against Stephen Ternullo, a Republican who has never held elected office, though he has served on two volunteer committees in Stoneham.
The district encompasses both Stoneham and Winchester.
Candidates met at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters Winchester and moderated by Margaret Coppe.
The room was filled with around 35 audience members and was livestreamed on Stoneham TV. The forum is also available to view online.
During opening remarks, Ternullo said he was running to make Massachusetts more affordable for families by advocating for more affordable energy sources. He also wanted to redistribute funding for immigration towards other initiatives and supported removing restrictions on cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.
Ternullo’s campaign is centered around three initiatives: lowering energy costs, procuring more local aid and providing more accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent.
Day’s opening remarks reaffirmed how his work has improved the quality of life of both Stoneham and Winchester residents, citing how both towns have received “tens of millions of dollars” in direct state aid.
In 2025, Winchester received a little over $14 million from direct state funding, while Stoneham received over $12 million.
He promised to improve the state’s mental health system, make healthcare more affordable for all and make living in Massachusetts less costly.
Affordability and housing demands within the state were major talking points for both candidates.
When asked about their plans, Day said the Legislature was easing zoning control through the MBTA Communities Act, which opens up housing options in both cities, along with loans to first-time home buyers and housing support for seniors. He promised to continue to push for expanding public housing stock.
“We haven’t expanded our stock of public housing since World War II,” Day said. “It’s high time we do that.”
Ternullo said housing mandates should be controlled by local towns instead of the state, announcing his disapproval of the MBTA Communities Act. His plan was to reduce the cost of permits and regulations and increase housing supply responsibly.
Part of the affordability crisis within Massachusetts is the rising energy costs. Ternullo’s plan was to make an all-above solution where every type of energy would be available to residents and to limit mandates on energy.
Day hopes to alleviate the energy costs with a new bill that he says will result in $10 billion of savings over the next 10 years.
He called for a better push towards renewable energy nationally and continuing to pursue the state’s climate goals. When asked about how he would respond to environmental impacts throughout the state with a federal cutback on environmental measures, Day reaffirmed his position on the push towards climate resilience.
Ternullo said he did not want environmental mandates to impact residents financially.
Candidates were asked their stance on AI data centers, which some argue increase energy costs and deplete water resources in communities.
“Well, AI’s here,” Ternullo said, emphasizing the need to embrace AI, but advocating for its placement in areas where it’s less likely to affect communities such as abandoned buildings.
During his response, Day criticized Ternullo for AI use in his campaign. Ternullo has an OpenAI subscription that his campaign pays $21.25 per month for. The incumbent said he wanted to ensure there were proper regulations on data centers that addressed fears surrounding them.
This November’s ballot includes Question 5, which proposes changing 62F, a law determining the state's tax collection limits, making it more likely for taxpayers to get their money back if the state collects too much. A yes vote would mean Massachusetts would change its formula while a no vote would keep the formula the same.
62F was most recently triggered in 2022, resulting in $3 billion being returned to taxpayers across the state.
Day, who is against Question 5, argues that the way the law, 62F, has been triggered in the past has given more money to millionaires than to ordinary taxpayers. He argues the proposed change will continue this.
Question 5 was a yes for Ternullo, who stated residents are paying too much in taxes already.
Transparency within government was another big topic within the forum.
Two years ago, nearly 72% of voters voted to give State Auditor Diana DiZoglio the power to audit any office, department, commission, etc., created by the Legislature. In August 2025, DiZoglio said legislators were not complying with the measure residents had voted into place.
Since then, transparency in the state government has been on voters’ minds. In Thursday’s forum, both candidates were asked if the Legislature should fully comply with voters’ request to give DiZoglio the power to audit.
Day said the Legislature believed in transparency already, and the question of auditing became a hot topic because it asked what kind of power the auditor was granted.
He says the power granted to DiZoglio was to perform a professional audit of the Legislature. Instead, Day said, the auditor and her supporters were going for a “constitutional crisis” and pushing for legislation to grind to a halt as audits were carried out.
Ternullo said Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Day should honor voters’ request.
Candidates were then asked if they supported Question 1, which would make most records from the governor’s office and Legislature available under the current public records law. Both candidates supported the question.
In the past year, federally funded programs such as SNAP have seen cuts to funding. Candidates were asked what actions they would take to respond to these ongoing cuts.
Ternullo argued the federal government cut funding to these programs because it sees people using them fraudulently within the government, citing Lamar Cook, who was recently charged with SNAP fraud, which was committed after he was fired from his position as Western MA Deputy Director.
Day planned to have the government put away money to provide coverage for when these cuts occurred.
When asked about their opinions on police surveillance technology such as FLOCK cameras, both candidates were opposed to facial recognition technology, but to different degrees. Day did not support their use until proper regulations were in place, while Ternullo was opposed to them but said, “They do have their meaning.” Both agreed proper regulations on the technology needed to be in place.
Candidates were asked if they supported removing religious exemptions for vaccines. Day was a firm supporter of this measure, saying the lack of vaccinations was a “public health crisis.” Ternullo emphasized he believed it was the parent’s decision and not the government saying the science was “made up.”
When asked if they would change the formula for how much funding is given out to schools, both agreed that the formula needed to change; however, Day said the Massachusetts Legislature changed the formula each year based on what was needed.
Ballot Question 9 came up during the forum when candidates were asked how they would respond if voters overturned the firearm safety law.
Ternullo said he believed in the Second Amendment and would support the law being rolled back. Day said he had “supreme confidence” in the residents of Massachusetts to uphold the law and was in favor of the law.
Both candidates also affirmed they supported transportation within Stoneham and Winchester, though Ternullo opposed adding a bus line through the communities.
In closing, Day promised he would work with his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, and residents to help solve the problems that the state faces.
“It’s not I. It’s we,” Day said.
Ternullo reaffirmed his campaign’s values and his stance as an independent voice on Beacon Hill.
“I’m not going to Beacon Hill to make friends with political establishment,” Ternullo said. “I’m going there to hold them accountable.”
Tavishi Chattopadhyay is a journalism student at Boston University.
