Josh LaBella
Voice Reporter
Well into his second term, State Rep. (D-115) Michael DiMassa said he “got the bug” for public service because he liked to help people and work with others towards a common goal.
The 28-year-old said he started out interning for Mayor John Picard and continued to take opportunities when they arose.
“At one point, some members of the Democratic Town Committee asked me if I’d consider running for state representative,” said DiMassa. “I thought about it and made the leap.”
DiMassa said he has no long term plans for politics. His goal, he said, is to stay in for a small amount of time, try and make a difference in people’s lives where he can and then pass the torch for the next person.
When he ran in 2016, the state representative ran against incumbent and current executive assistant to the mayor, Louis Esposito. He said having worked on Esposito’s campaigns in the past made it a tough experience.
“Neither Lou nor I made it personal,” said DiMassa. “It was just one of those things where people in the district told me it was time for a fresh perspective.”
DiMassa said he wanted to look at jobs, economic development and school funding going into his first term. He said in his district there are a lot of one-parent households and people who work two or three part-time jobs instead of one full-time job.
“Those are the issues you run into here,” said DiMassa. “How do we propel the local economy?”
Representative DiMassa said leveraging state resources to make improvements to municipalities is the best way to create jobs and stabilize the tax rate.
DiMassa said passing legislation like the $15 an hour minimum wage and paid family medical leave help lift the burden off some of his constituents. He also said he was excited for early absentee voting, which will be on a state referendum ballot next year, because it will allow more people to participate in the political process.
According to DiMassa, he has to maintain a good relationship with whatever administration is running city hall. He said in a city like West Haven, where things are quickly politicized, people frequently ask him his take on local elections.
“I try not to get involved in politics because I have to work with the mayor,” said DiMassa. “If the mayor says, ‘this is a priority,’ then that’s the priority I’m working off of. I also don’t feel it’s my job to make my political views known in issues that concern public because I feel the voters of West Haven should make their own decision.”
DiMassa said he will regularly help city officials by making calls to places like the Department of Transportation or the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to try and speed up a city project or get something done.
“We have a lot of DOT related projects in West Haven because we have a lot of state roads that run through West Haven,” said DiMassa. “When it comes to potholes or restriping the roads we have to work with the DOT.”
He said because the DOT schedules road maintenance years in advance and they are so inundated with requests it can be a challenge to get it done. DiMassa said it is not uncommon, in any project or task, to have to call a department commissioner two or three times in order to get something looked at or completed.
Given that there are only three state representatives and two senators who represent West Haven, DiMassa said it takes more effort and teamwork on the part of their delegation to get something for the city.
“We have to work twice as hard to make our case for things,” said DiMassa.