In his own words: Gil Frieden, candidate for state representative

Gil Frieden of Essex is one of three candidates for state representative in the Fifth Essex District, which covers Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea. He is on the Nov. 3 ballot under the Transparency Inclusion Environment designation, against Democrat Andrew "Dru" Tarr of Gloucester, who won the seat in the March 31 special election, and Republican Christina Delisio of Manchester-by-the-Sea.

The Cape Ann Current sent all three candidates the same questionnaire with the same deadline, 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. Frieden was the first to answer. His responses appear below in quotation marks, as he wrote them; we fixed one typo, he revised his reason on Question 1, and he approved our suggested wording on Question 7. The Current reports each candidate's positions and does not endorse anything a candidate says. Tarr's and Delisio's answers will run the same way when they arrive, and all three will appear side by side in our voter guide. You can read the exact questions every candidate received.

Campaign website: votegil.org

About the candidate, in his words

“I’m a Certified Financial Planner, hospitality worker, senior-services advocate, and community volunteer who has spent my career helping people solve problems and feel taken care of. My family has called Massachusetts home since the 1800s, and our roots in Essex go back to 1943. I’m running for State Representative because our 38,000 neighbors deserve the best customer service representative they can get—someone who answers the phone, listens, learns quickly, solves problems, and follows through.”

On the issues

Housing. Year-round housing on Cape Ann is scarce and expensive. What would you do at the State House to change that? Name one specific bill or policy.

“Cape Ann needs more year-round housing that working people, young families, seniors, and people who grew up here can actually afford, and I would work with groups like Housing for All Gloucester to expand both the supply of housing and the resources available to preserve it. One specific policy I would support on Beacon Hill is legislation allowing seasonal communities like ours to impose a modest real-estate transfer fee on high-value property sales, with the revenue dedicated to creating and preserving year-round affordable housing. H.3056 would allow municipalities to impose that transfer fee. People making millions of dollars on Cape Ann real estate can contribute a little more toward making sure the people who make moving here attractive: those that work here, raise families here, and want to stay here can actually afford to live here.”

Working waterfront. Gloucester's fishing industry and the jobs tied to it are under pressure. What can a state representative do for fishermen and waterfront businesses?

“Gloucester’s fishing industry and our entire North Shore working waterfront depend on more than just boats and fishermen—we need clean water, healthy marshes, docks, processing facilities, and infrastructure. This summer when the Haverhill sewage break closed shellfish beds, I attended a town meeting in Ipswich to hear from clammers and then saw Governor Healey come to Essex to provide $300,000 in relief to harvesters who lost income. As State Representative, I would fight for state investment in resilient water and sewer infrastructure so pollution doesn't shut down our working waterfront in the first place, support fishermen and shellfishers through grants and economic programs, and fight invasive species like green crabs that damage our marshes and compete with our native shellfish.

“I want to bring that philosophy to Beacon Hill: when something threatens one part of our working waterfront, it affects the whole Cape Ann economy.”

Coast and climate. All four towns face storm damage, flooding and erosion. How would you get state money for seawalls, culverts and roads, and which project would you push first?

“Let's not spend 50 years fighting Mother Nature with one seawall, road repair, or emergency appropriation at a time. I attended Essex Town Meetings about a project to raise a vulnerable road above future flood levels, with the state paying 90% of the cost. I spoke passionately in support of the measure at both meetings.

“As State Representative, I’ll work with all four towns to identify essential infrastructure and aggressively pursue state and federal funding for climate adaptation. We need to be honest about what infrastructure can accomplish: seawalls may protect us for a time, but they don't stop sea-level rise. My priority is a long-term, science-based strategy combining resilient roads, culverts and utilities with smart land-use decisions and, where necessary, managed retreat from places we simply cannot sustainably defend. I want us to work with nature rather than continually trying to defeat it—much like the Netherlands.”

Town budgets. Cape Ann towns are weighing tax overrides, school costs and state aid. What would you do about local aid and school funding?

“Cape Ann towns should not have to choose between adequately funding schools and adequately funding everything else their residents need. I would fight for strong, predictable local aid and a Chapter 70 formula that reflects the actual ability of each community to pay, while making sure state funding keeps pace with the real costs of special education, transportation and other school expenses. I also believe we need to confront one of the biggest costs in every government budget: health insurance. I support universal health care, including Medicare for All, because separating health care from employment and reducing the enormous amount governments spend administering and providing health insurance could ultimately free public dollars for education and other priorities. I may not have every answer about school finance yet, but I know how to learn, ask questions and follow the money—and that's exactly what I would do on Beacon Hill.”

Getting around. What is the one transportation fix Cape Ann needs most, and how would you get it done?

“I’m the Essex representative on the CATA advisory board, and I made the motion to bring fixed-route bus service to Essex: from no service to a bus connecting Essex with Gloucester more than four times a day. Since late 2024, CATA fixed-route buses are fare-free.

“So the real challenge is changing habits. We have four towns where people complain about traffic and parking, while an empty seat on a free bus goes by. We don't just need more buses. We need to make getting out of our cars feel like a win.

“As a legislator, I’d work to make riding the bus easy and normal. I’d hold ‘office hours on the bus,’ help residents learn the routes and app, and work with CATA, senior centers, schools and businesses to get more people riding.”

Your first bill. If you win, what is the first bill you will file or co-sponsor, and why?

“My first bill would be Medicare for All in Massachusetts.

“When I hear seniors tell me how much they pay for great insurance, it’s confounding that health care can be their #1 expense. I want health care to be about patients and providers—not whether an insurance company will approve the care someone needs.

“And Massachusetts voters have already spoken: more than 60% voted ‘yes’ on the 2024 non-binding question supporting Medicare for All. How many more studies do we need to fund before we start doing something?

“I’d rather tackle a difficult problem than spend another decade managing a system that is expensive and complicated.

“As a legislator, I’ll bring what I bring to financial planning: look at the numbers, ask hard questions, and work toward a system that works for people.”

The nine ballot questions

Each candidate was asked for a position on every statewide question, with an optional one sentence reason.

Question 1, Public records for the Legislature and Governor: Yes. “It’s strange that virtually every government body in Massachusetts must follow public records laws, while the Legislature has exempted itself.”

Question 2, Union rights for public defender staff: Yes. “We must always be pro-worker.”

Question 3, One open primary, top two advance: Yes. “Voters see a high-information ballot: candidates are listed with party and endorsements they’ve received and agree to from a party or political group.”

Question 4, Register to vote on Election Day: Yes. “Society is so last minute, make voting fit the culture.”

Question 5, New cap on state tax revenue: No. “Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will take so much revenue from the State, let's keep what we can!”

Question 6, Nature for All Fund: Yes. “The climate crisis is real, fund the repair of our most vulnerable communities now.”

Question 7, Single-family homes on smaller lots: Yes. “One small step against exclusionary zoning, one giant leap for tiny homes.” (Frieden approved this wording, which the Current suggested to make his original answer clear.)

Question 8, End retail recreational marijuana: No. “Don't make more drugs illegal: shift the response from the criminal-justice system toward health and recovery.”

Question 9, Keep or repeal the 2024 gun law (Yes keeps the law, No repeals it): Yes. “If keeping Massachusetts’ gun laws is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.”

Want to know what each question would do? Our voter guide explains every one, with who is campaigning on each side. The Current does not endorse candidates or ballot questions and does not accept political advertising.

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