Well Known Framingham Activist Enters 6th Middlesex House Race

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A second candidate has entered the 2022 race for the 6th Middlesex state House seat, which will likely soon be vacated by Democratic state Rep. Maria Robinson as she heads toward a job in the Biden administration.

Dhruba Sen, an organizer of dozens of stand-out rallies in Framingham, filed papers on Tuesday to run for the seat. Former city councilor Margareth Shepard was the first to enter the race, announcing her campaign in late January.

Asked why he's running, Sen, 67, said he wants to work on issues like no-knock warrants — a practice state lawmakers partially curtailed in a 2020 police reform bill — and voting transparency on Beacon Hill.

"I will work towards finding common ground at the city, county or state level — as long as it benefits the people," Sen said via email on Wednesday. "I will fight for the minorities of south Framingham in particular and of the state in general."

Sen hosts regular stand-outs at the intersection of Routes 135 and 126 in downtown Framingham around progressive issues like racial justice, social justice, gun reform and voting rights. He also frequently attends city government meetings to speak about those issues.

Sen previously served as a town meeting member when Framingham was a town, and ran for mayor in 2017.

Robinson first won the 6th Middlesex seat in 2018 after the death of former lawmaker Chris Walsh. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in the fall to serve as an assistant secretary in the Department of Energy overseeing the electrical grid. She testified before a U.S. Senate committee two weeks ago in advance of her likely appointment.

The 6th Middlesex District covers all of Framingham between Natick and Ashland and mostly south of Route 9 and Shoppers World.