Politics & Government
Worcester Rep. LeBoeuf To Debate GOP Challenger: Election 2022
Republican and Worcester firefighter Paul Fullen is challenging state Rep. David LeBoeuf in the 17th Worcester District.
WORCESTER, MA — One of the few contested local state government races will be in the spotlight Monday night, with state Rep. David LeBoeuf set to debate Republican challenger Paul Fullen.
The debate will be the first meeting between the candidates this year, and will be moderated by a panel including former Worcester city councilor Gary Rosen, Talk of the Commonwealth host Hank Stolz and 016.com founder Mark Henderson.
But Fullen, a Worcester firefighter, and LeBoeuf know each other well. LeBoeuf defeated Fullen in 2018 during a run for the open 17th Worcester District seat after Republican Kate Campanale stepped down to run for Worcester County Register of Deeds. The district covers southwest Worcester, including Main South and Webster Square, and a large portion of Leicester. The district boundaries shifted after the 2020 Census, and is one of 23 new majority-minority opportunity districts in Massachusetts.
Fullen is on the Donald Trump side of the Republican party. His campaign website says he favors "public safety over politics," but provides no other policy details. On Twitter, Fullen has recently shared tweets opposing so-called critical race theory and COVID-19 vaccines.
On his website, LeBoeuf lists economic development, voting access and increasing affordable housing as top priorities. Earlier this year, LeBoeuf was seen as a contender for retiring state Sen. Harriette Chandler's seat, but ultimately decided not to run. He was also arrested near Boston in April on a drunken driving charge, and has since entered treatment for alcohol addiction. A local teacher initially planned to run against LeBoeuf in a Democratic primary, but never pursued the campaign.
Apart from the race between Democratic nominee Robyn Kennedy and independent Lisa Mair for Chandler's state Senate seat, there are no other contested state Legislature races in Worcester in 2022.
The LeBoeuf-Fullen debate starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the IBEW Local 96 hall, 242 Mill St. The debate will also be streamed live on Radio Worcester. The moderators will quiz each candidate during the debate, but the candidates will also get to ask each other questions, according to the debate sponsors.
