GREENFIELD — Lucas G. Cote isn’t your typical candidate for statewide elected office. He has no campaign volunteers, virtually no political experience, and he’ll refuse any and all donations.
But that’s not stopping him from running for the Republican nomination for governor.
Cote, 53, of Greenfield, has registered with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance ahead of the party primary elections set for September. The general election will be held Nov. 8.
“I feel if someone likes what you’re offering … it shouldn’t have to do with big corporations giving you money and trying to get you to side with their agendas and stuff like that,” he said.
Cote’s only brush with politics was an unsuccessful run for the Montague Selectboard about 20 years ago.
If elected, Cote explained he would like to examine avenues to cut taxes to provide relief to businesses and workers, and to keep veterans’ health care in their communities as much as possible. He mentioned the recent news that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs could include Northampton’s VA medical center on a list of aging facilities recommended for closure in the coming years, and said he would like a chance to stop that from happening.
An independent voter the vast majority of his adult life, Cote said he joined the GOP about two years ago.
“I like what the Republican Party stands for,” he said.
Cote mentioned he supports Gov. Charlie Baker and began seriously considering a gubernatorial run late last year after learning Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito did not plan to run for re-election.
“I think (Baker’s) done a great job and I’d just like to improve where … he is leaving off,” said Cote, who has worked as a janitor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for nearly 33 years. He said he is originally from Huntington and attended Gateway Regional High School for two years before graduating from Belchertown High School. He moved from Montague to Greenfield about two years ago.
Cote said he wants to focus on job-training programs and addiction treatment to alleviate homelessness while also studying the issue’s causes so they can be addressed. He also wants to make a proposed east-west rail system from Boston to Pittsfield a reality.
He said he also supports law enforcement and identifies as pro-life.
“After so many weeks, I believe it’s the baby’s right to be born,” Cote said, adding that there are “certain circumstances,” such as rape or incest, that would cause him to relent a bit.
Cote mentioned he believes in an environment with safe renewable energy, that parents should have more say in what their children are taught in school, and that biological males should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
To have his name put on the primary ballot, Cote said he needs to gather 10,000 signatures in time for them to be certified by the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance by 5 p.m. on May 10. He said he has no campaign workers and plans to collect those signatures on his own.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.