Ryan Fattman

Ryan C. Fattman (born July 1, 1984) is an American state legislator who has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since January 2011. A resident of Sutton, he represents the 18th Worcester district as a Republican. Prior to serving as a state representative, he attended Suffolk University and Tufts University and served on the Sutton Board of Selectmen from 2006 to 2011.^[1][2]

Overview

Fattman has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since January 2011 after winning the election against his predecessor, Jennifer Callahan. Ryan is one of several freshmen representatives in the state house this year.^[3] A lifetime resident of Sutton, he represents the 18th Worcester district, which includes the towns of Sutton, Uxbridge, Bellingham, Millville, and Blackstone, as a Republican.^[3] Due to redistricting, the 18th Worcester District will change to include Sutton, Douglas, Webster and Oxford. He was educated at Suffolk University and Tufts University and served on the Sutton Board of Selectmen from 2006 to 2011.^[4]

Early life

Ryan was born on July 1, 1984 in Sutton. Ryan graduated from Sutton High School. Ryan’s mother is a small business owner, running her own preschool in Worcester called Kids Kount Nursery School. Ryan’s father is a long-time businessman.^[3][4]

Education

Fattman graduated from Sutton High School in 2003, and went on to study at Suffolk University and Tufts University. While a graduate student at Tufts, Ryan was selected for the prestigious Harvard University Kennedy School Rappaport Public Policy Fellowship, class of 2008.^[3]

Personal life

Fattman is an avid athlete who enjoys running and basketball. He has twice run the Boston Marathon. He met his wife at a high school dance, and proposed at the same location nine years later to the day they met.^[5]

Political career

Board of Selectman

In 2006, Ryan announced his candidacy for the Sutton Board of Selectmen. On May 23, 2006, Ryan earned 70% of the vote, defeating two long-term incumbents.^[3][5] At 21 years old, this made him the youngest Selectman in the history of Sutton, and one of the youngest in MA history.^[6] He was re-elected in 2009 for a second term.

During his five-year tenure, Fattman is largely credited with the restoration of Marion’s Camp,^[7] helping expand Sutton’s commercial tax base on Rt 146, senior citizen property tax relief,^[8] and working with fellow board members to create a Capital Stabilization Fund for capital purchases. He also placed an emphasis on increasing cell phone coverage in Sutton with the construction of a cell tower in West Sutton.^[3][9]

In 2007, Ryan proposed and achieved an increase in property tax exemptions for some of Sutton’s more vulnerable members. This included the elderly, veterans, widows, mothers, the disabled and impoverished families.^[3][8] Ryan joined a subcommittee on Tax increment Financing for Business Development with fellow Selectman Michael Chizy. Together they worked to create a business friendly environment in Sutton. They negotiated with small businesses to alleviate the 90% Residential Tax burden, reducing it from above $12 to below $11.50, at a time when most other towns were increasing their Residential Tax rate.^[3]

State Representative

In April 2010, Fattman announced his candidacy for State Representative. Down early in the polls by 32 points, Fattman knocked on nearly 8,000 doors throughout the campaign and won all five towns in the district.^[10][11] Even though Fattman was outspent by a margin of two-to-one, he defeated eight-year incumbent, Jennifer Callahan(D-Sutton), 53-47%.^[12] The surprising upset received attention from state wide media outlets. The Worcester Telegram and Gazette described Fattman’s win as the “most surprising upset” in Central Massachusetts.^[13] Boston Globe Columnist Yvonne Abraham described Fattman as "the new standard-bearer for beleaguered Massachusetts Republicans is a cherubic 26-year-old."^[14] And the Milford Daily News named Fattman its 2010 person of the year. Beacon Hill Roll Call also reports that Ryan has a perfect 100% voting attendance record for 2011.^[15]

Policy Issues

Since his election, Fattman has been an active member of The MA House of Representative. Having a background in local government, Fattman has continuously advocated for increasing local aid funding for local services like senior centers and education and public safety to cities and towns. He co-sponsored a House Republican Budget Amendment #483, which increased UGGA Local Aid funds by $65 Million in FY12, including $369,546 to his new legislative district.^[4][16] This is the first time in four fiscal years that local aid was preserved.

Fattman has continued his campaign on ethical reform for public officials. House Bill H03236, which Fattman sponsored, calls to eliminate the per-diem that legislators are paid for driving to work. He believes that the average person is not compensated for their commute to work, and legislators should not be an exception. In 2010 he campaigned against per-diems, and does not take the legislative perk.^[16]

Fattman has been a leader on immigration issues in the legislature, promoting legal immigration and opposing illegal immigration. One bill he sponsored, House Bill H02819, aims to reduce illegal immigration by penalizing companies who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. It enacts a three strike penalty system. The first two offenses are penalized with heavy fines. The penalty for a third offense is a heavy fine and possible jail-time. Fattman believes H02819 mitigates the immigration problem at its foundation, by removing the job opportunities that lure illegal immigrants into the U.S.^[16]

Fattman strongly supports the Secure Communities Act to deport dangerous convicted criminals who are in the United States illegally. He became the focus of national media attention for a statement in defense of implementation of the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities program. Asked if illegal immigrants should report being victimized by a violent crime, he (was quoted saying) that "if someone is here illegally, they should be afraid to come forward."^[17][18] Upon seeing the article, Fattman issued a statement stating he was misquoted throughout the article, and that his true feelings were not properly expressed. Fattman stressed that Secure Communities is "directed to criminals, not victims," responding to criticism that the program could prevent illegal immigrants from coming forward if they are victims of a crime, for fear of deportation.^[19]

"Even though I am against illegal immigration, I believe victims of all crimes should come forward to get criminals off our streets."

Fattman is currently working with the Ellsessar family of Sutton on legislation requiring public schools to have a medical emergency response plan for medical incidents.^[16][20] Michael Ellsessar, a 16 year old JV Football Player from Sutton, collapsed on the field during an away game and was not able to be resuscitated. This legislation, known as Michael’s Bill, would require schools to plan responses for similar events to prevent more of these tragic deaths from occurring. For example, if a school possessed an AED, the school would have a plan to move it out to the athletic fields.

References

External links

• Ryan Fattman for State Representative (Facebook site)