Brian Ashe (D) is a three-term Selectman in the Town of Longmeadow. He was elected in 2001 to the Longmeadow Select Board and then re-elected in 2004 and 2007 for his second and third three-year term. Ashe cites his work on the Select Board as excellent experience for the State House of Representatives. “Issues are issues, regardless as to whether they are at the local, state or federal level. Any politician can make promises, as most do. But making promises and actually following through are two different things. My experience as a Longmeadow Selectman shows I am willing to do both – make promises and follow through.”

Ashe cites his contributions to solving town problems in Longmeadow. When environmental violations and leadership problems were discovered at the Longmeadow DPW, Brian fought hard and successfully to have the Superintendent removed and initiated administrative changes to bring the department back on track. As part of a solution to Longmeadow’s fiscal woes, he spearheaded an effort to have department heads take furloughs as a sign of good faith to their line staff that would not be receiving raises and agreed to forgo his own annual Select Board stipend.

Citing concerns about safety, Ashe successfully pushed Longmeadow to pass a by-law regarding the use of motor scooters to ensure the safety of children and adults alike. While many other communities waited for the State to take the lead in this issue he forged ahead, as he believed it was an extremely important safety issue. As chairman of the Board of Selectman he was instrumental in starting the process of consolidating municipal services in various town departments to better serve the residents.

Ashe states, “These are examples of the leadership, creativity and cooperation that I will bring to the 2nd Hampden district when I am elected as State Representative. I will use the same focus and dedication to tackle the issues that face us all in Western Massachusetts, whether it is the lack of State aid and the fiscal constraints that proposition 2½ puts on all of the towns, or the decay of the inner city due to the abundance of drug and gang violence and the lack of thriving business. None of these are issues that have a single answer. They are multi-layered and need to be addressed as such”.

Ashe is a graduate of Cathedral High School. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Westfield State College. He is a member of the Pioneer Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. Ashe has been employed by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department for the past 15 years.

Brian and his wife Sonja moved to Longmeadow after being married in 1993. His wife Sonja is the Art Director at WWLP-TV22. They have 2 children, Tiernan 10 and Kyra 8. His father is Donald Ashe, Hampden County register of Deeds. Ashe is very active in local sports and coaches youth baseball, soccer and basketball.