Luddy Announces State Rep Re-election Campaign

CHATHAM – In her first term as Fourth Barnstable District state representative, Hadley Luddy filed 43 bills, many of them home rule legislation requested by towns in the district.

 But she also filed a number of bills that could have far-reaching implications for the district and the state, ranging from nursing education to green crab regulation.

 “It’s been an incredible learning experience,” Luddy said of her 18 months in office. “An amazing opportunity to expand my local knowledge.”

 On Sunday, Luddy, D-Orleans, announced her re-election campaign in the Nov. 3 state election. She faces no challengers in the Sept. 1 state primary, and to date no Republicans have declared their candidacy for the seat, but she said she plans to knock on doors and meet constituents prior to the election despite the lack of a challenger.

 Luddy, chief executive officer of the Homeless Prevention Council, announced her campaign at Pizza Shark, whose owners, Josh and Sarah Koopman, are working with her on Marnie’s Law, legislation to require the inclusion of inflammatory breast cancer in the curriculum of all undergraduate nursing programs in the Commonwealth and related health care organizations. The law is named for Marnie Schulenburg, who attended acting school with Koopman but died after her inflammatory breast cancer was misdiagnosed. Luddy, who sponsored the bill along with Rep. Kip Diggs, D-Barnstable, said the bill has had a third reading in the House and she expects it to move toward enactment.

 Luddy highlighted two other bills that she sponsored, one of which was the Maggie Hubbard Rental Safety Act, which requires that all short-term rentals be inspected for compliance with smoke and carbon monoxide detector regulations. The legislation was prompted by the death of Brewster resident Shannon Hubbard and her daughter Maggie in a fire at a short-term rental in New York state which did not have functioning smoke detectors.

 “The idea that you can list a rental and not to follow any guidelines or prove that you meet safety standards is pretty disturbing,” Luddy said.

 She also highlighted legislation recently filed to establish a commission to study delays in issuing unemployment payments to local residents. The issue came up in January, she said, when local residents were finding themselves stuck in the unemployment bureaucracy and had their payments delayed.

 Because of the seasonal nature of employment in the district, the issue is a serious one, Luddy said.

 “We have a huge number of people who are seasonally employed, so our businesses really rely on these folks, and we need to know that they will be able to collect unemployment in the off season,” she said.

 Luddy said that through raising a family and working in the nonprofit sector, she’s learned how to balance a heavy workload. “I’ve always been a very busy person,” she said.

 She also lauded the Cape’s bi-partisan legislative delegation. Even though the country is rife with divisiveness, they are able to work together congenially, she said.

 “We are seen as a delegation that gets things done and tackles issues collaboratively,” she said.