Comtois to challenge Gobi for House seat

POLITICAL CANDIDATE

By James F. Russell, Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Thursday, May 4, 2006

BROOKFIELD – Republican Stephen J. Comtois II, 33, of 35 Webber Road, is running for state representative in the 5th Worcester District.

Representative Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, is the incumbent.

In an interview last week, Mr. Comtois said he is running for the seat to bring more Republicans to the state Legislature.  He said Gov. Mitt Romney supports his candidacy and has pledged to provide support during the campaign.

In a letter Mr. Comtois mailed to prospective supporters dated April 26, he wrote, “Massachusetts is a state in crisis.”

He said the Fifth District “need(s) a representative that will not turn a deaf ear to our concerns and will fight the wasteful use of our hard-earned tax dollars.  It is apparent we need a change on Beacon Hill.”

The letter states Mr. Comtois will formally begin his election campaign with a “meet and greet” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. May 17 at North Brookfield American Legion, 163 North Main St., North Brookfield.

Mr. Comtois said he has been a resident of Brookfield since 2002 and previously lived in West Brookfield.  He owns a small carpentry business called Custom Changes that employs three people.  Mr. Comtois said he is pursuing an undergraduate degree in business administration at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.  Mr. Comtois has served on Brookfield School Committee since 2005.

He is married to Tracy A. Comtois, 30, and has two children, Leslie A LaMay, 10, and Stephen J. Comtois III, 2.  The couple married in 2002.

The fifth district consists of Barre, Brookfield, Hardwick, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Petersham, Phillipston, Spencer’s precincts 2 and 3, Templeton, Ware’s precinct A and West Brookfield.

Ms. Gobi has held the seat since winning an election in 2001 to fill the unexposed term of Barre Republican David Tuttle.