Meet State Representative candidate Steve Medeiros

Democrat Steve Medeiros remembers some wise words from his grandfather: “You have two ears and one mouth and you need to use them proportionately.”

Now Medeiros is putting his grandfather’s words to use by running to succeed Rep. Chris Markey in the state Legislature.

He said he was encouraged to run by friends and family. 

“I want to be somebody who represents the needs of the people that I’m supposed to be representing,” he said. 

Medeiros was born in Dartmouth to third generation Dartmouth residents. He has two sons, both of whom went to Dartmouth High School. Medeiros got involved in the school band, youth sports, the Dartmouth Youth Athletic Association and the Boys and Girls Club. He is on the board of directors and the scholarship committee for the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. 

A real estate agent for 23 years, Medeiros says he has a deeper understanding of housing issues and the controversial 40B state law that eases rules to promote construction of more affordable housing. 

He describes the duties of a state representative as being at the State House, serving on committees, building relationships with other legislators, understanding the issues and being able to negotiate and compromise. 

Medeiros was a Town Meeting member for four years and was on the Alternative Energy Committee when the group replaced the light bulbs in the street lights with LED lights. He ran for the board of health, but placed second. He works with the Massachusetts Association of Southeastern Massachusetts, which visits the State House to advocate for affordable housing. 

He describes himself as a “moderate Democrat.” He aligns with a majority of the Democratic ideals, as he believes everyone should have the same opportunities and people should be treated with dignity. He wants to look into what people want, regardless of which political party or side they’re on.

He did not originally have any focuses of his campaign on his website, as he wanted to focus on what was important to the people, rather than what was important to him. He now has four pillars: relief on cost of living and everyday expenses; infrastructure that keeps up with growth; preserving the character, natural resources, farms and open space of Dartmouth; and fostering local small businesses and keeping money in town. 

“I think people are sick of politicians that complain, and they want people who are going to listen to their concerns and then go up [to the State House] and fight for ways to solve those problems,” said Medeiros. 

If he wins, Medeiros wants to focus on lowering costs in the state. He wants to amend the 40B provisions to be more beneficial, but he said he understands that will not happen quickly. He also wants to propose and pass a tax benefit bill that would create a savings account for first-time homebuyers to save money for a down payment. This account would have tax savings benefits to encourage saving. He also wants to make it mandatory that anyone renewing their realtor’s license must take a class on fair housing.

He plans to learn more about utility costs, and how to potentially lower them. 

When it comes to budget allocation, he would focus on reworking the way the state allocates aid to cities and towns and affordable housing law Chapter 40B. He also wants to look into long term sewer treatment and water plans for Dartmouth to save the town money and look into capital plans. 

Medeiros would make himself available to the community by scheduling office hours, having his phone and email be public and attending public meetings. 

“The way I was raised was not to talk about [myself],” he said. "I like to just roll up my sleeves and do the work. That’s just how I was raised.”

Meideiros asks that voters who are torn between him and fellow Democrat Ed Pacheco consider that he has a good temperament for politics, is involved in the community, knows what people want, has experience in legislature and will listen.