During election season, state Sen. Susan Fargo said there's no place she'd rather be than in Waltham.
Her only campaign office at 903A Main St. allows her to travel between her home in Lincoln and the State House in Boston with ease. Fargo said she's set up a campaign office at least five times on Main Street since she was first elected to the Senate in 1996.
"Waltham is the largest community in the district and I like having one on Main Street. The visibility is very good," she said. "I never even think about having it somewhere else."
Fargo, a Democrat, seeks re-election to the Third Middlesex District seat in the Senate. The district covers nine communities including Waltham, Weston, Concord and parts of Lincoln and Sudbury.
Having recently wrapped up session in the Legislature, Fargo said she intends to put all of her time and effort on campaigning and serving her constituents.
"There was a real heavy load of things to get done. There were some major pieces of legislation. For Waltham, the big thing was Connors Pool."
Earlier this month, Fargo secured a $6.3 million earmark in an environmental bond bill for the renovation of Connors Pool on River Street.
Fargo's campaign manager, Tim Miley of Lexington, is recruiting interns to help run her campaign.
"It's still kind of early in the campaign season, we just got started about a month ago," he said. "We're reaching out to all the different towns and organizations and to past volunteers and making sure Susan keeps her presence in the community."
Fargo said she's looking for volunteers.
"We're starting to work on that right now, so I would certainly invite any volunteers that want to help with the campaign to call us," Fargo said. "It's a good year for campaigning. There's a lot of excitement about the (presidential election) ... I've been very pleased that a lot of young people are getting involved."
Republican Sandi Martinez of Chelmsford will again try to capture the Third Middlesex District seat after losing to Fargo two years ago.
Fargo said she plans to run a clean campaign against Martinez and anyone else who may plan to run for the position before the primary on Sept. 16.
"As always, I run a very positive campaign ... there's a lot to talk about ... education and health care and the environment are issues that I will continue to speak about," she said. "I think I'm planning on running to win. I think I have a very solid set of accomplishments in the state Senate."
Fargo serves on six legislative panels: Ways and Means Committee; Joint Committee on Public Health, of which she is chairwoman; Post Audit and Oversight Committee, of which she is vice chairman; and joint committees on Health Care Financing, Municipalities and Regional Government, and State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
As chairman of the Senate's Public Health committee, Fargo said there are several initiatives she plans on filing in the upcoming legislative session. "In December, that's when we file legislation for the upcoming session," she said. "There's a flurry of activity."
Fargo said she plans to run a series of fundraising and awareness events for her campaign.
"We will be having events in Waltham as well as other communities in the district," she said. "I think that tends to happen right after Labor Day. That's when people come back from vacation and start to take a look at the things thinking about politics."
Fargo's campaign office can be reached at 781-893-3707.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jgilbrid@cnc.com.
