Chris Lambton launches campaign for State House seat held by federally indicted legislator

Chris Lambton, a Democrat from Dennis and former television personality, plans to run for the state House seat currently held by Rep. Chris Flanagan, who pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges earlier this year.

Lambton, a 48-year-old member of the Dennis Select Board, is one of the first local officials to announce a campaign for the Cape Cod House district that covers Brewster, Dennis and parts of Yarmouth. Flanagan, a Democrat in his second term, has not said whether he plans to seek another term on Beacon Hill.

Lambton said constituents in the district lack representation as a result of Flanagan’s indictment. Flanagan briefly stopped appearing at legislative sessions after he was arrested by authorities in April, but has since started showing up regularly at the State House.

“As the chair of the select board, when I need answers about wastewater … going through Dennis, I have to call state Sen. Julian Cyr because we don’t have a state representative who is responsive,” Lambton said in an interview. “When constituents ask about all this road work that’s going on on Route 28 or Route 6, which are state roads, we don’t have answers.”

Flanagan did not respond to messages left seeking comment.

Federal prosecutors accused Flanagan of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a trade association he worked for, covering up the thefts, and then using the money to pay personal bills and fund his campaign for elected office.

He pleaded not guilty and was released from federal custody on the condition that he stay employed or seek a new job.

Flanagan faced a wave of calls to resign when he was first charged with federal fraud. Top Democrats running the Massachusetts House Ethics Commission also said earlier this year they plan to open an investigation into his conduct once his court proceedings conclude.

Lambton is a former public school teacher who co-owns a landscaping business and runs an oyster farm. He was first elected to the Dennis Select Board in 2019 and has served as its chair since 2023.

He appeared on ABC’s “The Bachelorette” in 2010 and has hosted landscaping and gardening shows on the real estate and home improvement channel HGTV.

Lambton pointed to affordable housing, sustaining the environment and investing in education as his top priorities.

“We really need to fight for more funding,” he said. “The cost of transportation, the cost of special education, the cost of having all the [para-educators] that we need, and the teachers that we need has gone up, but the funding from the state has not.”

Cyr, a Provincetown Democrat whose Senate district covers the House seat, said Lambton is “certainly a leader.”

“I'm excited to see someone of his caliber jump in to run,” Cyr said in an interview. “We'll certainly see if others do. But the towns of Yarmouth and Dennis and Brewster deserve to have an engaged, effective state representative, and I'm really hoping going into this next election cycle that we will have a robust campaign.”