Dennis Select Board Chair Chris Lambton Announces Bid For State Representative

BREWSTER – State Representative Christopher Flanagan, D-Dennis, under indictment for fraud, will face yet another challenge, and this time it’s outside of the courtroom. 

 On Oct. 29, Dennis native and Select Board Chair Chris Lambton announced his candidacy for state representative of the First Barnstable District, which includes Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth. 

 He will challenge Flanagan, who was indicted on federal fraud charges earlier this year, in the Democratic primary election next September. 

 “I’m running for state representative because the First Barnstable District needs a trusted leader who can represent them,” Lambton said in an interview Monday. 

 No stranger to the spotlight, Lambton made a name for himself as a contestant on “The Bachelorette” in 2010. Since then, he has appeared on a number of HGTV shows, including hosting a landscaping-centric show with his wife, Peyton. 

 Lambton has served on the Dennis select board since 2019 and became chair in 2023. He originally became involved in local government because he wanted to be represented. As a lifelong Cape Codder and a member of a generation that wasn’t actively running for municipal elections, Lambton said he could either complain about the lack of representation or run for office. 

 After seven years, he is still the youngest select board member in Dennis. A diverse board allows the entire town, including young families, to feel like they have a voice when it comes to local decision-making, he said. Lambton said he hopes to bring that mentality and transparency to his campaign and to the position at large. 

 He also said in his current role as chair, he has a lot of questions that are going unanswered because he can’t get in touch with Flanagan. 

 “It’s a job that is extremely important to these three towns,” Lambton said of the state representative role. “We need someone who’s up there advocating for us, who is fighting for funding for us and who is answering constituents’ questions. Right now we don’t have that, so that void is really glaring and noticeable.”

 Since Flanagan’s arrest in April, select boards in Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth have all sent letters asking for his resignation. Governor Maura Healey and Senator Julian Cyr have publicly called for Flanagan to step down. While the investigation remains ongoing, a federal judge in July barred Flanagan from gambling and making any large credit card purchases. Flanagan and his team have not answered questions, emails or phone calls since his arrest.

Lambton’s platform is centered around three critical issues affecting the Cape: housing, environmental sustainability and public education. 

 One of his more passionate positions focuses on making Cape Cod a more livable community for people who have grown up here. 

 “We have people who grew up in the community, love the community, are ingrained in the community and working in the community, but have to move away because they can’t afford to be there,” he said. “We need more workforce housing. We need smart housing to house municipal workers like police, fire and the DPW (department of public works). All those roles are vital, but it’s hard to buy a house here and afford a house on those salaries.” 

Local public schools are finding it hard to hire young educators and the local healthcare systems are struggling to staff offices due to the cost of living, he added. 

Lambton owns two small businesses in Dennis: a landscaping company with his brother and father called E. Lambton Landscaping, as well as an oyster farming operation. He said with this background, he believes wholeheartedly in a blue economy. 

Investing in sustainable practices will help conserve the environment for future generations, he said. 

“I know how important the environment is,” he said. “And our towns rely on the features of the blue economy.”

As a graduate of the Dennis-Yarmouth School District and a former public school teacher, Lambton said he is a big proponent of public school education. His two kids (ages 6 and 8) are both currently attending the district’s elementary school. 

Lambton was a math teacher at a New York high school for seven years and then served as dean of discipline until he moved back to Cape Cod to help take care of his mother. After working 30 years as a nurse at Cape Cod Hospital, she was diagnosed with ALS and passed away 17 years ago. Every year, Lambton helps facilitate fundraisers to support families who are battling the disease.  

As state representative, he would push for more federal funding for the two districts that make up the public school system for Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth, he said. As school costs increase, federal funding has remained level, not matching growth. Without the proper funding, teacher salaries are in jeopardy, he argued. 

“We have to invest more into our public schools because they are so, so vitally important for our towns,” he said. 

 Lambton credits his tenure on the select board with being prepared for the representative role. He said he has learned a lot from the current town administrator in Dennis, Elizabeth Sullivan, as well as the select board members he has worked with over the years. He said every day he learns something new that he will take with him to Beacon Hill. 

 While major work will be done in Boston, Lambton said one of the most important responsibilities he has is here at home. Representing the residents of the three towns means knowing what his constituents want. He said he will offer monthly open office hours in each town to “sit down one-on-one with people and say, ‘all right, how can I help you?”  

 Outside of work, Lambton can be found spending time with his family. He is regularly outside, tending to his garden (a pastime he has had since he was 5 years old), walking along trails or hanging out at the beach. He said if he wins the election next November, he will still continue to work as a landscaper, admitting it keeps him grounded. 

Anecdotally, Lambton shared a story of what being a part of local government has meant to him.

“You don't realize, if you don’t go to a town meeting, how many millions of dollars are allocated at that town meeting,” he said of local government. “How one raising of your hand with a little fluorescent sticker can really impact local policies and local funding and local government. That's what I've really truly enjoyed about being on the select board. I was the deciding vote on getting that middle school done. Then a few years later, you know, I'm walking around that building, on a tour with my daughter and I'm like, ‘I helped do this, this is incredible.”

Flanagan has not announced whether he will seek re-election.

The general election will be held on Nov. 3, 2026.