Ashe entered politics with his election to the Longmeadow
Select Board, where he served from 2001 to 2008. In 2006, Ashe unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for
Massachusetts Senate in the
1st Hampden and Hampshire district, losing to
Gale D. Candaras. In 2008, Ashe ran to succeed
Republican Representative
Mary Rogeness in the 2nd Hampden district. He defeated Springfield City Councilor Kateri B. Walsh in the Democratic primary and Republican William G. Scibelli, a colleague on the Longmeadow Select Board, in the general election. Ashe became the first Democrat to represent the district in 36 years. • Vice Chair, House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading • House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling • Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses • Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development == Personal life ==