After going eight years without a pay raise, Beacon Hill lawmakers will see a 4.19 percent increase in their pay next year, raising their base salary to $62,547.
I don’t have a problem with that increase, in fact, it’s a wonder some of our lawmakers stay on the job for so long (and others seem to be waiting anxiously for a seat to be be open) at a rate that’s well below Newton’s median income .
But it did get me to wondering how often we see or hear from our state representatives, in Newton’s case Reps. Ruth Balser, Kay Khan and John Lawn, or state senator Cindy Creem. Do you have any idea what their legislative priorities or accomplishments are? We rarely discuss our state electeds on Village 14. Here’s your chance,
This gives me the opportunity to commend Ruth Balser and Kay Kahn for their compassionate and tireless work on behalf of the the mentally ill, those with various addictions and thousands of other people who live in the shadows of society here in Massachusetts. Ruth and Kay came to the State Legislature with backgrounds in public health so they know from experience that these are health and not moral issues. Their priorities are based on personal knowledge, conviction and compassion, not because these often marginalized constituencies reliably show up at the polls or provide funding for their reelection campaigns. I’m proud that Ruth is my Rep and that Kay is nearby. I could mention other items, but I’m certain others will fill in the pieces. Their work for the mentally ill and addicted ranks at the top of my list.
And yes. They deserve the raise.
I second Bob’s comments regarding our state reps. We are truly blessed. Kay is everywhere, tirelessly representing us all but particularly the children and those with mental disabilities. In addition, she is an advocate for the arts and is a passionate supporter of so many nonprofits. They both are “all in” and deserving of a raise! Thank you both!
@Greg, to answer your question, rarely hear from either Ruth or Kay unless a mailer is needed prior to an election. That is not to say they are not working on issues important to me and I have not taken the step of signing up for any of their email lists, Amy is setting the bar high with her weekly emails.
Ruth Balser and Kay Kahn are great representatives, working tirelessly over the long term on all sorts of important statewide issues (mental health, children and family issues, equal rights, environmental issues …). Check out their web sites to get a picture of their impressive legislative records.
For me though, I’m a huge fan of both Ruth and Kay because they are always so involved, approachable, and engaged in our community. They are both regulars at our Newton Nomadic Theater. They both come and serve food every year at the Feast of the Falls. Just two weeks ago Kay Kahn turned up in a snowstorm to be part of the parade celebrating the opening of the Elliot St Bridge. While none of these may not seem important in how you should view your State Rep I believe they are.
It shows that they remain firmly rooted in our community and they always seem to seize every opportunity to engage with their constituents, not just at official public meetings but where they live.
Ruth, Kay and Cindy are very responsive. A few years ago, when I had an issue with a nursing home problem, I called Ruth Balser, and Ruth took the lead in creating new legislation to protect nursing home residents. Both Cindy and Kay supported the bill and worked to make it pass. You can read about it at sallys-law.org but it all started from me calling Ruth’s office with a concern, and Ruth listening, and then researching my issue.
Ruth, Kay, and Cindy have been great advocates for public education over many years. Newton is fortunate to have two representatives and a state senator with whom we can find common ground when discussing upcoming legislation related to public education. They are always open to meeting with Newton school teachers and staff about issues of concern to us.
As for the question posed at the top of this thread: I see them everywhere. I even had a conversation with Kay in the Natick Mall just last week!
Kay and Ruth and Cindy are extremely responsive and always accessible. We may disagree on some issues, but have always tried to maintain a good working relationship, good communication and a level of respect because we all want to do what is best for our constituents.
Please note: Kay’s last name is spelled: Khan not Kahn.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
@amysAngola – thanks. That’s about the 5th time i’ve publicly made that same mistake. #slowlearner
Agree with all of the above.
Who is John Galt, I mean Lawn?
@Jerry. I made the same mistake with Kay’s last name, but at least i caught myself before writing Ruth’s last name as Balsar as I sometimes have. Why do I think an a belongs where the e currently resides. Maybe there’s something in a dark recess of our Irish minds
@(G)Jerry: very funny. Happy New Year!
John Lawn represents 2 precincts in Ward 1, so just a tiny slice of Newton. I can attest from my day job advocating for clean energy and environmental policy that Sen. Creem, Rep. Balser and Rep. Khan are champions of clean air, clean water and mitigating climate change. In fact this coming session Rep. Khan is going to be filing a bill to increase our state’s “Renewable Portfolio Standard” which is how much renewable energy our electric utilities are required to purchase. Senator Creem has been a leader particularly on maintaining our strong solar policies. And Rep. Balser is the lead in the House for the Public Lands Protection Act which would ensure no net loss of protected natural resource (“Article 97”) lands. All 3 are responsive and make time for constituents. They also hired terrific staffers. Newton is lucky to have them and they deserve the raise, and more.
Newton is very fortunate to have terrific representation at the state level. Ruth Balser in particular is an outstanding Rep. But the issue of whether or not these folks deserve a raise is an entirely different story…
Much has been made in recent times about the effect on our democracy of alleged Russian hacking during the presidential election. But what are we to do when our own elected representatives deliberately undermine implementation of a legally binding ballot box vote?
Last week the Massachusetts Legislature did exactly that when they rushed through their first piece of legislation designed to derail Proposition 4, the ballot initiative that legalized marijuana in Massachusetts. Secretly, under cover of night, key legislators conspired with Governor Baker to keep Prop 4 from becoming law. This usurpation of democracy underscores the need for criminal penalties to combat public officials who interfere with election results…
Do they deserve a raise? Some of them do. But the legislators who voted to undermine our election results deserve to go to prison.
Happy New Year-
Let’s get right to it.
Going to have to disagree with you Jane Franz. While there may be “anecdotes” about Cindy Creem’s “advocacy for public education,” i can vividly recall the phone conversation i had with her about her support for the Avalon Bay housing ghetto on Needham St many years ago. Avalon Bay’s affect on the nearby Countryside school, and Creem’s support for former Alderman Christine Snow Samuelson, who along with CURRENT NHNAC PRESIDENT Sjdian Nedelkovic, were ardent, unapologetic supporters of Avalon Bay adding 24 additional students to the school without the space nor resources to do so. These issues didn’t seem to bother Ms. Creem one bit, nor did appearing in ribbon cutting ceremonies with Ndelkovic, Samuelson and current zoning board member, (and Avalon Bay executive) – William McGlaughlin.)
Despite Creem’s “hands on” role in historically endorsing, contributing to and appearing on behalf of Newton Democratic City Committee endorsed school committee candidates,
Ms. Creem insisted to me that school population and allocation of school resources were “local issues”, in other words, she pulled a “Kaepernick”and took a knee, or a “powder” as i like to say. Its just sounds better to my ears. Appearing in photos with large scale developers and politicians, and supporting the overcrowding of a local school with no additional resources is okay. Advocating for the children who will go to that school? Not so much.
I’m one of those foolish people that actually reads the “time in session” updates in the TAB, and
i gotta say, for a group of folks that just got a 4 percent raise, (“right wing” Gov Charlie Baker isn’t taking his raise, something about declining state revenues) there doesn’t seem to be a lot of face time or showing up at the state house among any of our state reps. I’m aware that much of their work occurs outside the state house, however, i would not be adverse to our elected state officials being required to provide logs of their coming and goings, both inside and outside of their districts. the records would prove instructive. I have personally seen all three of our legislative leaders appearing on behalf of local, state and national politicians all over the country, presumably on our dime.
@Bob Burke- yes, Balser, Khan and probably even Creem have been steadfast mental health advocates, as someone who has personally dealt with people near and dear to me with catastrophic mental health issues
i get it. Here’s the problem: Our representatives are elected to represent ALL of their constituency, not just Democrats, and not just the issues the 3 see fit to spend their time on.
It is time to get some young blood and differing opinions into these legislative jobs to be sure all of Newton is being represented. On another note, Bob, since you claim that the times have changed at the NHNAC, even though its leadership hasn’t, i am hopeful that the NHNAC, Sjdjian Ndelkovic and possibly even Ms. Creem will insist that school age children moving into the hundreds of apartments that are slated to be built on Needham and Oak Streets be redistricted into the brand new multimillion dollars schools that have and are being built in Waban and Newtonville.
Chin up everyone!!
Incidentally, legislators in neighboring NH are paid $100.00 a year and they finish their work in 1/2 the time that our politicians do here in Mass. None of the late night, end of session, 11th hour, under the cover of dark nonsense that is the standard operating procedure at our state house….
They certainly deserve the raise as full time legislators. All 3 put in the time and effort, for sure. With that salary it is certainly a public service labor of commitment.
NH has a totally different structure. It’s apples and oranges. Totally different discussion.
I never rely on anecdotes. Not sure where that came from. Responding to requests to meet with constiuents? High on my list. Voting for bills that support public education – it’s the #1 reason why I vote for or against a candidate at the local and state level.
@Paul I agree that our state legislators, AND executive branch, should be subject to the Open Meeting Law just as the Newton City Council and other municipal elected officials are.
This morning on Facebook, Congressman Seth Moulton’s “Year in Review” popped up. In a short but efficient 33-second video, he was able to clearly convey to his constituents what he accomplished. In my opinion, all elected public officials ought to do yearly reviews as doing so is a good exercise of self-reflection that allows everyone to determine how effective the public official at hand really is. Every single legislator and nearly all humans in general advocate for one issue or another. The real question that we should lead with – and require proof of – is: what did you accomplish on our behalf? If an elected official can’t immediately and persuasively answer this question at the end of each year, it’s time for him or her to move on as there is always someone else who could do the job better. This point applies to officials at all levels of government.
@Paul. I think you are mistaken if you imply that I was criticizing members of the Newton Highlands Area Council who served before I was first elected five or so years ago. You could get a full list of accomplishments before my time from Rodney Barker, who was an original member of the Council in 1974 and still a member in good standing. My point was that the Area Council has now become more fully engaged on several issues involving the state or the City of Newton that impact on the Highlands and the people that live here. I think we provide a real service to the people of Newton Highlands by doing so whether or not we succeed in winning over either the city or state to our position.
I assume that many if not most of the elementary age kids in the proposed development would wind up at either Angier or Zervas. I just don’t know how this would get sorted out in terms of capacity there and at the Morningside. You seem to imply that our area council was a big supporter of a completely new and expanded Zervas School. That’s not so. Just about every members of the Highlands and Upper Falls area councils advocated for construction of a 17th elementary school in Upper Falls balanced by a much smaller reconstruction of Zervas School . I won’t rehash the pros and cons of our position, just to put on the record what our position actually was.
@Bob Burke
Not for a moment did i believe you were criticizing the NHNAC. I understood you to be saying that the times have changed, and that perhaps i should be more open to believing that the NHNAC is working to benefit all areas of the “Highlands”, and the city of Newton. Perhaps Rodney can bring you up to speed, but the NHNAC and its members that i have observed over many years have been proactively engaged and active for as long as i can remember,(1998-2000?) sometimes aggressively so, even in parts of the city not within the purview of the NHNAC. I suspect that is one reason why there has been push back from the Charter Commission and other residents with concerns about area councils and their balkanization of Newton. The tacit, sometimes unspoken symbiosis
between the NHNAC and the Waban Area Council(or is it Waban Improvement Society?) is a good example of this. These small groups of like-minded residents act in concert to discourage, delay and deny what they don’t want in their own areas;(see also NIMBYS) affordable housing for example, while simultaneously promoting unnecessarily
restrictive historical districts, and expanding their service areas and resident numbers well beyond the possible reach of their humble memberships. The city planning department needs to create real ward maps with boundary edges to discourage the freelance governing by small groups of residents elected by a tiny fraction of the city population who act with self developed mandates, mostly in self interest. I have a letter to the editor that i held so it wouldn’t get lost among the “cognitive dissonance” of the city wide area council debate. Maybe i’ll drop that at some point. Most people aren’t paying attention, and most people couldn’t give a darn, they will do what their neighbors or PTO tell them to do anyway.
@Jane Franz-
With all due respect, voting for bills that support public education is a no-brainer. In fact, it would be political suicide for ANY elected official in Newton to NOT vote for EVERY bill supporting public education. Putting pen to paper and assembling a group of like-minded people in an echo chamber is very different than advocating for the children of your constituents IN YOUR OWN CITY & DISTRICT!!!! – as well as state wide. Hiding behind 40B laws alongside developers and realtors is hardly courageous. Who hasn’t heard the expression that “all politics is local”? This nonsense has never happened in Waban or the other monied parts of Newton and it never will thanks to neighborhood area councils and NIMBYS like the Newton Villages Alliance…
@Charlie Shapiro-
The devil is always in the details isn’t it? A sinecure is a sinecure is a sinecure….
Any conversation about legislative pay raises must also, in the spirit of full disclosure,
detail the real compensation numbers. Aren’t Mass legislators paid a per diem and aren’t they entitled to free, secure parking underneath the state house? What is the value of those perks? It costs about $30.00 – $45.00 a day to park near the state house. How about the heads of committee pay? I currently pay close to $2,000.00 monthly for our family medical premium. Dental, vision, medications and co-pays are not included in that nut. What is the cost per-legislator for the
quality medical coverage they are entitled to? Does that coverage follow them into their non-public service days? If so, how much follows them and for how long?
Lets remember these people aren’t forced to serve in office, they choose to.
The raise could be 1 percent or ten percent, it is the optics that matter. Why try to justify any pay raise while there are constituents of yours that are hurting?
There is no doubt that legislators that take the pay raise MUST TAKE OWNERSHIP OF IT.
Constituents must be willing to ask these pols how they can carp about
“declining state revenues” on one hand, while taking a pay raise with the other.
Please excuse the typos, run on sentences, incorrect spellings etc. I imagine you will all get my drift.
Paul – Yup, Kay, Ruth, and Cindy make my votes for state legislators very easy.
Jane-
Just a thought….
It may be a day late and a dollar short, but there is probably still time for you to nominate Ms. Creem for
this year’s annual JFK Profiles In Courage Award. The whole affair is a real classy, nice event. I think when you are nominated they throw in breakfast also.
I’ll get you a nice big color blowup from the NHNAC website of the ribbon cutting ceremony that shows Creem with her hardhat tilted to the side, just like the big boys wear ’em, right next
to Avalon Bay exec Bill Mcglaughlin.
We’ll get it framed up nice so it will take pride of place on your favorite public education advocates office wall.
I would suggest something pithy for the header. Something along the lines of “Real supporters of public education
“Stand” for developers, and education PAC’S, not school children.”
Would that work?
W
@Paul green – ding, ding, ding congratulations as the winner of this week’s Village14 Snark Of The Week award.
@Paul: We get it: You opposed the Avalon Bay project at the time as well as the approval process, the result and everybody and any civic body that allowed it to happen. But really, this was, what, a decade ago? Longer? Don’t you think there’s a time too move on, if for no other reason than to manage your own blood pressure levels?
Thanks for your concern Greg.
Blood pressure levels are good thanks to diet and exercise- they really do work miracles. Happy New Year
What can i say Jerry?
In a few short years your beloved Upper Falls ” village” will be completely transformed into one big residential/shopping mecca. Kind of like route 9 Natick. You’ll probably need to
get a bigger table for the feast of the Falls. Enjoy all the new neighbors, traffic and shopportunities!!
Paul – I’ve been deeply involved in the Newton Public Schools for 30 years and public education for 43 years. I know who’s with us and who’s not through my work and my close contact with a wide swath of people who play a role in improving schools in 2017. However, you’ll rarely find me at an “event”. Not my thing.
I had a little tiff with the city about 10 years ago about an expensive building project. Not only do I currently work in that building with a great group of students and staff, in the intervening years I’ve worked collaboratively with the same people who were on the other side of that issue. In my experience, it’s best to move on with life.