LOCATION (Zoom)
Members Present: John Mahoney, Nancy Morgan, Josh Turiel, Lauren Noyes, Linda Stark, Lindsay Morsillo, Maile Black, Marsha Finkelstein*, Meg Riccardi, Nancy Anderson, Paul Tucker, Rob Bonney, Rod Kessler, Shey Jaboin, Tyler Carlton*, Phil Kelley, Chris Malstrom, Lois Sargent, Alice Merkl, Bonnie Baine, Debbie Everett, Elizabeth Bradt, Jeff Cohen, Jim Mulloy, James Willis, Chris Fuccione, Lori Stewart, Marilyn Hazel*, Michael Cusick, Diane Fawley, Erin O’Conner, Jerry Judge, Matt Crescenzo, Elaine Milo Guests: Joan Lovely, Julie Curtis*, Arthur Powell*, Nicole Kanner, Jodi Adams, Mike Firestone, Sarah Mamlet, Ella McDonald Recorder: Chris Malstrom* denotes State Committee Members
Call to order at [7:05PM]
Welcome and Introductions
Chris Malstrom welcomes everyone and reiterates the policy of only speaking when called upon by the Chair during discussion so as to best hear everyone’s questions/thoughts/opinions. Takes a few minutes to introduce himself to the committee for anyone who hasn’t had a chance to interact with and get a chance to know him outside of zoom meetings. Speaks on his experience before joining the SalemDems working in the restaurant industry managing teams of people and how the 2016 election snapped him out of a career-focused mindset and made him want to invest more heavily in political action and participation in his local community. He mentions how his ties to the restaurant industry, both past and current, are why he asked our guest speakers from Mass Restaurants United to join us and speak on the current crisis in the industry as a result of COVID-19.
Old Business
Update from Rep Paul Tucker re: Act on Mass campaign:
Ella McDonald and Sarah Malmet from Act on Mass give a brief refresher to the committee about their Transparency is Power campaign and the rule changes they are asking reps to support in the name of greater transparency.
Rep Paul Tucker thanks everyone for their input and feedback over the past few weeks regarding this issue and thanks the committee for the opportunity to speak on this and other topics of concern to his constituents.
In regards to the Transparency is Power campaign, Rep Tucker affirms his support for the first rule change proposed by Act on Mass requiring that all committee votes in the House be made publicly available. He poses that while he doesn’t believe there are many committee chairs who wouldn’t release votes to a member of the public if asked, he also doesn’t see any reason why these votes shouldn’t already be made public as a matter of greater access to MA residents.
For the second (All bills made public 72 hours before vote) and third (threshold for a vote to be publicly recorded changed from 16 to 8) rule changes, he expresses a desire to follow up more thoroughly with other reps on the matter. He is hesitant to endorse these rule changes until he has a better understanding of why the current thresholds are in place. He also doesn’t feel, based on his experience, that much would be gained from the third rule change that is already capable of being accomplished.
He then takes a few moments to speak on other legislative priorities and victories over the past year including, the ROE Act, COVID relief aid and the Climate Bill.
Review of Meeting Minutes
Review of previous minutes.
MOTION to approve minutes for (11/17/2020): Marsha Finkelstein
Seconded: Lauren Noyes
Discussion:
Outcome: Approved
Officer Elections
Vice Chair election:
Chris Malstrom opens the floor to nominations for Vice Chair.
Lori Stewart of Ward 3 is nominated by Debbie Everett. The nomination is seconded by Rod Kessler. Lori accepts the nomination and no other nominations are put forward. James Willis motions to close nominations and it is seconded by Marsha Finkelstein. Lori speaks on her experience as Ward 3 Chair and a member of the League of Women Voters. Chris Malstrom takes a vote and Lori Stewart is unanimously elected as Vice Chair.
Secretary Election:
Chris Malstrom opens the floor to nominations for Secretary.
Elizabeth Bradt nominates Bonnie Bain to be Secretary. Unfortunately, Bonnie hasn’t been reelected as a member of Ward 5 since moving there from Ward 1 and subsequently cannot hold the position at the moment. No other nominations are put forward. Chris Fuccione motions that we postpone the Secretary election until next month and have a Ward 5 meeting in the intervening weeks to make Bonnie a full member again. The motion is seconded by lauren Noyes who agrees that there is a need for a Ward 5 meeting soon. Discussion yields a general consensus for this outcome and Chris Malstrom takes a vote. The committee votes unanimously to table the Secretary election until the February meeting after a Ward 5 meeting takes place.
New Business
Guest Speakers:
Mass Restaurants United - Jody Adams(Porto, Trade, Saloniki Greek), Nicole Kanner(All Heart PR) and Mike Firestone
The group speaks on the current crisis the restaurant industry is facing with a number of small, independent restaurants closing either temporarily or permanently due to financial hardship and current uncertainty of the future. They make a point to mention how it isn’t important just to open restaurants back up, but also to provide restaurants with financial aid to weather this crisis because normal restaurant customers are less willing to patronize these establishments during an ongoing pandemic. They point out the work currently being done to include restaurant relief in the COVID relief bill that will be voted on in the next day and thank Rep Tucker and Sen Lovely for their ongoing support in this effort. They encourage everyone to support their local restaurants during the pandemic by supporting takeout and delivery (directly through restaurants instead of apps like ubereats) and by purchasing gift cards to use when dining indoors (or outdoors) is an option again. Follow them on social media as they are active on twitter, facebook and instagram, and they can be contacted directly via email with any questions or to refer anyone who may wish to join. They can also be reached individually with emails for Jodi Adams, Nicole Kanner and Mike Firestone.
Discussion of recent Boston Globe article about upcoming optional pay raises for legislature
Chris gives a presentation on the aforementioned Boston Globe Article to summarize the premise and information provided within for the committee. The committee engages in a general discussion of the issue, indicating a general consensus that the base pay rate for legislators in Mass is low in comparison for the amount of work many of them do for their constituents. However, there is a consensus formed around the question of how effective the additional stipends are at fairly compensating Reps and Senators across the board. For their part, both Rep Tucker and Sen Lovely indicate a desire to pass along any raise in base salary they may see this year to local charities in order to help support the community. They believe that would be a more effective use of the funds than just turning it down outright because they can then target that money more specifically to those in need, and agree that there should be some scrutiny when legislative raises are considered during times of financial hardship for the commonwealth.
Announcements (Open Floor)
Chris Malstrom announces the creation of a Slack account for the SalemDems and encourages everyone to join and participate in more active political discussion and planning. Lauren Noyes shares the link in the chat and Chris Malstrom commits to sharing a sign up link in the follow up email to the meeting.
MOTION to adjourn made at [9:05]: James Willis
Seconded:. Chris Fuccione
Discussion: none
Outcome: Meeting adjourned
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