Will the Massachusetts legislature act with boldness to address climate change? As the two-year legislative session comes to a close on July 31st, we will soon find out. As chair of the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means, Jamaica Plain Representative Jeffrey Sánchez is one of the most powerful politicians in the Commonwealth. In this role he will have a lot of influence over what happens. Massachusetts has long been considered a leader when it comes to climate change legislation.
State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez recently sat down with Jamaica Plain News to talk about a range of topics -- how his mother inspired him, his proudest moments as a legislator, his Democratic opponent this fall, chairing the House Committee of Ways and Means and more. Rep. Sanchez, D-15th Suffolk, was first elected in 2003, and was named chairman of the House Committee of Ways and Means in 2017. He is being challenged by Democrat Nika Elugardo this September. The following is a condensed transcript of Jamaica Plain News' interview with Rep. Sanchez. Q: When someone thinks of State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez – what do you want them to think of?
On the 11th hour of the 11th day in the last month of the legislative term, senior staff representing six of the most prominent and active climate advocacy organizations along with constituents delivered a joint letter to House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jeffrey Sanchez, D-15th Suffolk, asking him to move forward clean energy legislation. The organization particularly want House Bill 4575 and House Bill 2913, which would increase the rate of renewable energy required by utilities to produce (also known as the Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS) and codify environmental justice into law, respectively. The organizations present included the Massachusetts Sierra Club, 350 Mass Action, Clean Water Action, Toxics Action Center Campaigns, Environment Massachusetts, and ELM Action Fund. “As a climate justice advocate, I know that time is of the essence. Our communities can’t wait till next session.
Following a landmark 35-0 vote, the Massachusetts Senate passed a comprehensive climate bill on June 14 aimed to “promote a clean energy future.” Now the bill’s future lies in the hands of the Massachusetts House. The legislative session, and the bill’s chances for passage, end on July 31. Motivated by a sense of urgency for the Senate bill to pass the House before the current legislative session ends, local environmental activist groups Jamaica Plain Forum and 350 MA-Boston Node are organizing a Town Hall Forum with state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez, D-15th Suffolk, who also chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means. Taking place at Unitarian Universalist Church on Eliot Street this Thursday, July 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm the town hall will aim to address Rep. Sánchez’s views on the MA Senate Climate Bill and his plans to get a MA House version passed before July 31. The bill includes two key provisions which will be a center of discussion at the Town Hall and are supported by organizers, and the JP-based group Boston Climate Action Network:
Raising the minimum amount of local renewable energy that Massachusetts utilities and competitive suppliers have to provide by three percent each year.
State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez and his Democratic Nika Elugardo faced off against each other in a candidate forum on Monday night. This is an unedited video of Monday night's forum hosted by JP Progressives, Our Revolution Boston, NAACP Boston and Amplify LatinX. The forum begins at the 17:30 mark with Elugardo first introducing herself. The two Democrats will face each other in September for the 15th Suffolk District seat.
The Massachusetts Legislature is poised to Lift the Cap on Kids (i.e., repeal the welfare family cap) through a provision in the FY19 budget – thanks in no small part to the leadership of Jamaica Plain’s own state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The family cap denies welfare assistance to 8,700 children across the state simply because they were conceived after their families got assistance. Without the $100/month increment they would otherwise have gotten for these children, families struggle to provide basic necessities like diapers, clothes, and healthy food. As a social worker working with low-income Boston families since 1995 – the same year Massachusetts adopted the family cap rule – I have seen the harm to children caused by this type of deprivation. I am grateful to state Rep. Sanchez -- as well as to state Rep. Liz Malia -- for taking action to end this cruel law.
This September incumbent state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez is being challenged by fellow Democrat Nika Elugardo, who wants to unseat him at the state representative for the 15th Suffolk District. Not sure who you're going to vote for? Then you should attend the July 9th candidate forum with both candidates. The forum is being hosted by JP Progressives, Our Revolution Boston, NAACP Boston and Amplify LatinX. In 2017, Sanchez's political profile was raised after he was selected to chair the House's Ways and Means Committee, which is a powerful committee.
Sexual violence among students impacts 1 in 4 women and 1 in 16 men (1). These numbers are staggering and overwhelming, but it is important, not to become numb to those numbers, and to remember that they impact the people all around us. With upwards of 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students living in Jamaica Plain, studying across different universities, this problem is particularly critical for our community. Setting the rate of prevalence against the student population of our neighborhood, we can estimate that of the 4,000 current students living in our community, 625 of our community members will be sexually assaulted during their time in college. This number is appalling, but to most college students, it is tragically unsurprising.
Boston has an additional $20 million this year to fund affordable housing, parks, open space and historic preservation thanks to the Community Preservation Act. On April 3rd, the Jamaica Plain community is invited to a public forum to share their ideas on how to spend that money. The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) organized and will lead the forum with a host of elected officials sponsoring the event and local organizations as co-sponsors. Boston adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA) by voting in support of it in November 2016. More than 170 Massachusetts municipalities have adopted the CPA, according to the Community Preservation Coalition.
Nika Elugardo has had an impressive career so far. She was a senior policy advisor to state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, founded departments at the Emmanuel Gospel Center to provide education, youth violence prevention and anti-trafficking and more. Her next career move is challenging state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez for the 15th Suffolk/Norfolk District seat. “It’s been an incredible honor to see how our message of opportunity, prosperity, and justice for all has been met with such enthusiasm in the community, especially as we move toward our official kickoff,” said Elugardo via press release. “It’s time to bring the power and voice of the people back to the State House.” Elugardo's kickoff party is this Thursday (March 29th) at the Frogmore restaurant starting at 6 pm.
