Elections

Walsh Confirmed Secretary of Labor; Janey Now Acting Mayor

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Marty Walsh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the secretary of the Labor Department on Monday afternoon, leaving Boston City Council President Kim Janey as the acting mayor. Walsh was confirmed on Monday afternoon, and shortly thereafter resigned as mayor of Boston, held a press conference and posted a video. Boston, serving as your Mayor for seven years has been a dream come true for this child of immigrants born and raised in our city. Thank you for everything. pic.twitter.com/fcKsaIk2Zd
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) March 22, 2021

Walsh also congratulated Janey, who has not announced her intentions of whether to run for mayor this fall.

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Franklin Park

Franklin Park Action Plan Presentation on March 10; Kite Festival Not Being Planned

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For the last two years input from hundreds of Franklin Park users has been gathered through surveys, visions sessions, and more to create a master plan to be used to make the park better for everyone who uses it. The Franklin Park Master Plan team will present a draft Action Plan on March 10, with two identical virtual presentations to accommodate people's different schedules at noon and at 6:30 pm. The city earmarked $28 million in 2019 to remake the park, with $5 million of that to create a maintenance endowment for Franklin Park. City planners worked with landscape architects, planners, ecologists, community engagement experts to create a community driven plan. Planners will share a preview of preliminary design ideas for Franklin Park and there will be opportunities for feedback.

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Ayanna Pressley

Congresswoman Pressley Files Legislation to Lower Voting Age

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Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley reintroduced legislation to lower the national voting age from 18 to 16 years old. “A sixteen-year-old in 2021 possesses a wisdom and a maturity that comes from 2021 challenges, 2021 hardships, and 2021 threats,” said Pressley (D-7th).“Now is the time for us to demonstrate the courage that matches the challenges of the modern-day sixteen and seventeen-year-old. My amendment with Congresswomen [Grace] Meng and [Jan] Schakowsky would lower the voting age for federal elections from eighteen to sixteen years of age, and allow young people to have a say in our federal elections and the policies that impact their lives today and will shape the nation in their lifetime.”

Pressley pointed out that many states, including Massachusetts allows 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote so they can vote on their 18th birthday. Pressley first introduced the legislation in March 2019.

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Coronavirus

Chang-Díaz Implores Citizens to Cosponsor Vaccine Equity Act

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106 and counting. That's how many citizens, so far, have signed on as cosponsors to the Vaccine Equity Act after state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz implored people to do so. Chang-Díaz (D-2nd Suffolk) is a lead sponsor of the bill with Sen. Becca Rausch. People of color account for 51 percent of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, but only 15 percent of those who’ve received vaccines to-date, according to statistics cited by Chang-Diaz. The bill would do the following things:

Require the governor to appoint a vaccine equity director whose sole focus is addressing vaccination disparities rooted in racism, government mistrust, and disparate access to information and resources
Require a robust outreach and communications campaign, both via mass media and direct grassroots tactics (like door-to-door canvassing), aimed at hardest-hit communities
Create a mobile vaccination program for communities with highest COVID rates
Expand Stop the Spread sites to all Gateway Cities
Require transparency about vaccine distribution and implementation plans, including tracking the 20 percent additional doses committed to most-vulnerable communities, the number of unused doses, and key demographic data on vaccinations

The coalition petition also asked Governor Charlie Baker to immediately direct $10 million to trusted community organizations for outreach and engagement in communities of color.

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