Opinion

Letter: Elugardo Supports Transparency at State House, Malia Can Do More

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On Jan. 30th, the Massachusetts House voted against rules that would require the Speaker to give them enough time to read what they’re about to vote on and make the votes they take in committees publicly available. Despite how outrageous it is that the House would vote against these basic transparency measures, I’m thrilled that Jamaica Plain's new state representative, Rep. Nika Elugardo (D-15th Suffolk), is already proving herself an advocate for the people of our district when she stood up to leadership and voted in favor of transparency and accountability. However, my question remains: what was JP’s other representative (my representative), Rep. Liz Malia (D-11th Suffolk), thinking when she voted no? She voted against allowing reps ample time to read bills and amendments that they are voting on.

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Government

House Adopts Rep. Malia’s Amendment Addressing Transparency Gap; Says No to Speaker Term Limits

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While Massachusetts House of Representatives rejected several proposed amendment's to House rules that would've provided more transparency to the public, they did approve an amendment by state Rep. Liz Malia that does address a transparency gap. Malia's adopted amendment requires the clerk to make all bills on the House docket available on the Legislature's website, which was not the case before the bill. Currently, the text of bills is only posted once proposed bills have been assigned a number and referred to committee. "Based on my bill filing and co-sponsorship-request experience over the last few weeks, it became clear to me, my staff, my constituency and many advocates that it would be a much easier process if everyone can see the dockets on the MA Legislature’s website, instead of having to ask someone with access to LAWS to look up the docket to learn if a member has or has not signed on as a cosponsor to a legislative petition," said Malia via press release. "It’s a minor, clarifying fix to a distinct issue that I believe will go a long way in helping us ALL work smarter, not harder."

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Government

Sheroes at Doyle’s: Ayanna, Rollins, Nika, Malia, Chang-Diaz on Dec. 12

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The JP Progressives are hosting their annual fundraiser on Dec. 12 and it's going to feature several newly elected sheroes. "Our work this year was extensive, and we are proud of both the results that we helped achieve and the effort we put forward. We gathered signatures for ballot questions and candidates. We organized phone and text banks to elect progressive candidates to state and federal offices across the nation.

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Elections

Jamaica Plain Election Info: Candidates, Ballot Questions, Where to Vote and More

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Tuesday's Election Day is going to be extremely tame, at least in Massachusetts, compared to the fireworks of September's primaries, which already decided all of the major races. Not sure where you vote? Click here to find out where to vote. Races Already Decided

Jamaica Plain encompasses two congressional districts and there is only one candidate in the final of each. At-Large Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley is headed to Washington, DC after defeating 10-time incumbent Michael Capuano in the Democratic primary for the 7th District.

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