Well, congratulations. We survived the Mayan Apocalypse. Now let’s see if we can keep from going over the Fiscal Cliff. But first we need to deal with the heavy, wet snow. Nice of it to wait to fall until December this year rather than coming in October like it did last year.
Legislators, Mayors, DPW Directors, all hate snow and ice storms. Snowstorms drain snow removal budgets. Duh! So far this season has been a good one. But more events like that and we could be in trouble.
By Massachusetts law snow removal is one of the very few areas where towns are allowed to deficit spend. The game that is played at the state level every year, unfortunately, is that the Governor and Legislature underfund the snow removal budget to keep the bottom line of the budget down knowing they will have to pass supplemental budgets later to pay the contractors for the winter cleanup. Sometimes, those plow operators don’t get paid until August for the work they did the winter before.
A better, more honest way to craft the budget with respect to paying for ice and snow removal each year would be to take a three year average of the state’s costs for snow cleanup. I look forward to the day we do it that way but I am not holding my breath.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I sure did. My wife and I took Quinn to candlelight service at our church on Christmas Eve. We celebrated the special day with our son and watched his first time opening presents. Then we visited Janice’s family in Eastern Massachusetts. Quinn got his first haircut. It was a magical day all around.
I would like to thank the staff of Amelia Park Ice Arena, the beneficent donors who helped sponsor the event, and all the families who came to my annual free skate last Sunday. The generosity of the skaters was evident. They donated 129 pounds of non-perishable food that we delivered to the Greater Westfield Food Bank on Monday.
It never ceases to amaze me that even in the midst of a weak economy with high unemployment and higher under-employment people continue to be so generous with their cash, their time, or their donations of food for those less fortunate than themselves.
My Chief of Staff, Maura Cassin, and I volunteered a couple hours to ring the bells for the Salvation Army at the Bon Ton the week before Christmas and many people pitched in to fill the kettle. Maura and I even sang Christmas carols to “entertain” the shoppers.
Perhaps it is experiences like this that have helped shape my political philosophy over the years. I have always had a lot of faith in the charity of the American people. Governments can try to help people, and they do, certainly, but the power of the individual to aid his fellow man is indomitable. Government programs eventually fail; they collapse under the weight of their own bureaucracies. But a neighbor helping a neighbor or a community helping another community, as happens so often in America, is an awesome thing to behold.
Two people I had the good fortune of knowing and working closely with over the years as they generously gave back to their communities were Barbara Swords and Brian Lees.
Barbara Swords passed away this week. She served Westfield on the City Council and in countless other organizations. She was tenacious, outspoken, a vocal advocate for the causes she believed in. And even when we didn’t always agree she was always a gentlewoman. She will be missed. My condolences to her family.
Brian Lees represented his district in the Massachusetts Senate and was the Senate Republican Leader. He went on to serve six years as the Hampden County Clerk of Courts. He could also be seen as a political commentator on Channel 40. He is retiring from public office for the time being to pursue other interests. I enjoyed working with Brian and learned a great deal from him. I wish him well in his new career.
The new year begins next week. And the new legislative session starts on January 2 at the State House when the Governor will swear in the House and Senate in separate ceremonies Wednesday morning. Then legislators will vote to elect the Speaker of the House and the Senate President before getting down to business.
President Obama named Massachusetts Senator John Kerry as his nominee for US Secretary of State. If he is confirmed by the United States Senate, which seems likely, it will set in motion another candidate shuffle that will lead to another special election in the Bay State for a US Senator. Names are already being ruled in and out for contention. One fascinating scenario has it that current outgoing Senator Scott Brown runs for re-election, wins, and again serves as the junior senator this time to Senator Elizabeth Warren who beat him for the seat in November but has far less seniority and experience in the body than Brown has. Even if Scott wins, he will have to run for re-election to the position two years later meaning he will have run for election or re-election four times in as many years. That’s incredible.
Undoubtedly, 2013 will hold its share of challenges and rewards for us all.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Maura Cassin may be reached at their Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, (413) 568-1366.
Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803.
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.DonHumason.org
