Hello Westfield and Happy New Year! Hope you all got through this week’s “bomb cyclone” okay. The weather has been pretty nasty, but that hasn’t stopped my busy schedule this week.
I started the week on Tuesday with the inauguration of the Westfield City Government. It was a wonderful ceremony and a great reminder of how important our local government truly is. I consider it one of my core duties to stay updated on city matters and the work that goes on in our City Hall. Cooperation between all levels of government is essential to running an efficient operation, and I make sure that I am always available to all our City officials for any issue that may require state involvement. Our community is best served when state, local, and federal officials are working in tandem, and I’m happy to have such a great working relationship with those in City Hall. Again, congratulations to all who were sworn in, and I look forward to continuing to work with each and every one of you in the coming years.
On Wednesday, the House officially reconvened for the 2018 session. It’s exciting to be back to work after the holidays and I am looking forward to a very busy session. Thankfully, Massachusetts is one of the few states that has a 2-year long session, so all of the progress made by bills last year will continue until January 2019. There are lots of issues on our agenda, many of which I have talked about before, including criminal justice reform and the 2019 State budget. In addition, I’m hoping that we will be able to pass some key legislation regarding wiretap reform and online retaliation by ex-partners after a break-up. I will also continue to push for several of my own bills, and would love to hear from you if there are any priorities that you have regarding state legislation, as well. I always love to hear what my constituents are thinking and feeling, so please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Finally, I ended my week on Friday with a very important meeting between legislators and administration at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. I know people often hear reports about the operations at the Soldiers’ Home, so it was nice to be able to have a constructive dialogue about the goings on at the Home. The meeting was extremely productive, and I was impressed with many of the things that the staff had to say about the direction of the institution. Although the Soliders’ Home isn’t in my district, all my Western Mass colleagues and myself take great interest in making sure that the Home is well represented. Many of our constituents are housed there, and as Veterans, it is our duty to make sure that they are receiving the best care possible. I am looking forward to working with them as the year goes on to make sure they have all the resources necessary to continue caring for some of our most important citizens.
That’s it for this week. I will be at Army Drill this weekend, but will be back in action on Monday. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or issues. We can be reached at [email protected] or (413) 572-3920. Have a great weekend!
