More than 100 passionate Marblehead democrats gathered to hear speakers from all corners of government for the annual Marblehead Democratic Town Committee picnic Monday evening.
Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll said that grassroots groups, such as the Marblehead Democratic Town Committee, “really help inform how we set policy, how people are impacted on the ground.”
She added that it is also a great way for her to hear issues that “people really care about.” Adding, it is also important to be able to share what the state is working on and how “our vision for Massachusetts is aligned with the views here and ways that we can work together to strengthen communities, build a strong economy, and support infrastructure needs within individual communities or collectives.”
Driscoll touched on 3A, which requires communities like Marblehead to zone for multi-family housing near transit hubs to address the housing shortage.
During her speaking portion of the evening, she stated that one of the most common things she hears is that people cannot afford their rents or mortgages and that it is hard to even begin to find housing.
“I want you to know the number one issue right here in every community I’m in is that housing is too expensive,” she said.
Driscoll said that because younger generations left college with debt and the housing is unaffordable for what most people are making right now, “this might be the first generation to do worse than their parents, and I am not okay with that, and that means each of us need to dig in a little bit more.”
Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin spoke about a new petition he introduced which, if it gains the 75,000 signatures by November, would allow same day voter registration. This means people can register to vote right at the polling location and vote right after.
He said 20 states have already adopted this provision.
Galvin stated that this would prevent a lot of the work that goes on behind the scenes on Election Day, “where clerks start spending the whole day trying to prove where these people are not registered.”
He said adopting the reform would relieve local officials of this administrative burden. Adding that this would make it easier for people to honor their right to vote.
Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker touched on how standing up for what is right and leading with kindness keeps communities safer.
He said it is important to stand-up for everyone in the community, “Our transgender folks are not a large group, but if we don’t stand up for them, then who do we stand up for?”
Tucker emphasized that as a district attorney his job is “making sure that communities are safe because healthy communities are safe communities.”
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio said that she will be supporting the public records reform ballot question which would make records held by the state legislature and the governor’s office public records.
“I see the reports about how we’re actually ranked as the least transparent state government in the entire nation,” she said. “Massachusetts, where we lead on all these other areas.
“That’s not the Democratic Party that I know, that I love and that has mentored me and helped me to become the person I am today. We are transparent. We fight for accessibility. We fight for accountability. We care about equity.”
Essex county sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger detailed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) have been operating in local communities.
Coppinger said that when President Donald Trump was sworn in in January, he started to get some “pressure from ICE” and some calls from Washington asking him and his staff to join 287G program. The program authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight, according to the U.S immigration and customs enforcement website.
“And to that I said no,” Coppinger said.
He also stated his opinion on the Presidential administration sending the National Guard to cities.
“That scares the living Jesus out of me,” he said. “You have to have local law enforcement to keep that division, keep that transparency, to keep that separation from a national police force.
“I got to tell you, the last thing we want is the National Guard coming in control our cities and towns,” Coppinger said.
State Rep. Jenny Armini said that people must fight against the normalization of unjust policies.
“Break the social taboo of not talking about politics at the dinner table. Talk up politics. Don’t shy away from it, fight normalization,” she said.
She ended the evening on a quote once spoken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope and the path of love toward our fellow man.
“That is the Massachusetts way,” she said.
