Historic place promotes public service
Until last week, I hadn’t been inside Gardner Auditorium at the State House in close to 40 years. Gardner Auditorium was the site of some of the most heated and largest public hearings in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Many world political, academic and civil rights leaders over the past couple of centuries would have boasted that they have given testimony on a wide range of issues at Gardner Auditorium.
In my own political experience, having the honor of being one of the earliest co-sponsors of the state’s first special needs and handicapped bills and testifying before the packed auditorium was the highlight of my life. I knew that if this bill were enacted into law, some of my neighbors’ children and Massachusetts citizens might have the opportunity to live a happy and productive life that they might not have had otherwise. I knew the physical and mental problems from family experience and through church, academic and neighborhood experiences while growing up and while attending graduate college.
Yes, I also experienced some painful and frustrating setbacks while testifying at Gardner Auditorium on behalf or in support of other major legislative matters, like trying to give poor public school parents better choices in determining where their children would attend school. Our failure that particular day at Gardner Auditorium resulted in thousands of great kids not receiving the education that they needed and to which they were entitled.
Those were thoughts that ran through my head while sitting in my wheelchair last week alongside my wife, Kathy, and son Eddie. The packed auditorium hosted a remarkable swearingin ceremony of recently elected state Sen. Nick Collins from South Boston, Dorchester, Hyde Park and Mattapan — a great diverse district with amazing elected colleagues. I watched how well each of the elected officials respected each other and how proud they all were of Nick Collins’ political victory. Several of them were so kind to come up to me and introduce themselves. Meeting them was an honor because I came away believing that they were sincere in wanting to work together to help their constituents. I have a message that I would like to share with the people who helped elect them. “You made a good choice. They will make mistakes, but stay in contact with them. I watched them and listened to them. They are good people who want to do the right thing for you.”
Leaving the historic Gardner Auditorium, a senior maintenance worker came up to me and said, “Mayor, you had to be very proud of the reception and standing ovation you received today. I haven’t seen that too many times around here.” I said, “I learned that political leaders have a lot of respect for public service. And so do the people.”