Lawmakers kick off new session
Massachusetts lawmakers kicked off the two-year session of the 192nd General Court in pandemic style on Wednesday morning with an outdoor swearing-in ceremony for 21 state senators, with leaders making a commitment to bipartisan rule.
“I take significant comfort and in some ways pride over the fact that the work of democracy here in commonwealth… has been borne out in a way that is consistent with both the oath that we all swear to serve the people and uphold the Constitution and the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth… and with a willingness to work together,” Gov. Charlie Baker told senators in the first of several swearing-in ceremonies he presided over.
The Republican governor’s comments resonated on a day when violence would later erupt in the nation’s politically polarized Capitol and as state legislative leaders made a commitment to bipartisanship.
“As we begin our work this Senate session, we do so against a backdrop of national hardship and those — they’re still out there — those that would seek to divide us along political, ideological or racial lines,” Senate President Karen Spilka said. “But at this crucial, precarious time, there is simply no room in government for ‘us’ against ‘them.’ Here in Massachusetts, at least, there is no ‘them,’ there is only ‘us.’ And we will all rise or fall together.”
The Ashland Democrat’s call for unity was echoed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, who said, “as we arrived in the chamber today, we arrived here not primarily as partisans, but as people who believe in the principles of democracy.”
In the state House of Representatives freshly minted Speaker Ronald Mariano sang a similar tune, making a commitment to diversity in the House, as it gets “closer and closer to a body that is more representative of all the people of Massachusetts.”
In both chambers of the Legislature, the upcoming agenda will be defined by the coronavirus pandemic that has upended life as usual in the commonwealth.
Mariano laid out his priorities, which he said will focus on vaccination efforts, supporting businesses and getting students back in to the classroom.
“We find ourselves in a moment of reckoning and before we can build a stronger Massachusetts, we must first meet the basic needs of each resident during this time of crisis,” the Quincy Democrat said.
Spilka also highlighted the pandemic and said that senators would “recommit ourselves to the hard work of ensuring racial justice and equity” in the new session.