[MUSIC PLAYING]
I think we're ready to go.
So if it's OK with my co-chair here, Will, you ready to go?
Let's go.
All right, so we will bring this I believe
it's our seventh public hearing of the Committee
on Redistricting to order.
I'd like to thank all the people who have signed in
to either testify or to watch on this hearing
for the third congressional district.
I am representative Michael Moran.
I'm the House chair of the Redistricting Committee.
I am joined, as I said a few seconds ago, by my co-chair,
Senator Brownsberger.
We're going to go through some paperwork and protocol here
first.
I'm going to turn it over to my colleague from the Senate
to say a few words and introduce the senators who
are joined with us.
He will send it back to me.
I will introduce the House members.
We'll have a greeting from a gentleman from Lowell, Tom
Golden.
And then we will pass it off to our first person to testify,
Congresswoman Lori Trahan.
So at this point in time, I will turn it over
to Senator Brownsberger for some comments.
Senator Brownsberger?
Listen, thank you everybody for staying with us
through this process.
Looking forward to the witnesses tonight.
Looking forward to hearing from you, Congresswoman Trahan.
We're grateful for you for being with us.
Hey, I just want to flag, is the closed captioner properly
turned on?
The captioner is signaling that--
it said something in the chat.
I just think there may be--
it says, "Can I please be assigned to captioner,"
was the chat entry there.
OK, let me see if I can figure that out.
Caption writer, let me see if I--
All set.
Just assigned them.
OK, great.
All right, we're good to go, Mr. Chair.
Carry on.
All right, thank you, Senator.
I would like to start by introducing some
of my colleagues that are here.
The vice chair, the gentleman from Lawrence
living in this district actually is Marcos Devers.
Thank you, Marcos.
The gentleman from West Boylston, Jimmy O'Day is here.
Thank you, Jimmy.
The other gentleman from Lawrence,
gentlemen Frank Moran.
Thank you for being here.
All the way from Pittsfield, Tricia Farley-Bouvier
has joined us.
The gentleman from Haverhill, Andy Vargas,
another resident of this congressional district.
All the way from the Cape, Barnstable, Kip Diggs
Thank you, Kip, for joining us.
The ranking Republican on this committee
is the gentleman from Auburn, Paul Frost is here with us.
And another lady from Holden is here, Kim Ferguson.
Thank you, Kim for joining us.
And I saw that Senator Anne Gobi has joined us.
Thank you, Senator Gobi, for joining us.
So at this point in time, I'd like to introduce Tom Golden.
Tom is a division chair in the House,
and he represents Lowell.
He's represented them for a number of years.
And I would like to have him say a few words.
Representative Golden?
You there, Tom?
He texted me.
He said he's still trying to connect.
So we'll give him a few more minutes.
And if not, we can always come back to him.
So I would like to just say a few words
while Tommy's trying to get on.
This is our seventh hearing.
This committee actively encourages participation
in the redistricting process from federal, state,
and municipal officials, public interest groups,
and concerned citizens.
We're here to listen and learn.
And I want to thank the people for taking time out
of their busy schedules to testify here tonight.
Your words and your guidance are much needed in this process,
and thank you for joining us.
I will start the hearing by taking
our elected officials first because of their schedule.
After that, I will move through the people
that have signed up to testify through the internet.
If you are watching this and you feel
as if you'd like to testify, you're not too late.
You can go on our website, MAlegislature.gov,
and go through the redistricting portal.
And you can sign up to testify tonight if you haven't done so.
We do have a lot of people signed up here.
We have, I believe, we have 130 people signed up.
Something tells me that I think some of those people
thought they were signing up to watch and not testify.
So I am going to, like the first hearing we had,
call all of those people's names out.
And so it could get a little cumbersome, a little awkward
because I have to call all those people's names out.
Those of them that actually want to testify
will certainly be able to.
But those of them who simply just wanted
to watch and see how this process works
can just decide not to testify.
So I will go back to Tom Golden one more time
and see if he has been able to connect.
Tommy, are you still having problems?
All right, in the interest of time,
I will wait for Tommy to come and give those words
later in this hearing.
At this time, I'd like to call Congresswoman Trahan
and ask her to submit her testimony to us.
Congresswoman Trahan?
Well, thank you, Chairman Moran.
Chairman Brownsberger, vice chairs Devers and Gobi,
distinguished members of the Joint Committee.
I'm so grateful for your commitment
to transparency in this process and providing residents
of the third district, like myself, with the opportunity
to testify this evening.
Our democracy is strongest when everyone, regardless
of who they are, where they're from, or who they love
is included, heard, and, as we'll talk about during today's
hearing, represented.
Without that, we're unable to come together as a community,
as a commonwealth, and as a country
to make progress necessary to ensure that our nation is
a more equal and more just place for everyone to call home.
That's why this redistricting hearing is so important.
Today is an opportunity for people from all backgrounds
and all walks of life to talk about our district,
our representation.
I was born and raised here in the third district in Lowell.
It's where my dad, a union ironworker,
and my mom, a domestic worker, worked
hard to provide for my three sisters and me.
It's where I went to public school
and learned to play basketball and volleyball.
It's where I returned to work after finishing college.
And it's where I'm proud to be raising my family today.
The third district is made up of 37 cities and towns,
some urban, some suburban, and some rural.
But each with their own unique history and characteristics
that make them such incredible places to call home.
Each community, from Haverhill to Gardner, Marlborough
to Dracut, is home to working families
like the one I grew up in, who strive each day to provide
for their children.
As the granddaughter of Portuguese
and Brazilian immigrants who settled in Lowell, looking
to build a better life for their family,
I know that our district's strength
is rooted in its diversity.
Communities like Lowell, Lawrence, and so many others
have benefited from the tremendous contributions
of immigrants and refugees.
That was showcased more than ever over the past year,
as people across the district banded together
to get each other through the challenges presented
by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whether it was supporting our heroic health care
workers and first responders, who worked around the clock
saving lives, frequenting family owned small businesses
and restaurants, or even wearing a mask in public
to keep those around them safe, we proved time and time again
that we're not only resilient, but we're also
willing to meet the moment head on.
Now, as we continue working to defeat the virus by getting
as many shots into arms as possible,
communities are coming together once again.
A block party in Lawrence or regional site in Devin's,
a mobile clinic in Fitchburg or elsewhere,
to ensure that no one who wants to be vaccinated
is left behind.
And as we work our way down the road to recovery
from the pandemic, communities across the third district
will surely lead the way, just as places like Concord
did during the American Revolution and mill cities
like Lowell and Lawrence did during the Industrial
Revolution.
Members of the committee, it has been the privilege
of a lifetime to represent Massachusetts' Third
Congressional District, and I look forward to the work ahead.
Connecting with the hardworking families
I have the honor of serving has been
key in ensuring that their needs are
heard in the halls of Congress.
And I look forward to hearing their priorities
during the redistricting process as they testify before you
this evening.
So thank you again to each of you, Chairman Brownsberger,
Chairman Moran, and all the distinguished
members of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting,
for providing us with this opportunity.
And for your ongoing commitment to a transparent process that
ensures every voice is heard.
The third district and the Commonwealth
are better off because of your efforts.
And so I thank you, and I yield back.
Thank you, Congresswoman Trahan.
I don't have any questions, just a statement.
Thank you for your partnership with us.
In the very short time you've been there,
you've been more than willing to work with us
on any number of issues.
And that partnership certainly helped us out
as we got through this very difficult year and a half we've
all been through.
Thank you for all the work you've done down there.
It really has made a difference.
So I don't have any questions, but let
me put it up to any of the members of the committee.
Does anybody have any questions for the congressman?
Just appreciate the testimony.
All right, hearing none, thank you very much.
We appreciate it.
And you've given us some of your time.
So enjoy the rest of your night, whether you're
going to watch this or go out and have a nice dinner
or something, who knows.
Thank you.
All right, next up would be the gentle lady from Stow,
our speaker pro tem in the House of Representatives,
Representative Kate Hogan is here to say a few words.
Kate?
You have to unmute, Kate.
Famous COVID thing we've all learned, unmute.
Nope, still muted.
Now I've done it.
All right.
There you go.
I'll take that off the top, I promise.
But I just want to say thank you so much for taking testimony
here today to Chairman Moran and Brownsberger.
I know that you guys have a tough job.
I really appreciate it.
And I wanted to just come here and take the opportunity
tonight to testify before you as you start to redraw our state's
congressional districts.
The reason I come before you today
is to emphasize the incredible partnership that I,
along with other members of the third congressional delegation,
have with our congresswoman and friend, Lori Trahan.
I represent the Third Middlesex in the House
and the towns of Bolton, Hudson, Maynard, and Stow,
and have done so for 16 years.
When Congresswoman Trahan won her election in 2017 and 2018,
she has become a constant fixture in our district,
making it a point to stress the value
of our respective communities and the effectiveness
of a strong state and federal partnership.
She's put that value into action, particularly
in the age of the pandemic.
We've certainly seen so much help from her office.
It's really been incredible.
Working with Congresswoman Trahan and her office,
we've seen that our communities were
able to connect with government representatives on every level
and get the answers we needed as we moved through the pandemic.
This is exactly the kind of state and federal partnership
that our district needs, and we are
so fortunate to have Congresswoman
Trahan as our representative.
I would just like to urge the committee
to allow the communities in the congressional district
to remain partnered with Congresswoman Trahan,
especially us down we're very south.
We're the last two towns hanging on to the third,
and just would love to see us remain there.
So thank you so much, everyone, for your time.
Good to see you to all of my colleagues, Congresswoman
Trahan.
And just good luck with everything tonight.
Thank you for taking my testimony.
It's your turn to unmute, Mr. Chairman.
Oh hey, look at that.
We're all unmuting.
Thank you, Speaker Hogan.
And I appreciate your testimony.
I certainly have no questions, but I will ask my colleagues
if they do.
I doubt they do, but I'll ask anyway.
Thank you very much, Kate, for your testimony.
So next up is Alex Vispoli.
Alex?
Alex is a Andover Select Board, vice Chair
of the Andover Select Board.
While I'm waiting for Alex, I wanted
to recognize a few people that have joined us.
I saw Senator Gomez has joined us.
Thank you for attending, Senator Gomez.
And I saw Frank Moran, the gentleman from Lawrence
joined us.
Thank you, Representative Moran, for joining us.
Alex, I just saw you, so Alex?
What say you?
Yeah, thanks Chairman Moran.
And thank you, Chairman Moran and Brownsberger.
I really appreciate the opportunity
to have a voice here.
And my name is Alex Vispoli.
I'm speaking for myself, not the entire Select Board of Andover.
But I've been a Select Board member for 17 years
in the town of Andover.
And I was on the board when the redistricting
was done last time.
And out of that, we saw a split in our community.
Andover is a community with 35,000 residents
and we have 10 precincts.
We're currently split between two reps.
We have one rep that has seven precincts, another rep that
has three precincts.
The one that has seven is Tram Nguyen
and the one that has three precincts is Frank Moran.
For Congress were split as well.
Lori Trahan represents seven precincts in Andover,
and Seth Moulton represents three precincts in Andover.
We have one state senator, Senator Barry Finegold.
I'm requesting that as you go through the process
of reviewing the redistricting that you consider putting
Andover back together, and have one state rep,
and one congressperson representing the town.
There's no real logical reason for Andover
to be split the way it is.
And so I would like to request that we provide
a single voice for our residents and unify Andover
with one state rep and one congressperson.
Thank you, Alex.
I can tell you that from the House map
the challenges we had 10 years ago because of the necessity
for us to draw a district in Lawrence, because
of the growth in the Latino population in Lawrence,
and that drawing that incumbent free first time ever Latino
district in Lawrence put some pressures on the towns
outside of Lawrence.
I don't know how much you know about me, Alex,
but I'm pretty much a straight shooter,
and that's why it happened.
And then when you start moving around up there,
for some reason, you have some precincts
that are pretty large.
So when you're moving around precincts
that are 4,000 or 3,000 it becomes
challenging to get down to that desirable,
that we all want, every town to remain whole.
Now of course, we can't keep every town remaining whole,
because as I'm sure you know, the towns range
from Gosnold Mass, which is 75, to the city of Boston,
which is almost 700, and everywhere in between.
So we try.
We do our best.
I thank you for your testimony.
And we will certainly look at that
and take it into consideration as we move forward.
I will offer any questions from my colleagues.
Hearing none, thank you for your time.
I do think it would offer clarity, especially
in the congressional side to find some way to put Andover
in one congressional district.
Because we've got these three precincts that sit off
to the side, and it just the residents, I think,
it's confusing for the residents.
I hear you.
Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Alex.
I appreciate your testimony.
Thank you.
Next up is Chelmsford school committee person, Maria Santos.
Maria?
Good evening.
Thank you for allowing me to present tonight.
And I've been on the school committee for one term,
and I am now also a town rep.
And what I wanted to be able to say
is that it is extremely difficult-- we just heard
about Andover having two reps.
We have four in Chalmsford.
It is so diluted in the sense that we are not
able to elect someone who really represents us as a community,
because every single one of our representatives
is going to have a greater number of votes
in another community.
When we look for our elected representatives
at the state level we would like those representatives
to be able to truly represent our community and who we are.
The four representatives, yes, we have four votes.
But we do not have someone that we can truly
say this person is a part of us and is
elected by us as a community.
When it comes to the third district
and belonging to the third district,
it has been absolutely amazing.
The partnership with Lori Trahan has been terrific.
And we have been able to really have our voice heard,
in my opinion.
And I am speaking only for myself and not
on behalf of the school committee, where
I am a elected member.
But it has been a great partnership.
We, as Chelmsford, have always been historically linked
to Lowell and the greater Lowell area,
and I think it would be wonderful to be
able to continue that way.
But representation at the state level
is just too diluted for us.
It's difficult for the representatives
and it's difficult for us as townspeople
because our vote always counts--
the vote counts more somewhere else always.
Thank you again for the time.
And it is an enjoyable process in many ways to redistrict,
so thank you again.
Thank you, Maria.
I remember 10 years ago, there was
a whole bunch of people asking for the same thing
in Chelmsford.
It is challenging.
It's 35,000 people roughly, give or take a few,
so it's not enough to be its own district.
So that makes it challenging.
And as I said before, a lot of the towns around there
are all 24, 32, so you got to kind of figure
out the math on that the best you can.
And one of the reasons I file a bill every year
to do redistricting by census blocks and not precincts
is because I believe it would allow
us to make districts like yours, towns like yours, more whole.
Because we'd be moving around smaller blocks.
That bill has not made it to the finish line,
but it's something I file every year because I
think it would help us to take care of towns like Chelmsford.
Interestingly enough though, I want
to point out that in the first draft 10 years ago
we actually had Chelmsford down to three reps.
And at that point in time, then rep Cory Atkins
was not happy that she was going to be moving out of Chelmsford.
And she got many of her supporters
in Chelmsford and herself to fight
to get back into Chelmsford.
And that's one of the changes we made.
So we had you down to three but for Cory Atkins,
you would be at three today, not four.
So anyway, so that's just some of the stuff
that we went through 10 years ago.
So I will ask my colleagues if they
have any questions for Maria.
Anyone have any questions?
Appreciate the testimony.
Thank you.
Hearing none, I thank you Maria for your testimony.
Thank you, and thank you for that history.
Yeah, it's helpful when you did it 10 years ago
and you're still here, you know.
So thank you, Maria, I appreciate it.
Next up is it looks like Joshua, is it?
Hold on a sec here.
Oh here it is, yeah, Lawrence School Committee District
D, Joshua Alba.
Joshua?
Yes, thank you Chairs Moran and Brownsberger.
Good to see my representatives Devers and Moran
on the call as well and Congresswoman Trahan.
And everybody else that's on here, all the elected,
thank you for being here.
Yeah, my name is Joshua Alba.
I'm a Lawrence School Committee member representing District D.
And I'm not representing the school committee, representing
myself and my district.
But Lawrence, as perhaps maybe all of you know,
I think is a community of interest to keep together,
especially because of our surviving
the Columbia Gas explosions, and the disproportionate impacts
of COVID-19 this past year.
That has resulted in a unified community around the mutual aid
structures, streamlined city led emergency response efforts
that has served as a model for cities across the state.
We are a poor working class immigrant community
with a large percentage of foreign born folks,
namely from the Dominican Republic being the largest
portion of residents around 40%.
And a majority younger population,
26% of whom are under 18.
I think it's very important to keep Lawrence together
in this district as an overwhelmingly majority
racialized and marginalized community
that has a distinct experience from our neighbors in Andover,
or Methuen, or North Andover, who are significantly White
and have higher incomes.
Because I think that Lawrence adds
a significant or a particular viewpoint on policy and votes
that have helped to improve and shape
quality of life in the community,
especially as a labor force for the region.
[AUDIO OUT] Worcester to South Bridge.
And that's as far as I wrote.
But I mean, it doesn't seem like anybody's
looking to split us up or anything like that.
I haven't heard anything like that.
So I want to appreciate that.
And yeah, just thank you for your time.
Oh, we have around a little less than 13,000 students
enrolled right now.
Above 90% of our student population
are Hispanic or Latino.
I think that's significant to note.
And yeah, I didn't come up with a closing, so thank you all.
I hope we all have a good Thursday evening.
Thank you, Joshua.
And there's a lot of love for the city of Lawrence
in this building.
So you got two reps here that the vice
chair and the gentleman, Frank Moran, no relation,
on this committee.
So one of the prouder things, I think,
we were able to do 10 years ago was
to draw that incumbent free district, which
gave us Frank Moran.
And now Frank serves as a division chair
in the House and leadership, and you
have Marcos who is the vice chair of this committee.
So Lawrence is very well represented in the House,
and I know that Barry Finegold does a great job for you guys
in the Senate.
So I will offer up some questions,
but don't be upset if nobody has any,
because we are trying to move through this
and have everybody testify.
So any questions from my colleagues?
Hearing none, thank you very much,
Joshua, for your testimony.
Next is Pat Wojtas.
I'm sorry, Pat, for butchering your last name.
You are Selectman on the Town Board of Chelmsford.
You're a Selectmen from Chelmsford.
Pat, what say you?
Yes, thank you very much for holding this hearing
and allowing us to present testimony.
As you mentioned, I am from Chelmsford,
so I won't go over a lot of what Maria Santos said earlier.
But I do have a couple of general comments
before I get to the specifics about Chelmsford.
One has to do with something that, Chairman, you mentioned
as you were responding to Maria about drawing
the districts before or after precincts are drawn.
I mean, quite frankly, I think it would be better
for the community if the precincts are drawn
before the districts are drawn, and to keep
the precincts intact regarding the districting.
I think it's confusing enough when we have,
as Maria said, four different reps in the town of Chelmsford.
But at least they're all within individual precincts.
If we were then to have some representatives that
crossed the precinct, I think that would really
make it confusing and difficult for voters as they
go to the polls to determine who the candidates are
and how to vote.
So I think the local officials know
how the neighborhoods are formed and should
be kind of held together.
So that's my comments on that part of it.
I know I guess you disagree with me on that,
but I just hope you take that into consideration.
The second thing is I guess I don't understand
why the districts, all House districts are formed
and then all Senate districts are formed,
or the other way around.
It seems to me that we have exactly four times
as many House districts as there are Senate districts.
So why not create basically a team, with one Senate district
and then four House districts within it--
four complete House districts within it.
I guess I could say not unlike how the federal government
works, where the state has in Massachusetts,
we have the nine House districts and two Senate districts.
We don't have Senate districts that cross state boundaries.
I know it's a little bit different, but just
something I guess I don't understand
why it's not considered.
Because if you look at some of the Senate districts
they can touch, it seems to me, as many as six or eight
different House districts.
Which seems it would be harder for them
to reach some kind of consensus about what goals there
is they're trying to achieve for their district.
And then specifically to the town of Chelmsford,
it's already been mentioned that we have the four reps.
It's about the same size as Andover.
We appreciate everything that the reps
have done for us that have worked
for the town of Chelmsford in the past 20 years
that we've been in this situation.
But it's bound to produce some kind of conflict
when the reps have a larger voting
block in another community.
Whatever we could do to shrink that to make it be just--
I know some of them have just the two, Lowell and Chelmsford.
But whatever we could do to increase
our voice in one or more districts
would definitely be appreciated.
And lastly, I will say, I hope there's not
any consideration of moving Chelmsford out
of Congresswoman Trahan's district,
because she has been outstanding to work with.
She had mentioned I think before the meeting started
about attending a parade earlier this week,
and it was a Chelmsford parade.
I'm assuming it was the first one that she attended
this year, so we definitely welcomed her
and were glad to see her there.
So that's all I have.
Thank you, Pat.
Thank you very much.
On a couple of things, on the reprecincting portion
of your statement, this time around because of the Senate--
because of the US Census moving the delivery the data back
to September 30th, we're going to have
to do the drawing of the lines before the reprecincting is
done for that reason.
Because it takes anywhere between two to four months
to do reprecincting, and you're not
going to get the data until the 30th of September.
And we have a November 8th obligation in our Constitution
to live in our district for one year
prior to the actual district-- to running in the House
districts.
So for the first time ever, we're going to have to do that.
And it's not something that we chose to do.
It's something that the simple moving
back of the date from April 1st to September 30th,
and then the deadline of November 8th for us
to live in our districts for one full year, that's
going to be a pretty quick turnaround of the month
of October, we have to get all this done
by the November 8th constitutional obligation
we have.
So that's why it's going that way this time around.
With regard to in the future, we can just
have an honest disagreement on that one.
But that's just two people that don't see eye
to eye on the issue.
And again, I will repeat that it is my goal,
hopefully, that we can at least get Chelmsford down
to three reps.
Who knows if we can get any lower than that.
I will repeat again, we had that last time, 10 years ago.
We had it down to three, but that was changed.
Now that district is going to be empty
because Tami Gouveia is running for higher office,
so there will not be a person.
So maybe we'll have another opportunity
to look at that this time around.
But I appreciate your testimony, Pat.
And I will ask my colleagues if they have any questions.
All right, hearing none, thank you, Pat, for your testimony.
Thank you.
Next step is Sam Poulten.
He is a school committee member from the Nashoba Valley School
Committee.
Sam?
Samuel?
Yes, good evening I'm trying to unmute.
I hope that I have.
We got you, Sam.
Thank you, and welcome to the redistricting committee.
Well, thank you very much, Chairman.
Good evening, Chairman Moran, and thank you
for allowing me this opportunity to testify.
And thanks to the committee for ensuring that everyone
in our district is being given the opportunity
to have his or her voice heard on these important issues.
To start off, as a few of my colleagues
have mentioned the fact that Chelmsford
was drawn and quartered in the last census.
I for one, although not happy at the beginning,
am extremely happy with the representation
that we've been receiving, especially
from the dean of our delegation, representative Tom Moran.
I would echo what my colleagues said,
that if Chelmsford can be kept in the third district, which
is the number one goal, and we can come down to three reps
I think that that would be useful for us.
So I'm adding my voice to that.
And having been around 10 years ago,
I fully understand what went into the decision that
was made back then.
And back then we thank you for allowing
Cory Atkins to stay with us.
That said, as you said, I'm Sam Poulten.
I'm a proud resident of Chelmsford since 1979.
I'm a 1966 graduate of Lowell High School
and a small business owner in Lowell since 2007.
I'm also the current chair of the Chelmsford Democratic Town
Committee, vice chair of GLAD, and a school committee member
for the Nashoba Valley Regional Vocational Technical High
School, whose nine sending communities
are all in the third congressional district.
From 1969 to 2010 I also served with 804th Medical Brigade
headquartered in Ayer.
Also, a third district community,
from which I retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.
I have a deep appreciation for our district's history,
our strengths, and those issues where
we can continue to improve and the cooperative atmosphere that
has been built. As you can see, I'm not a stranger here.
I'm glad that our community is represented
at all levels of government by individuals
who share that same level of appreciation and commitment.
Many of those officials that are taking part in this evening's
hearing, including Representative Lori Trahan, who
I've had the pleasure of knowing long
before she held her current role,
but who always cared deeply about giving back
to the communities in which she grew up,
and that she continues to call home.
Lori joins in a long history of representing our area.
The long history of representatives that Chelmsford
has had in the federal, state, and local levels,
dedicated to getting things done,
and doing it in a way that not only benefits
one community or another, but our region as a whole.
She has done this and continues to do this
by building consensus and leading cooperative efforts
to continue our progress in improving education, business,
culture, health care, tourism, and quality of life
throughout our region.
This is a remarkably diverse and exciting area.
The third district contains one of the state's wealthiest
communities, Sudbury, and one of its poorest, Lawrence.
But Lori Trahan has the talent, spirit, and commitment
to our residents that addresses the unique problems we all
encounter and leads us to find successful solutions.
We're always moving forward.
The district itself is uniquely constructed.
A river runs through it.
The legendary Merrimack, whose Pawtucket
Falls in East Chelmsford, now the city of Lowell,
helped create America's second revolution, the Industrial
Revolution.
And also created America's first urban national park.
I'm also an active member of the Greater Lowell Area Democrats,
an organization that works across jurisdictions
to advocate for progress that benefits people in communities
from Dracut to Carlisle, Lowell to Pepperell and Groton.
Much like our organization, the success of our region
is tied to our ability to band together
and advocate on behalf of solutions and resources
that will benefit all of us.
We do it well.
And we're greatly aided by what our district is, where it is,
who it represents, and the common history, shared goals,
and regional investments that led us to our many successes.
In short, as we all look toward redistricting
after the last census, the third is a success story
that should be left intact.
Please, don't mess with success.
It ain't broke.
We don't need any fixing.
Strengthen us if adjustments must be made,
but the benefits afforded our fellow citizens who
share a district that includes Lowell, Lawrence,
Haverhill, and the contiguous towns
not only enhances the lives of all of us who live here,
it truly strengthens and enhances
the entire Commonwealth, and by extension, our great country.
I ask only that we be allowed to maintain
the remarkable progress that our entire region enjoys
and that requires the continued representation by those
who understand the immense value of regional success.
We are blessed with the geography, resources,
educational institutions, talent, and spirit, that
has led us toward continued successes
in every field of endeavor.
And we're doubly blessed with civic leaders
and elected officials who not only share our hopes
and dreams, but are steeped in the very essence of the region.
Preeminent among them is our own member
of Congress, Lori Trahan.
Please allow us to keep our river runs through it
third congressional district and member
of Congress, Lori Trahan.
Thank you for your time.
Thanks for allowing me to speak.
But most importantly, thanks for the good work you
are doing on our behalf.
Keep the third the third.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Sam.
I appreciate your testimony.
Again, no questions, just a comment.
I think the Congress people who represent the state understand
that every one of their districts
has to change, simply because of the growth in the state
being so different in different places.
So every one of them has to be apportioned and changed,
some of them very drastically, some of them not as drastic.
But every one of our congressmen and women
understand that that's going to happen.
And we try to do it as minimal as we can,
but we have to do it nonetheless because the law says
we have to.
But I have no questions.
I will ask my colleagues on the committee
if they have any questions.
Hearing none, we will move to our next person
to testify, who is Jessica Finocchiaro.
She is a City of Methuen Councillor at Large.
Jessica, are you here?
Hi, I'm Jessica.
City Councillor in Methuen.
And thank you everybody for being here.
And thank you also to Chairman Moran, who actually
sent an email out to some legislators
and we were able to take that.
I know I posted mine on my social media
and shared it around town.
My note is just that we take into consideration
what could possibly be done to encourage more people
to give feedback.
Because I find these conversations to be really
productive, and I do believe there are going
to be some serious changes.
So what I would like to see is I think
that the website that you guys have is great,
and it provides a lot of information.
And I know that over time the committee
is going to add all kinds of information
as it's available to that website.
And I would just ask that there be some additional thought
on how we can get even more community input along the way.
And there might have already been conversations
amongst the committee members about that.
I know that reaching out to the elected officials was great.
I saw some people posting about it,
but I think that we need to take it a step further
and see what we can get for community engagement.
Because I think this is going to change a lot of things.
And I think that I would love to see more from every direction.
Whether it's sharing on social media,
there's a lot of different outlets
that we already have that don't cost any money to the state
to get this information out there.
And that's just what I would ask to be considered.
Thank you.
Thank you, Jessica.
I appreciate your testimony.
And we didn't just send it to elected officials.
We sent it to a number of interest groups
that are involved in this process.
There's a umbrella group called the Drawing Democracy
Coalition, and they sent it out to their members.
We try and push it out as much as we can.
Last 10 years ago we had almost 20,000 people
participate in the process when it was said and done.
This year, we're having more hearings
than we had 10 years ago.
We're having language specific hearings
for people who do not speak English as a first language.
We are doing everything we can to entice people
to engage in this process.
While I think it's a very interesting issue,
some people are not as jazzed up about it maybe as you'd hope.
But we still have a lot though.
We still have a fair amount of people that participate.
But I thank you for your testimony,
and I thank you for your commitment to your community.
Any questions from my colleagues?
Hearing none, I will move to the next person to testify.
Thank you, Jessica, for your testimony.
Robert Swartz.
Robert Swartz, are you here?
Robert, Gardner Public Schools.
He's coming on, my staff said, so give him a minute.
Robert, I hear you're in.
Are you joined us, Robert?
There you are.
I can see you on me-- you have to unmute.
There you go.
Mr. Chairman, I have no comment.
OK.
Compared to the other representatives that already
spoken, we're wonderful.
We have Lori.
We have one Senator.
We have one rep.
They're all doing a super job.
Compared to the other representatives that spoke,
I'm very happy.
Excellent.
I'm just trying to get educated of what redistricting is about,
and I'm learning a lot.
So thank you for the opportunity to participate.
Thank you again.
Thank you, Robert.
You should talk to some of my constituents.
I need them to do a commercial like that for me.
Thanks, Robert.
I appreciate it.
I appreciate you watching.
I appreciate you taking the time to listen
to what we're saying here.
So how about Judy Carvin?
All right, my staff is saying Judy is not here,
so we'll move on.
Mary Jakes Tresaint, Mary Jakes Tresaint.
Mary, are you here, Mary?
I don't see her here.
Oh, there you are.
Mary, you have to unmute if you can hear my voice.
Marie.
Sorry, looks like Marie.
I can see you up there.
OK, while Marie's figuring that out we'll call Marissa DuPont.
Marissa DuPont?
OK, as I said in the beginning, this
may be a little awkward because we
have a lot of people that signed up,
and I don't think everybody actually
was intending to testify.
So David Ebitson, David Ebitson?
David, I see you up there.
You need to unmute, David.
OK, I think I did.
There you go.
I got you.
There you are.
Great.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
Basically, what I wanted to do was
thank all of the people who run our state with such
a great job.
I think when-- and the fact that 85 seats in our Congress
are moving to the south and the west,
and we managed to save all nine seats
in our great state of Massachusetts,
I just want to thank people.
And I also want to thank Lori Trahan for doing a great job.
I've been living in Westford since 1978,
served four years in the military.
But it is a great state.
And I've been to so many places in our country
and I just realize that constantly that Massachusetts
is really a great state, and it's run by great people.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, David.
And thank you for your service to our country.
We appreciate that, obviously.
And I don't think we have any questions for you.
So we are going to move on to our next person to testify,
Robert Walton.
Robert Walton, are you with us?
Now you say yes, I'm here.
Yes, I'm here.
There you go, Robert.
We hear you.
OK.
Welcome, welcome.
Well, thanks, Mr. Moran.
Thanks for the invite.
I really appreciate it.
My other fellow Chelmsford residents
have kind of stolen my thunder.
But I just do want to say what a great job Lori
Trahan has done for the third district, and is doing.
And I would like to reiterate Chelmsford's particular burden
of having four state reps.
Chelmsford and Billerica were both incorporated
on the same day in 1655.
Billerica I think has maybe 44, 43,000 people.
Chelmsford we've got about 35.
Bellerica has one state rep, Mr. Lombardo,
Chelmsford we have four.
So not only was Chelmsford completely dissected
by the Federal Highway Administration via route
495 and Route 3, we've also suffered with four state reps
for one community, which is probably
a little unusual in the entire Commonwealth.
And that I would like to just say again,
as many other Chelmsford fellow residents have mentioned,
that's something that should really be considered
in changing in the future.
Thanks very much.
I appreciate the opportunity.
Thank you, Robert.
Thank you.
I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule.
The only other town to have four reps would be Walpole.
They have four reps.
And as I said earlier, my goal is hopefully
to get you down to three, as we did 10 years ago.
And that kind of in our first draft,
they asked us to go back to four.
So that was kind of unique and different,
but I think this time around we got
a better shot because of the person who is one of the reps
is running for higher office.
So hopefully we will have that opportunity for us
to get down to three this time.
So anyways, I appreciate your testimony.
And I would like to call Clare Dushear.
Next.
Clare, are you with us?
Hi there, thank you for letting me speak.
Thank you, Clare.
I would like to give some personal perspective.
I come from Ashburnham, which is a tiny town in the western part
of CD three.
And Ashburnham, along with the western rural towns
within this congressional district,
have little in common with the eastern cities
and the larger municipalities in the rest of the Lori Trahan
district.
As we know, population is shifting.
And the congressional districts boundaries
are going to shift as well.
If you need a volunteer, I would happily
suggest that Ashburnham be moved, once again,
into a different congressional district,
especially if it's Jim McGovern's
congressional district, number two.
At least we would be with Worcester County
rather than Middlesex County, which
would be something that we would have some familiarity with.
But on the local level, let's keep
Representative Zlotnick and Senator
Gobi representing Ashburnham.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you, Clare.
I'm sure Anna Gobi is very happy to hear that,
as she is on this call.
I'm extremely happy to hear that.
And we love Clare back.
And it's always good to hear her comments.
Thanks, Clare.
You bet.
Thank you, Clare.
I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule
to come and join us and give us your thoughts.
I will call the next person to testify,
which would be Marie Sweeney.
Marie Sweeney, are you with us?
And Marie, you are with us, but I think I need you to unmute.
Mr. Chairman, did you call me?
Marie Sweeney.
Yes, I did, Marie.
Thank you for joining us.
Sorry, I had a technical glitch.
Good evening, Mr. Chairman, and members
of the Redistricting Committee.
I'm really happy that you're allowing
me to make a statement tonight.
My name is Marie Sweeney, and I am a native of Lowell,
a 50 year resident of Tewksbury, and a lifelong resident
of the Merrimack Valley.
And I've lived in the old fifth district, the seventh district,
and now in the sixth district.
And while many might connect me with politics
as the longtime chair, now emeritus, of Greater Lowell
Area Democrats, and a member of the Massachusetts Democratic
State Committee serving the second Essex Middlesex
district we're so served by Barry Finegold,
it's really my decades as a community activist that
spurned me to comment tonight.
My activities and issues and concerns
include advocacy for education, history, preservation,
volunteerism, cultural affairs, affordable housing,
and social services.
And I do see the big picture of congressional districts,
and I see the closer local challenges of Senate and Rep
districts.
I'm here this evening because I have
seen how big picture decisions affect the regular citizen.
The commonality of interest of the core communities
of the currently configured third district
go way beyond politics, into its history, its geography,
its ethnicity and diversity, as well as
shared values, experience, goals, commitment,
and economic reality.
My particular concern is the federal designation
and the funding approaches that affect such programs
as Head Start, fuel assistance, homelessness prevention,
early childhood education, affordable housing
and services, workforce and job development, youth programs,
small business assistance, and more.
I sound like I serve on the board of a community action
agency, and I do.
I've been on the board of Community Teamwork
since the early '90s.
These are systems and programs critical to the people
of the Greater Lowell Merrimack Valley area.
It's the core corridor of the third district.
The partnerships, collaborations, and focused
commitment existing in this core,
along with the clout of the district congressperson,
and of course, I can't say enough about Lori Trahan.
This directly impacts life in the Merrimack Valley
and beyond.
I testified 10 years ago when I feared a sell off
of the pieces of the fifth district.
And fortunately, that didn't happen.
Tonight I ask that you continue to be
sensitive to all concerns of district residents
as you consider your options and make your very tough decisions.
Keeping the core of the third district intact is important.
It's real, it's relevant, it's vital to the well-being
and the future and the quality of life
of the residents of Massachusetts third district,
particularly in the Historic Greater Lowell, Greater
Lawrence core of the Merrimack Valley.
And I thank you for listening to me.
Marie, thank you very much.
I really appreciate your testimony
and your years of advocacy, it sounds like,
in the Merrimack Valley area.
My wife is from the Merrimack Valley,
so I got to show some love to the valley,
you know what I'm saying.
Show a lot of love, Mr. Chairman, please.
Their family came and settled in Lawrence,
and then and then she grew up in Andover.
And then she found a guy like me and moved to Brighton.
So I like to think she's a social climber, but--
She did well.
Listen, I appreciate you taking the time
to come out tonight and testify.
And enjoy the rest of your night,
whatever you're going to do.
Thank you very much.
I'm going to call that next person to testify.
It's Myra Paral.
Myra Paral?
I can see you on there, Myra.
Let's see if you need to mute.
No, you're on there.
All right, Myra, while Myra's figuring that out
I'm going to call somebody from the Chelmsford School
Board, Kenneth Lefebvre.
Kenneth?
Kenneth, are you with us from the Chelmsford School Board?
There you are.
Yes, how are you?
Kenneth, nice to meet you.
What do you have to say about redistricting?
We want to hear what you have to say.
Sure, so first off I'm just going
to start by saying I'm on the Chelmsford Select Board.
Yep.
So thank you for having me tonight.
And thank you for holding the hearings.
And I'll just keep my words brief.
I don't really have a lot of experience
of speaking in forums like this, so I'll just
keep it short and sweet.
I just want to start off by saying Chelmsford
is represented by four reps.
We appreciate the work they do.
They're very responsive.
They're fantastic to work with.
Each and every one of them, when we reach out to them,
they respond.
They'll meet with us.
And they're great, they do a great job.
However, the town is divided with four reps.
And sometimes the residents here,
and specifically some of the other boards in town
and our board, we sometimes wonder
how a rep can make a decision for Chelmsford if it's
at the detriment to one of the towns
they represent with a much larger population.
And so we appreciate that this year is an opportunity
for redistricting.
Chelmsford has a lot of growing needs.
We would appreciate a voice of either a single rep or a split
rep.
And I think that would really, hopefully, benefit us
in the future.
Again, there's nothing wrong with reps that we have now.
They're doing a great job.
Very, like I said, very responsive,
been wonderful to work with.
But we're just trying to get more representation
for Chelmsford.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kenneth.
Incidentally, I have a district that I
represent one small precinct in the town of Brookline.
They actually have four reps as well.
It can be challenging, but we do the best we can.
And if you're attentive and listen
and you work with your other colleagues
you can really move the needle, as they say.
But I have no questions for you, Kenneth.
I will ask my colleagues if they have any questions for Kenneth?
All right, hearing none I will move to Deb Busser.
Deb?
There you are.
I can see you.
You just got to unmute and we're all set.
Yes, thank you Chairman Moran, Chairman Brownsberger,
and the rest of the committee for holding these hearings
and for the opportunity to speak tonight.
Again, I'm Deb Busser.
I was the Democratic candidate for state rep for the First
Middlesex district in 2020.
And as such, just have some observations
around this district in particular.
First, I know there are other towns that
are split between precincts.
But in the First Middlesex House district that town is Ayer.
There are two precincts in Ayer that
comprise the House district.
And there are common issues around drinking water,
working with the army at Devens, that I believe
are made more difficult without a single point of contact
at the House level.
So I'm asking for some consideration,
I guess, around what happens with Ayer.
The other thing that I'd just like two
raise to the committee, is that the western part of the First
Middlesex House district, so those are the towns of Ashby,
Townsend, and Pepperell, all comprise the North Middlesex
Regional School District.
And each one of those towns has a different state Senator.
Very fortunate to have Senator Gobi.
Newly elected Senator Cronin, and Senator Kennedy.
But again, I think when it comes to coordinating around
issues that impact those three towns, which
are very connected, I think the coordination can be difficult.
And I think just the last thing that I
would say again, in looking at the First Middlesex House
district, is that these 5 and 1/2 towns
actually have four state senators.
And again, I know there was a comment earlier around sort
of which comes first, drawing the House lines
or the Senate lines?
But I do again, feel like this particular district would
be better served if somehow that number was a bit smaller.
And I think just lastly, I do want
to say, as a resident of Groton I am incredibly
grateful for Congresswoman Trahan's leadership
and advocacy.
Please don't do anything about moving Groton or any
of the surrounding towns.
I think we are incredibly well served there,
and I'm very grateful.
That's excellent.
Thank you, Deb.
I appreciate it, taking the time to testify here.
Do my colleagues, any of my colleagues,
have any questions for Deb?
And again, Anne Gobi gets another shoutout.
What are you doing, Anne?
You're doing great, I guess.
Thanks, Deb.
Great.
Thanks, Deb, I appreciate your testimony.
I will call our next person, which is Mary Robb.
Mary, I see that you're on.
Good evening.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Mr Vice Chairman
for this opportunity.
Part of my reason for joining tonight
is to better educate myself.
I am a 28 year veteran high school teacher
in Massachusetts, the largest portion
of those years in Andover, Massachusetts.
And one of the courses I teach is called democracy and media
literacy.
And each time I start a class with my students
I realize it's my goal to help them develop faith
in our system.
And I should say systems, in the town government of Andover,
the state government of Massachusetts,
and our national government.
And one of the things that always trips them up
is the concept of gerrymandering.
And Mr. Chairman, you made a comment earlier
that made me chuckle about when you
head up north there to that Merrimack Valley things
get kind of crazy.
It's the birthplace of gerrymandering,
with Andover, Haverhill, Salisbury, Methuen, Amesbury,
Lynnfield, Middleton, all of those
included in that original gerrymandered district.
But there's a couple of things that I observed
that I wanted to point out.
One of them was Jessica, and I want
to make sure I say her name correctly,
Finocchiaro, mentioning getting more people from the community
involved.
And I can't speak more enthusiastically
about doing exactly that.
Oh, there we go, now I found my video feed.
There it is.
I would urge you going forward-- if I'm correct,
you said your deadline is November?
Is that accurate?
November 8th is we have to live in our district.
So that's--
OK, so I'm sorry I misunderstood that deadline.
That is a deadline.
But I meant in terms of redistricting,
I would urge you to reach out--
and I'm not quite sure how you would do this,
but I'd be happy to work with you on it--
to schools, particularly high schools in the Commonwealth.
My students are 17 and 18 years old,
and they are either just becoming registered voters
or they're about to be registered voters.
And they need to have an understanding of this.
They need to have a way to wrap their minds
around what redistricting means and what it will
mean for their communities.
And the issues that have been brought up tonight
are certainly ones that I will share about communities
like Chelmsford with four reps.
The comments that Joshua Alba from the Lawrence School
Committee mentioned about the uniqueness of that community
that he serves.
But there is one thing that I did struggle with.
This is an opportunity for community input,
and I understand that it's difficult to make outreach.
But I do want to note this observation
that the first people to speak were all elected officials.
And they absolutely must be heard.
Their voice is as important as everyone else's.
But elected officials have access
to speaking opportunities more so than an average citizen.
And in my experiences, at the town and the state level,
our input is timed.
We have three minutes to say this or two minutes
to say that.
And quite often, our elected officials get the last word.
So just going forward, I would urge
you to consider allowing regular citizens, voters, to speak
first, or maybe mix them up together.
Everybody's time is valuable.
Everybody's time is important.
I'd just be curious as to how many of the folks
that already spoke are still here paying attention
an hour and 15 minutes later.
And then finally, just about the necessity of redistricting
and how important it is.
To end my US history courses, because we
talk about some really unpleasant aspects
of our history, I try to end with some of the very positive
about our country's history.
And I show them video images from 9/11,
both a documentary from firefighters
who were actually on the scene.
But one of them in particular was
about the 9/11 boatlift, when much
like after the Battle of Dunkirk an all call was put out
by the Coast Guard and literally hundreds of vessels,
private vessels, sailed into Manhattan, picked people up,
and evacuated about 500,000 people in about nine hours.
And I explained to them that something
that didn't happen that day, as people were getting
onto these boats nobody stopped and said oh wait a minute,
are you a Democrat or are you a Republican?
Wait, what's your religion?
I'm sorry, I don't like your color.
Nobody did that.
And Representative Trahan mentioned
about how our community came together in a time of crisis
around COVID, and we certainly did.
And I think Americans have a particular knack for that,
for coming together in difficult times.
But redistricting and making it possible for communities
to best come together to interact with their elected
officials, that's how we manage to be active
and to exhibit our very best when we're not in a crisis.
When it's the day to day stuff that's not really exciting.
It's not something that reaches way down deep inside of us,
but it's so, so vital.
So I appreciate the time and effort that all of you
have put into this, because I think
redistricting is one of the things that
helps us come together in effective and cooperative
communities.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mary.
I would also note that those high school kids
that you were referring to, you should encourage them
to preregister, because we can do that in Massachusetts.
We did that--
We do registration drives every year.
We've got about, if I'm correct, our last estimate was about 2/3
of our school population who can be preregistered are.
I was the chair of the election laws committee at the time when
we did that bill.
And so we were able to make sure that kids that are
in high school can preregister.
Thank you very much for that.
It's greatly appreciated.
So anyways, I will ask my colleagues on the committee
if they have any questions for Mary?
That would be great.
If not, I will move on to the next person to testify.
Thank you for your testimony.
Thank you, Mary.
I appreciate your testimony.
We will now move to Rob Zidek.
Rob Zidek?
I don't see Rob, so I will give him a few more minutes.
A few seconds, sorry.
There I am.
Here you go.
Yeah, thank you very much.
For some reason, Zoom recycled on me.
I really joined in to learn the process.
I'm fairly new to Massachusetts.
I've only been here since 2017, and I appreciate you
letting me speak, Mr. Chairman.
I would also like to echo what others have said,
and that is an intense desire to--
I live in Lancaster-- to stay in Lori's district.
I got to meet her at a Bolton town hall right
before the COVID hit.
And I feel like she's almost part of the family.
So if there's any way to keep us in her district,
I'd appreciate it.
But otherwise, thank you very much.
And I wish everyone a happy and safe evening.
Thank you.
You're still muted, Mr. Chairman.
There we go.
I kept hitting it and it wouldn't go.
Thank you, Rob.
I appreciate you taking the time to learn about the process
and to give us your thoughts.
It's important.
Lancaster is a mecca that we need
to keep into Trahan's district, into Lori's district.
So we hear that, and we will try to do
that our very best to do that.
So I will call the next person to testify, Wendy Rock.
Thank you, Rob, for your testimony.
Wendy?
There you are, I can see you.
Here I am.
I wanted to thank you very much for the opportunity to join.
I think most of my questions have already been addressed.
I would like to say, though, that as a special education
teacher who is in session year round
and was in person learning through the entire pandemic,
my kids would love the challenge of trying to figure out
where to put all these people.
Because I do not envy the task ahead of you.
I'm trying to do summer activities right now,
and it's a challenge.
I hear you, Wendy, I hear you.
And thank you for you know, it was
scary in the beginning for teachers.
They wanted to teach, and we didn't know enough about what
was going on with this thing.
And especially the kids that really needed special education
is very important.
So thank you for your commitment to that
and working through that.
Hopefully, we're in better times for you
and everybody else at this point in time in this process.
Hey, it was pretty smooth, I got to say.
The state was here for us, backing us up.
Because we are a residential program with DCF kids.
So we can't really put them on the street.
No, those are the stories that are so challenging.
And you don't hear enough of those sometimes.
That people, they come together and just figure out
how to get it done, right.
That's right.
You got to do it.
Because there is no option, right?
That's right.
Well, listen, I appreciate your taking time, Wendy,
to come and join us.
Very much appreciated, and I appreciate your comments.
Thank you.
And I will ask my colleagues if they have any questions.
I doubt they will, but I will ask.
Hearing none, thank you, Wendy, for your testimony.
I now would like to announce a few other people that
have joined us.
The gentleman from the great city of--
Billy Strauss, help me out, Billy.
Where are we at?
Mattapoisett, that's right, Mattapoisett.
I almost said Fall River.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The gentleman from Mattapoisett, Billy Strauss is with us.
Thank you, Billy, for taking time out of your schedule
to join us on this.
I know you have a conference budget that you're working on,
and I appreciate you taking time to come to this.
So now leads me to my next person to testify,
Judith Durant.
Judith Durant, are you here?
There you are.
Hi.
Hi, Judith.
OK?
Yeah, hi, how are you.
Hi, thanks.
First, I'd like to thank the committee for the opportunity
to participate in this hearing regarding redistricting.
I learned firsthand over the years
how important it is to bring communities together
to discuss issues that have real and immediate effect on our day
to day lives.
My name is Judith Durant and I grew up in Tewksbury,
went to college in Boston, then lived
in New York City and Colorado before coming back in 2001
and buying a house in Lowell.
I confess that it was not my first choice,
but I have come to love my city and the greater community.
I became an activist immediately.
Two weeks after we moved into our house
we went to visit my husband's family and friends.
Upon return, we saw paper notices attached
to every tree on our block, notices
that the trees were to be removed.
With no real idea of how to do it
I thought as hard as I could against this action,
but was not able to stop it.
I vowed there and then to keep abreast of what
goes on at the local level.
I have been a member of the Lowell Democratic City
Committee since 2014, and have served as chair
of the committee since 2017.
This role has given me the opportunity
to work with elected officials, many of whom
are participating here this evening,
including our Congresswoman Lori Trahan, who
does a great job representing and advocating for all of us
in the third.
I've worked with various campaigns, nonprofits,
fellow activists, and many others who
strive to make Lowell better for everyone who lives here.
I'm also a member of the Greater Lowell Area Democrats,
and it is clear that Lowell is not an island, but part
of a larger community that includes Chelmsford, Dracut,
Tyngsborough, Westwood, and beyond.
The pandemic showed us that our strength depends
on the entire community.
When our neighbors need help, we're there.
When we need help, our neighbors can be relied upon.
And that is why I'm here today.
I understand the necessity of redistricting,
but I would like to stress the importance
of keeping our region together.
And most importantly, not dividing the city of Lowell
by moving any precincts into another district, as
has been done in other Massachusetts cities and towns,
such as Andover, as we heard at the start of this hearing.
Lowell's form of government and election process
will change dramatically this year.
I firmly believe that this is for the better of Lowell,
but the transition involves breaking up wards and precincts
and is providing to be a real challenge.
In the interest of stability for the entire region,
and for our coming closer together as a very diverse
population, I hope that this process
will keep at least our city, and hopefully our region, together.
Thank you again, Chairs Brownsberger and Moran,
and the entire committee for giving us the opportunity
to participate in this most important hearing.
Thank you.
Thank you, Judith.
Thank you for your testimony.
I will ask my colleagues if they have any questions.
All right, hearing none, Judith thank
you very much for being patient and waiting for some time now.
It's almost an hour and a half before we got to you,
so I appreciate your patience.
I will call the next person to testify, Aurora Erickson.
Aurora Erickson?
Well, here you are.
All right.
Thank you so much.
It's wonderful that I am following Judith.
I am also from Lowell.
My name is Aurora Erickson.
I'm here representing Coalition for a Better Acre in Lowell.
We're a membership based community development
corporation.
And I'm also here as part of the Drawing Democracy Coalition.
Like Judith, I want to speak briefly
to Lowell's unique position at this moment in time.
This fall will be Lowell's first election following
a lawsuit that ruled that our city councilors and school
committee needed to be changed from all at large to now
serving specific districts.
Lowell is a very diverse city, and on a local level,
that diversity has not been well reflected.
That and other barriers have made good representation
crucial to rebuild trust in our democratic system going
forward.
On the bright side, on the state level,
we have some representatives we're very proud of.
We appreciate our three state reps and State Senator,
as well as our congresswoman.
We're especially proud that two of our state reps are,
we believe, the first and second ever Cambodian Americans
to reach state office in the US.
Generally speaking, Lowell has a dense inner urban core
and a less dense outer core.
That inner core tends to be more diverse.
And then as the housing gets less dense,
the income goes up a little bit in the surrounding
ring of Lowell.
And then we're kind of surrounded
by a ring of towns that are a little more suburban.
Those have fewer immigrants and fewer People of Color,
but we do share a lot of community concerns
and common interests, and we naturally
tend to work together more often.
Lowell has many strong neighborhoods
that have their own traditional residences,
as well as newer groups that have arrived.
For example, the Back Central neighborhood
was traditionally Portuguese, but more recently
Brazilian communities have moved in as well, united
by the Portuguese language and some shared
cultural traditions.
The Acre neighborhood has a long tradition
as a destination for new immigrants.
Most dominant currently there are a broad mix
of Latino communities, with Puerto Ricans
being the most prominent.
The Lower Highlands neighborhood is
the heart of the Cambodian community
and smaller South Asian communities
are represented there as well.
South Centralville and lower Belvidere,
we see a broad mix of first and second generation
immigrant communities, including African and Latino communities.
I would ask that when possible, those traditional neighborhoods
be held together and not split.
Those neighborhoods are recognized by local residents
and they do tend to act as units.
I also want to make sure you know that Lowell is similar,
though distinct, from our sister gateway cities,
like Lawrence and Haverhill.
Like them, we have many different communities.
We don't have two or three groups that
comprise most of the community.
We have a lot of different residents.
We have probably less in common with our neighboring towns that
are higher income, and very little in common
with some of the more rural areas to the west.
We really need representation that
is attuned to the needs of immigrants, refugees,
and undocumented people.
And we also need representation that
understands the challenges of low income and working people.
And in particular, the urgent need for affordable housing
to make sure that all the people who live in Lowell
can afford to stay here.
So those are just some of the factors
that I would hope that you take into consideration
in this very, very complex process.
And I really appreciate having the time
to be able to share a little bit about Lowell with you.
Thank you, Aurora.
I will tell you that 10 years ago I
was proud to chair this process, and we
drew the very first majority minority district in Lowell,
myself and then Representative Murphy, Tom Golden, and David
Engel.
During the reprecincting process,
we reconfigured some of the borders there.
And it was the first ever majority minority district
that Lowell ever had.
And eventually, it gave us Randy Mo.
And that's really what this is about.
It's about a way where you have those opportunities
to empower people that have been sort of maybe voices haven't
been heard.
You give them a chance to at least have their voices heard.
That doesn't mean they're going to vote a particular way,
but at least have their voices heard.
It absolutely does not mean that they're always
going to vote a particular way, that's for sure.
But yeah, I think Lowell really appreciates
the time that was taken to make that happen last time around.
Well, thank you very much for your testimony
and your insight.
And I will call the next person to testify.
Thank you again.
Allison Lamey.
Allison Lamey?
Hi, good evening.
Hi, how are you doing?
Good, how are you?
I'm all right.
Thanks for joining us.
Thank you.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak tonight.
As you said, my name is Allison Lamey.
I'm the executive director of the Lowell Plan and the Lowell
Development and Financial Corporation.
We're two distinct non-profit organizations
that share a common goal of advancing economic development
opportunities in the city of Lowell.
And we have a vested interest in redistricting
and how it could impact access to critical resources
that cities like Lowell badly need.
As many of you already know, Lowell
is the largest city in the third congressional district.
Arguably, one of the most diverse, as Aurora
pointed out just before me.
More than 60 distinct languages are spoken in our high school.
We are a regional hub for arts and culture,
home to two distinguished institutions of higher ed,
and we're supported by really strong health care
and social service providers.
Lowell is one of several important gateway
cities in the third congressional district.
And this past June marked the completion
of our cross sectoral leadership program,
called LEADS, that brought leaders
from three of these gateway cities,
Haverhill, Lawrence, and Lowell, together for the first time
for a nine month experience that focused
on social and economic challenges
that our cities face.
Finding opportunities for communities
to collaborate and develop regional solutions
to the challenges we face is vital,
and LEADS was a great example of how
regional partnerships can work.
Congresswoman Lori Trahan was a champion of the program,
and of regional collaboration in general.
I've had the pleasure of working with Congresswoman
Trahan and her team since she was elected.
I've known her to be responsive, engaged, and hands-on.
She's incredibly committed to the community,
visits new businesses and nonprofits regularly,
hosts listening sessions and meetings with stakeholders
often, and disseminates information
broadly so that her constituents are informed.
And I can't say enough about her team.
They've been incredibly responsive to phone calls
and emails.
This past year especially, I saw firsthand
how they served as key connectors
between small businesses and the critical technical
and financial resources that they needed to remain open.
So just in closing, I want to thank Congresswoman Trahan
for all that she's done for the district
since coming to office.
And I also respectfully ask that the entire city of Lowell
remain in the third Congressional District,
and that our current communities in the district
be able to continue to work together
to ensure that the region remains an affordable,
equitable, and sustainable place to live and work.
Thank you again for hosting this evening tonight,
and for taking my testimony.
I appreciate it.
Thank you, Allison.
We appreciate you taking time out
of your schedule to join us.
And we have a member of the House leadership
team, Tom Golden, who is from Lowell and who
is on this committee.
So Lowell has as a voice on this committee, even.
But I appreciate you taking the time to testify.
And thank you for all the work you do.
I would like to bring up next to testify Jeff Foster.
Jeff Foster?
Hey, Jeff.
Hey, good evening, Chairs and honorable committee members.
Thanks so much for having me tonight.
I'm going to go quick.
A lot of the things I planned to share have already been raised.
But just real quick, I'm Jeff.
I'm the executive director at Common Cause Massachusetts,
in addition to being a proud resident of Lowell.
I'm testifying tonight in part as a member of the Drawing
Democracy Coalition Steering Committee,
but also as a dad with two kids who are growing up in an ever
changing Merrimack Valley.
It's not lost on me that my kids and our family
will be directly impacted by the districts
that you all draw on our region for the decade ahead.
In regard to population growth and communities of interest
in the Merrimack Valley region, I'm
really going to center equity in my testimony tonight.
First, as you've heard, Lowell continues to change.
As a destination community for diverse immigrant and refugee
populations, Lowell's diversity has become our greatest asset.
And it's not just been exclusive to the city limits.
It's also been pretty common over the years
to see second, third, or subsequent generations
move out of the city into the surrounding communities
of Chelmsford, Westford, Dracut, Tewksbury, and more.
Lowell's growingly diverse populations
have been well served by previous redistricting
processes, especially last cycle, Mr. Chair,
as you mentioned, where the legislator created the minority
majority 18th Middlesex district, That resulted
in, as was mentioned, the first ever Cambodian American
elected to state office in the country.
Most recently, Lowell also elected
its first female Cambodian American to the 17th Middlesex
district seat as well.
Lowell and our diverse population
is well served, as our state delegation is now
50% People of Color.
I would ask you all to consider this growth to date
and to protect these districts as you consider redistricting
in and around Lowell.
I'd also like to point out that as we anticipate
the potential for the map leading
to expand from west to east because of population changes,
this could mean that communities like Pepperell, Groton,
and Dunstable may need to be drawn out of the First
Middlesex Senata district.
And if this were to happen, then you
should consider communities like Chelmsford and Dracut
to be of more common interest with Lowell than others.
It's also important to note that Chelmsford has been divided
into two of the three Lowell House districts,
and it might make a lot of sense to see that connection play out
on the Senate side as well.
Next, I want to mention is Lawrence.
And as we all know, it's the highest concentration of Latinx
population in the Commonwealth.
And because of the redistricting process,
we've seen a positive increase in Latinx representation
on the House side.
While we're still not yet sure of the population
growth in the 2020 census data, I
do anticipate we'll want to pay close attention to Lawrence
to both protect the progress to date, in addition,
as it could be an opportunity for potentially new BIPOC
majority Senate district.
While I'm very supportive of the goal
to not divide up communities, I do
want to make sure you're all aware of Methuen's precinct
two, which is over 72% Hispanic.
It's currently a critical component of the 17th Essex
district, and it's a unique community of interest.
This precinct and its unique representative needs
should be carefully considered, including
the potential of including the Methuen and Lawrence together
in a potential Senate district.
Next, it goes without saying that there continues
to be an increase in Latinx population
in Haverhill, which resulted in the first ever
Latino being elected to both city council
and then to the House of Representatives.
I think it'll be really important for you
all to consider Haverhill's Hispanic population
growth in a city which currently includes four different house
districts.
And that the political power of its Hispanic population
is only beginning, and should be preserved.
Thank you again for your focus on the third Congressional
District tonight.
And most importantly, to Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill,
and the surrounding towns in the Merrimack Valley.
There's great opportunity up here
to continue to facilitate stronger and more equitable
representation of the communities of color.
Finally, I just want to take a quick point of privilege
on behalf of our nearly 40,000 members
across Massachusetts to again just publicly thank you,
Chairman Moran and Chair Brownsberger
for your leadership on this very transparent process,
and by maximizing the public input.
We're really proud to partner with you
and everyone on the committee.
And we remain committed to being a resource to you
all in the weeks and months to come.
Thanks again.
Thank you, Jeff.
And thank you, because you guys have been very helpful to us
as well.
I learned that 10 years ago that it's
a better process when more people are in it and active.
And you'll get a better result.
And also, thank you for pointing out that Methuen precinct,
because while people always don't
like when towns are split up, sometimes to keep cohesiveness
when it comes to ethnicity, you have to sometimes make
decisions like that.
And while you want to keep a community whole,
you also want to lend a voice to people
that maybe haven't had one for a long time and deserve one.
So thank you for pointing that out as well.
I will ask my colleagues if they have any questions
or comments for Jeff?
All right, hearing none thanks, Jeff.
We'll call the next person to testify.
Patty Coffey Patty, are you with us?
There you are.
Patty, I can see on my screen.
You just got to unmute now.
Hi, am i here?
There you are.
Oh, good.
Thank you, Patty, for joining us.
Thank you very much.
And what say you?
So my name is Patty Coffey, and I'm
the director of community relations at UMass Lowell.
Thank you to the committee chairs, vice chairs,
and members of the committee for the opportunity to testify,
and for transparency in this redistricting process.
I was very happy to see several of the previous speakers
before me.
They're partners of ours.
They're friends.
They're my neighbors.
So I feel like I'm at a little reunion, that's wonderful.
I'm providing this statement today
on behalf of the university.
But on a personal note, as a first generation college
student I received a bachelors and masters
from the university, and I have lived in the Merrimack Valley
for half of my life.
I've worked at the university for almost the same amount
of time.
And I've been a resident of Lowell for 11 years.
In my role as community relations director
at the university, I've had the pleasure
of working alongside people from all walks of life,
neighborhoods, business, and nonprofit partners,
including officials in Lowell city hall,
the state house, and in our federal delegation
to strengthen UMass Lowell's presence not just in the city,
but throughout the Merrimack Valley.
It's thanks to their advocacy and their work,
and the work of our executive leadership, faculty, staff,
our talented students and alumni that we've
emerged as a leading research institution,
renowned for attracting experts and innovators
from diverse sectors and across the globe.
UMass Lowell has played a key role
in the revitalization of the city of Lowell,
and we are one of the top employers in the city.
And whether it's a UMass Lowell basketball game--
I'm sorry, UMass Lowell baseball game at LaLacheur Park,
a River Hawks hockey game at the Tsongas Center,
or a basketball run to the America East Conference Finals,
people across the region have rallied around the school
and understand River Hawk pride and talent.
That's especially true of our representative in the United
States Congress, Lori Trahan.
She's seen the development of UMass Lowell
up close for a long time, first as a Lowell native, and then
as a congressional staffer who worked closely
with past leaders of the institution,
and now in her current role as our congresswoman.
UMass Lowell is grateful for the strong partnership
that we have forged with Representative Trahan, who
knows that with continued investments in cutting
edge research happening here in the mill city,
the sky is the limit.
That's why this redistricting process is so important,
and why once again your UMass Lowell
is grateful to the committee for this opportunity.
Lowell and the communities that surround our city
are a key part of the Commonwealth's history.
But the region also represents the incredible promise
that our institution is working in coordination
with our elected representatives and local partners
to achieve in the coming years.
Our community is buzzing with opportunities
for innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
And the Nexus between that and UMass Lowell cannot be
overstated enough as this committee begins its work
determining our representation for the next decade.
Thank you again for your leadership
and for your engagement with residents of the Commonwealth
to speak on this very important matter.
And we would be happy to host any of you
and the committee at the university,
or provide more information if you need it from us.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Patty.
Go River Hawks.
Appreciate you taking the time to testify.
And I am also a first generation college student,
and graduated UMass Boston.
So I have some symmetry with you.
But anyways, I will ask my colleagues
if they have any questions for Patty.
Hearing none, thank you for your testimony, Patty.
And I will move to the next person to come and testify.
Orlando Pachecho, Orlando Pacheco, are you with us?
Orlando?
We can see you there.
There we go.
Sorry, Mr Chairman, can you hear me?
Yes, I can, Orlando.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Time is money, so I'll try to be quick here.
Orlando Pacheco, town administrator
for the town of Lancaster.
A close friend of Representative Andy Vargas, please
don't hold that against me.
I just wanted to say that Lancaster
is in a very interesting and unique position.
It kind of straddles three different congressional
districts between it's sort of location in the North Central
Mass area.
But we certainly continue to advocate
for staying in the third congressional district
with Lori Trahan.
We feel like our interests are very much aligned
in the defense sector, because we are still
the one community that is in the active part of Devens.
And with her seat on the House Armed Services Committee,
there is a synergy there that happens regionally
that I don't think really gets seen on a larger scale.
There is a certain level of operating harmony
and socioeconomic relationship between Lancaster
and some of the other surrounding communities,
Shirley, and the Bolton as you go a little bit to the east.
So we just wanted to make sure we
highlighted that relationship as you're
trying to make decisions.
We know every 10 years the one thing that is inevitable
is some sort of change.
We just want to make sure that the committee is aware when
it's doing its redistricting.
Obviously, we are very pleased with both our new rep
and our new senator.
We miss Hank Naughton dearly, but Meghan Kilcoyne
has already stepped in and done well in his place.
And we feel like Senator Cronin is
going to be a very strong advocate for the town
of Lancaster and the region.
And we noticed just there is an operating
synergy between those as well.
We can't say enough about all the good things
Lori Trahan has done for Lancaster,
both when she was Marty's chief of staff and as a congresswoman
today.
She's just been an incredible advocate.
And that's it, Mr. Chairman.
We wanted to be brief, and let you move on with your evening.
Thank you, Orlando, very much.
Andy, it's been too long.
I miss you, buddy.
Andy, you know, what's horrible, Orlando, is that they get here,
they're great, and then they want
to go over to the other side and go in the Senate.
I don't know.
I mean, stay a while.
It's nice here.
It's nice.
In all disclosure, Mr. Chairman, I used to be--
and I still do advise the mayor of Haverhill from time to time.
So I do get to see Representative Vargas quite
a bit.
Well, listen, we're happy to have him on the committee
and wish him the best luck in his future endeavors.
Listen, I appreciate you taking the time to testimony.
I hear you're the second person to testify from Lancaster.
And the person before you had similar things to say.
So we're hearing you.
We're writing that down.
We'll be looking at that as we get the numbers in
and we start to draw these lines.
But thank you, Orlando, I appreciate your time.
My pleasure.
Thank you.
OK, next up is Karen Frederick.
Karen?
I'm here.
I'm on.
There you are.
I can hear you.
OK, but you can't see me.
Turn the light on.
Let's try this.
How's that?
There you go.
It's been a long night.
So thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee.
I really appreciate the opportunity to say a few words
and the transparency, as people have mentioned,
is really critical to all of us in the district.
Karen Frederick, I'm the CEO at Community Teamwork.
We're a regional agency.
I have lived in the district for my whole life except the three
years.
I'm currently a resident of Dracut,
and I've been at Community Teamwork for over 40 years.
I'm not going to say how many years over 40 anymore.
Community Teamwork serves tens of thousands
of people each year.
Last year, 54,000, and we've done that for 56 years.
We work to help people mobilize resources,
and these are folks who are low income,
and they're individuals and families.
We provide opportunities for stability in their lives,
and to have an active voice in the decisions that affect them.
In my role at Community Teamwork as CEO,
I've had the honor of working with incredible people
and families across the district.
Partnership is really the hallmark of all that we do.
I've been fortunate to work alongside incredible people who
recognize that when we give people the resources
and tools to succeed, our communities are better,
our region is better, and our Commonwealth can succeed.
That's true of our federal representative, Congresswoman
Lori Trahan, who has been an essential part of our success
over her tenure.
It's true of our state delegation across the Merrimack
Valley, and officials at the local level, all of whom
help us provide the support necessary to be
successful in our efforts.
Especially as we work to keep families afloat
during the duration of the COVID pandemic and its aftermath,
and we want to set them up to thrive.
It's really imperative that we continue
to leverage these strong partnerships to maximize
our impact and shorten our communities' road to recovery.
Just for a quick example, last week
we distributed over three million dollars
of rental assistance with our partners
in Greater Lawrence, Greater Haverhill, and Greater Lowell.
That's more than we distributed in a whole year
prior to the pandemic.
Our continued representation by the elected officials
who know us and know what we do day in and day out
and support us is key in our success.
That's why I am grateful, and every one
at Community Teamwork, is grateful to you, Chairman Moran
and Brownsberger, for scheduling this hearing tonight.
We've already heard how diverse the Third Congressional
District is and that we work together
across the communities.
That's really an incredible benefit,
and it's the strength of our district.
As you take on the challenge of updating our Commonwealth
district, Community Teamwork is hopeful
that you'll consider this regional impact
of our public, private, nonprofit partnerships
that stand to be even more successful in the coming years.
I thank you all.
I know it's been a long evening.
Thank you all so much for this opportunity tonight.
Thank you, Karen.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your testimony.
I will ask my colleagues if they have any questions for Karen?
Hearing none I will thank you for your testimony,
and enjoy the rest of your night.
Want to check back in, I think we're
going to be here around 10:00 if you want to come back.
We're going to move on to the next person now.
Thank you, Karen.
I appreciate it.
Sherman Horton, Sherman Horton.
There you are, Sherman.
Am I being expected to speak?
You don't have to if you don't want to.
That's fine.
If you'd like to, you can.
I wanted to be a watcher of this.
And when I went to the website they
asked me for information, which I provided gleefully.
And now, I guess I'm on the list.
I wish you all the best of luck.
Thank you, Sherman.
And I hope everyone gets what they want.
I appreciate it, Sherman.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for tuning in.
Simon Cataldo, Simon Cataldo?
Simon, my co-workers here just told me
that Simon has left so we will move on past Simon.
And we will go to--
we'll go back to Myra.
Myra Purel?
I can still see you up there.
I don't know if you want to testify or not.
If you don't, just unmute and tell me
you don't want to testify.
That'll be fine.
If you do, that's great.
You can testify.
All right, how about Marie Jakes Tresaint?
OK, we will move on to Mouli Ramani.
All right.
OK, Mouli, you need to unmute.
I can see you.
How's that?
Can you guys see me and hear me?
Hey, there you go.
Nice ride.
So I profusely apologize for my location,
but COVID and life gets in the way.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
So I heard a couple of minutes ago
we threw Andy Vargas under the bus.
I want to do exactly the same thing with Tom Golden.
He is a fine gentleman, and I think the world of him.
So my name is Mouli Ramani.
I am the CEO and president of a company in Lowell
called Horsepower Technologies.
We are a venture backed startup and consequently, I
may be able to offer a slightly different perspective on what
Congresswoman Trahan offers us.
I know we've heard a lot of great, great and very important
stories about what she's done for the community
at the grassroots level, at the level with driving forth
a lot of the values that we want as a society.
But I want to focus just on the business point.
And again, for brevity, and so I don't repeat everyone else,
she does all of those in spades, but what Congresswoman Trahan
has done for Horsepower Technologies,
along with Representative Golden,
is really listen to our voice to lead through entrepreneurship
for all.
Through her support for what we've done here
and all of the work we've done in the third district,
she's been absolutely spectacular.
I can't speak more highly of her.
I had great, great interactions with Congresswoman Sangas
back in that era, but Congresswoman Trahan
has done even more for us.
I will say this, that if we can keep the third district
together and we can do--
Weather alert, tropical storm warning.
Sorry, my car is yelling at me.
From current location.
My car is yelling at me.
I couldn't have planned that better.
I'm literally the last person in [INAUDIBLE] Mills
right now as I'm leaving out of my lot.
And Congresswoman Trahan is literally
the last person who leaves Congress because she's
out there helping us.
I'll leave it at that, and I want
to thank you for this opportunity
to address this, [INAUDIBLE].
And I appreciate your time, Chairman.
Thank you very much, although we may differ on Tom Golden,
but that's OK.
I'm just kidding.
No, thank you very much.
And I appreciate your testimony.
I appreciate you taking time, and I
know it's a difficult situation in the car.
But that means a lot when you take the time to do that.
All right, I will ask my colleagues
if there's any question?
All right, I don't see or hear any, so thank you again.
And I just want to take a minute now, if I could,
just to thank not on this screen is a lot of staff that
make this happen.
And they've done a great job putting this stuff together
during COVID and during this process.
We have people at our LIS department,
and I have staff here, I have three people here
that are trying painlessly to get people on
and get them hooked in.
And get them so that they can give us their testimonies.
So I just want to take a second to thank them for that work.
And also, they tell me that there was no one left
in the queue to testify.
So I thought it might be a little longer night tonight,
but I guess it isn't.
We have no one left to testify.
So Mouli would be the last person to testify tonight.
So I'd like to thank my colleagues
for sticking with me for the last two hours
and on this hearing.
And I'd like to thank my co-chair, Senator Brownsberger,
for his hard work and commitment to keeping this process
transparent and open.
And at this point in time, I would make a motion
to adjourn this committee.
And I would accept a second if I could get one.
Second.
Second, thank you all.
We will adjourn this meeting of the Redistricting Committee.
And I will remind you that the next meeting is on July 12th,
Monday, at 10:00 AM.
And that is the redistricting meeting
for the 7th congressional district.
So thank you all.
I will see you.
Have a good weekend, and I will see you on Monday
at that hearing.
Thank you, guys.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, good night.
Good night.
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