You can all hear me?
Yeah.
We're going to call this Special Joint Committee
on Redistricting to order.
I want to thank all of the attendants,
and I'd ask everybody if they could
to mute their devices or their laptops
so there is no confusion.
At this point in time, I'd like to introduce my colleague
and Co-Chair, Senator Brownsberger,
for a few remarks and so he can introduce the senators who are
on this very prestigious and august committee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And it's a privilege to serve with you,
and it is a privilege to serve with my Senate Vice Chair Anne
Gobi.
And we also have Senator Hinds.
And are there other senators that I can't see?
Senator Hinds and Gobi are the members from the Senate
this evening, and I want to thank you,
Mr. Chair, for the collaboration we have going together here.
And I thank all those who are planning to testify tonight,
including our respective Representative, Katherine
Clark.
Back to you.
Thank you, Senator.
I'd also like to introduce some of my colleagues
that are joining us here right now.
My Vice Chair, the gentleman from Lawrence, Marcos Devers
is here, as well as the gentlelady from Provincetown,
Sarah Peake, the gentleman from Lawrence,
Frank Moran, the gentleman from Mattapoisett,
Bill Strauss, the gentleman from Worcester,
John Mahoney, the gentlelady from Pittsfield,
Tricia Farley-Bouvier, the gentlewoman from Boston,
Chynah Tyler, the gentleman from Haverhill,
Andy Vargas, the gentleman from Barnstable, Kipp Diggs.
A ranking member of the House Committee
on Redistricting, Representative Paul Frost from Auburn,
and representative Tim Ferguson from [INAUDIBLE]..
I think that covers everybody that's here,
and as the members come in, I will introduce them.
I know a few of them are over at some oversight hearings,
and I know that they're running a little late.
Next, I'd like to introduce-- it's
been customary in the past when we do redistricting
that we have a member of the House
bring greetings from the district
that we are having this Zoom hearing in,
which is District 5.
I'd like to introduce the gentleman from Stoneham.
He is the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
to bring us greetings from the 5th, Representative Michael
Seamus Day.
Thank you, Mr. Leader.
I'm honored to greet you all here tonight,
welcome you virtually to the 5th Congressional District
for this hearing convened by the Special Joint Committee
on Redistricting.
As Leader Moran just said, my name is Michael Day.
I am the state representative for the 31st Middlesex
District, which comprises the great towns of Stoneham
and Winchester.
I've got the honor of providing the Special Committee with
an introduction to and a brief overview-- and brief overview,
I'll say--
of the historic Fighting 5th, which
I believe Chairman Moran and Chairman Brownsberger would
both agree is the standard by which
all other congressional districts measure themselves.
As all of our districts did, the boundaries
of the 5th Congressional shifted as a result
of the last redistricting when Massachusetts
lost a congressional seat.
The district geographically shifted
from a mostly northwest and central Middlesex
to more of a southern, southeastern Middlesex
district, incorporating much of what was previously
the 7th Congressional with a little bit of Suffolk
and Worcester sprinkled in for some flavor there.
I'm very happy that we are projected
to be keeping our nine congressional seats this time
around, and it's no surprise that the 5th accounted
for 12% of the population growth in Massachusetts
over the past decade despite the fact
that we only occupy about 10% of the Commonwealth.
So I think we can all take a victory
lap for the retention of the nine seats in Massachusetts
because of how attractive this district is.
The current Mass 5th comprises the following municipalities.
In Middlesex County, we've got Arlington, Ashland, Chairman
Brownsberger's own Belmont, parts of Cambridge,
all of Framingham, Holliston, Lexington,
Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Natick, Sherborn,
Stoneham, Sudbury, all of Waltham, Watertown, Wayland,
Weston, Winchester, and Woburn In Suffolk County,
we claim Revere and Winthrop as our own.
And checking in from Worcester County is Southborough.
The district, honorable members of this committee,
is renowned for its diversity of industry, landscape,
and historic features.
We boast America's first public beach in Revere,
the battlefields of Lexington and Concord,
and the headquarters of the world's most innovative
biotech firms, which are located in Cambridge's Kendall Square.
Incidentally, Cambridge Square was almost home to NASA,
until Houston got a little full of themselves
and used President Johnson to claim it for themselves.
We are the home to Hanscom Air Force Base,
the estate farms of Sherborn, the concrete peninsula
of Winthrop, and the crown jewel of the commonwealth parks
and open spaces, the Middlesex Fells Reservation,
which is also home to the mighty Stone Zoo.
Now, I know I'm not telling you all anything new.
You all recognize this, but I do think
it bears stating that we are known
in most quarters of the world as the most
educated congressional district in the United States.
We are the home of the incredible Perkins
School for the Blind and among many other institutions
of higher learning--
Framingham State, Brandeis University, Bentley University,
and Tufts University.
And oh, yeah, Leader Moran, a little place known as Harvard.
But lest you think members of this august committee,
that we only excel in historical attractions,
next generation industry, or having the top brains
in the world and the most unparalleled educational
institutions and opportunities in the world,
allow me to wrap up this little introduction by highlighting
some of the political leaders this congressional district has
given to our country.
The 5th Congressional District has produced,
in Congress alone, three future United States senators,
including our current Junior Senator Ed Markey and his
sneakers, one speaker of the house,
two husband-wife congressional duos, and one minister--
United States Minister to the Qing Empire, which
was the last dynasty of China.
We claim the first Congresswoman from Massachusetts,
Eleanor Nourse Rogers, who served from 1925 until 1960,
four future governors under the Commonwealth,
and the current vise speaker of the United States
House of Representatives, which is the number four
position in the House leadership, our Congresswoman
Katherine Clark.
Congresswoman Clark, and here, I'm
going to read this part to make sure I
get every part of this abbreviated biography correct.
Congresswoman Clark won position-- won election
to the position of the Vice Speaker of the United States
House in November, 2020, capping,
for now, what has been a meteoric rise
in a political career that began with her election
to the Melrose School Committee in 2002.
She then won a seat in our Massachusetts House
in 2007, in which she represented Melrose and parts
of Wakefield, but it appears that most commentators agree
that she truly arrived on the political scene
when she won her Democratic state primary in 2010,
eking out a meager 28-point win in what many commentators
believe, with all due respect to her opponents
in her congressional races, was probably
the most notable campaign Congresswoman Clark has run.
Congresswoman Clark served admirably in the State Senate,
before winning the 2013 special election
to fill the seat vacated by now Senator Ed Markey.
She's excelled during her time in Congress.
She serves this district with distinction,
and we're proud to call her our United States representative.
Honorable members of the Special Commission on Redistricting,
I give you the 5th Congressional District,
and I thank you for the opportunity to do so.
Thank you, Representative Day, for your comments
and your insight on the 5th Congressional District.
I, too, believe that that was her greatest accomplishment
by winning that primary against all odds,
against a young upstart named Michael Seamus Day.
This is the second hearing for the committee of redistricting.
This hearing will focus, as my--
Michael Day just said, of the 5th Congressional District.
This committee has actively encouraged participation
in the redistricting process from federal, state,
and municipal officials, public interest groups,
and any concerned citizens who would like to participate.
We are here to listen and learn from the people who
are taking the time out of their busy schedules
to testify here tonight and the elected officials who
are taking time out of their busy schedules
to be with us tonight.
So we can learn more about the 5th
as we start down this path of listening and learning
on how we should do this redistricting process.
We will start this hearing by taking testimony
from elected officials.
We do this out of a courtesy, because as many of you know,
there are many other events that I'm
sure they have to attend tonight.
So we will be taking their hearing first.
After hearing from the elected officials,
we will call on all other who registered tonight
through the website, and they will
be called in order that they registered on the website.
Starting this hearing and testimony tonight will be--
well, we first have the joy of introducing
the 5th Congressional District's Congresswoman Katherine Clark,
somebody who is no stranger to us.
She was a member of the House and served some time
in this legislature before she ascended to the congressperson
from the 5th Congressional District.
Congresswoman Clark, I'm happy you're here to join us,
and we'd love to hear what you have to say.
Oh, thank you so much, and good evening, Chairman Moran,
Chairman Brownsberger, members of the Joint Committee
on Redistricting, and to everyone
testifying and tuning in today as we
engage in this vital step in our democratic process.
It is great to be back, if even virtually, on Beacon Hill.
And I know already that I cannot top that introduction
to the 5th District from Representative Day.
But I want to begin by thanking you
for providing me and the residents of Massachusetts
with an opportunity to participate in today's hearing.
By ensuring that this process is open and transparent,
we embody that central principle at the heart of our democracy--
one person, one vote.
It is we, the people, that breathes life
into our democracy, and it is the census
and this redistricting process that make it a reality.
The census is how we get counted.
The census is how we make sure that Congress represents
every family, and the census is why
we're able to reshape the congressional map to better
serve every community.
You built in transparency in your 2010 redistricting
process, and I applaud that you are continuing public hearings
and will be releasing draft district
maps for comment and review.
Thank you for acknowledging and putting into action
that our government is strongest when people's voices are heard.
Unfortunately, we are seeing other states
across the country undermine, rather than strengthen
our democracy.
From partisan gerrymandering to voter suppression laws,
honoring our small D democracy has
become a dividing position instead
of a unifying principle.
It is a source of great pride that Massachusetts
is leading the way by honoring the Constitution
and remaining committed to equality and fairness.
And my pride, of course, doesn't stop there with your work.
It is truly the privilege of a lifetime
to represent the fighting 5th District of Massachusetts.
Since 2013, I've had the pleasure
of working with and getting to know the 24 cities and towns
in the 5th, from the oceanside towns of Revere and Winthrop,
through the historic communities of Cambridge, Arlington,
and Lexington, to the economic engine of Metro West.
During my time in Congress, I have
developed a deep appreciation and love
for the cities and towns in my district
and the people who call them home.
We are made up of urban, suburban,
and rural communities.
We are home to vibrant immigrant populations,
who enrich our communities with a diversity of cultures,
backgrounds, and experiences.
We host world-renowned science and biotech companies that are
leading innovation in everything from addressing COVID-19
to finding a cure for Alzheimer's.
Our main streets are populated by thriving small businesses
of every kind, from child care providers
to shops and restaurants to a craft beer
industry that is reinvigorating our downtowns one
pint at a time.
We are home to institutions of higher
learning that shape minds and global conversation
and community colleges that are ensuring
that opportunities for higher education
are accessible to all.
And while our district embodies this incredible diversity
of backgrounds, experience, and expertise,
this difficult year has clearly shown
that the people of the 5th District
are bound by what we share in common--
a commitment to compassion, courage, and creativity
that has made our district even stronger.
We have seen people transition to remote teaching,
while also caring for their families, health care
workers and first responders who put their lives on the line
to save the lives of others, and young activists
who have organized rallies and led protests
to ensure that justice means justice for all.
From Winthrop to Waltham, Southborough
to Stoneham to the Brownsbergers in Belmont,
the 5th District has demonstrated
the incredible strength and altruism.
Our district has donated food, sewn masks,
helped elderly neighbors sign up for vaccine appointments,
and so much more, all to protect the health and safety
of their communities.
This is the heart and soul of the 5th District
and why I am so incredibly proud to call it home.
I am eager to see the results of your work
and how MA-5 has continued to grow and transform with time.
I am so grateful to all of you that we
share a commitment to honoring our Constitution and the voices
of all residents.
Thank you for this process.
Thank you for the opportunity to join you tonight.
We look forward to working with you in the months to come.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Congresswoman.
And thank you for that insight in what makes the 5th the 5th.
I would-- can you hear me?
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Oh, good, good, good.
Sometimes-- I had a little audio problem earlier.
So now, I have a few announcements to make.
If anybody is watching at home, they are live streaming,
and you would like to testify, you can go to our website,
and you can sign up to testify through the website,
and you will be put on that list tonight, if you are currently--
would like to say something, and you're not registered or signed
up, you can do that tonight in--
and we will put you on the list.
Secondly, we have over 70 people signed up to testify, so it's--
I can imagine it's going to be a long night.
If you can please keep your testimony to three minutes,
that would be greatly appreciated.
At 70 people at three minutes puts us at about four hours,
so I think this is going to be a long one.
So please try, when you can, to keep your comments
to the three-minute time frame.
If we do approach midnight, and we do go over the time,
we will recess this hearing.
And those that haven't testified will
be able to testify this Friday, May 7, at 1:00 PM.
If that time doesn't work for you,
then you can testify at the next hearing on the 24th,
because we do want to make sure that anybody who
wants their voice to be heard, their voice will be heard.
So as I mentioned earlier, we're going to start testimony--
oh, sorry.
Brian just notified me.
Does anybody have any questions for the Congresswoman
before she leaves?
Anybody would like to ask any questions,
any member of the committee would
like to ask any questions?
Hearing none.
Thank you, Congresswoman.
Next up to testify is the gentle lady
from Lexington, Representative Michelle Ciccolo.
Mr. Chairman, may I jump in for a quick second and let you
know and the public know that Senator Fattman has joined us
as a member of the committee.
Thank you.
Thank you, Senator.
Excuse me.
Anybody else?
Representative Ciccolo.
Good evening, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for hosting this hearing.
I appreciate the opportunity to testify before the committee
today, and I appreciate all the members for your dedication
to this process.
It's really terrific to have the opportunity
to participate in something that [INAUDIBLE] and transparent.
And I know that since you have so many people,
I will be very, very brief.
I just wanted to say that I represent the 15th Middlesex
District, which most of you know is all of Lexington
and part of Woburn.
My district has grown in population,
and, perhaps, the boundaries will need to shrink some.
But as you face your impossible task
of trying to figure out how to draw these maps,
I just wanted you all to consider
that one of the things that is little known about Lexington
is our very large Asian population.
We are very blessed and have been actively engaged
over the past decade to find ways
to get our Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese residents
to actually engage in the political process.
We've had some very considerable success
getting members elected to town meeting,
to town-wide boards and committees,
and getting them engaged, because we believe
wholeheartedly in Lexington that our government should
be representative of the people who live in the district
and should really look like the people who
live in the district.
Lexington is 23% Asian, foreign-born at this point.
And if you include the children of foreign-born residents,
[INAUDIBLE] the population numbers
are even higher [INAUDIBLE].
And the number of schoolchildren [INAUDIBLE] Asian heritage.
And what makes that interesting, obviously,
is that with so many Asian residents,
it's just important to keep Lexington
together so that those residents have an opportunity
to participate in their democracy fully.
It makes them stronger and gives them a greater voice,
and we think that's really critical.
So I just really wanted to give a little bit more flavor
about how my district is comprised
and how it's been changing and let
you know that our government here takes it very seriously.
Having been a member of the select board previously,
we really do make tremendous efforts
to engage our residents of all minorities.
And now that we are also an environmental justice
community, it's important to keep us together.
So with that, I thank you again for your efforts
and appreciate your time.
Thank you, Representative Ciccolo.
Much appreciated.
Thank you for participating.
Next, I would like to have, from the town of Weston, the town
clerk, Deborah Davenport.
OK, Deborah Davenport has not logged in yet,
so we're going to move to Ryan O'Malley.
Ryan O'Malley, your turn to testify.
Hello, can you hear me OK?
Yes, we can hear you.
Yeah.
Perfect.
I'd like to thank the Chair, Representative Moran, Senator
Brownsberger, and the members of the Joint Committee
on Redistricting.
My name is Ryan O'Malley.
I'm the Ward 4 City Councilor in Malden.
I'm compelled to appear before you tonight
to highlight the unique opportunity
and challenge you face in redistricting
the 5th Congressional District.
While I'm comforted by the dedication of the Joint
Committee and its leadership to ensure a fair, transparent,
and equitable process, I must highlight
a few overarching matters that make this process more delicate
this time around.
We are redistricting with data collected
during a pandemic that has disproportionately
impacted BIPOC, immigrant, and lower income communities,
communities like Malden.
We are redistricting with data collected
during an unprecedented and coordinated attack
by the highest office in the land
to intimidate undocumented individuals into not responding
to the census.
We are redistricting when confidence
in American democracy is battered but not yet broken.
It is very important that we get this right
to ensure full enfranchisement and representation
of our residents.
Now, when it comes to communities like Malden
and neighborhoods like mine in Ward 4,
we are faced with very specific and measurable factors
that should weigh into how Malden's districts are drawn.
One, Malden has historically been
undercounted by the census, including this year.
For instance, Malden's overall self-response rate
in the 2020 census was just 66.3%,
which is lower than the overall CD 5 response rate of 75.2%.
Even more alarmingly is the response rate
in my neighborhood.
Census tract 3413.01 had a self-response rate
of just 52.3%, down from 64.1% during the 2010 census,
which was in the bottom 20% of the entire census.
Census tract 3413.02 also came in low at 66.3%.
Two, Malden has constructed over 2,150 new residential units
over the last 10 years.
The vast majority are in Ward 4 within the census tracts
mentioned above.
Three, most of Malden is an environmental justice area,
and Ward 4, Precinct 1 is designated
as such for its minority income in English isolation statuses.
Four, by comparison to surrounding communities,
Malden's median household income is just 61% of that in Melrose.
Malden's 66,000 versus 107 in Melrose,
and our per capita income is only 59% compared to Melrose.
Additionally, 15.5% of Malden residents
live in poverty, versus 4.1% in Melrose.
We are a working class community,
and we are a diverse community.
The people of Malden deserve districts and representation
that share the lived experiences of the people who
actually live in Malden.
It is important that Malden's wards and precincts stay
together as much as possible.
To summarize, one, Malden is currently
undercounted and growing.
Two, Malden is becoming a majority BIPOC community.
Three, Malden has historically lost wards and precincts
to surrounding communities that do not share the same lived
experiences we do.
Four, let's keep Malden together.
Various Malden residents and community organizations
like the Greater Malden Asian-American Community
Coalition could not be here today
but will be submitting written testimony in support
of keeping Malden together.
Again, my name is Ryan O'Malley, Ward 4 City Councilor.
I want to thank the Joint Committee for the opportunity
to appear tonight.
Thank you, Ryan, for your testimony.
Ryan, that undercount was something
that we were very concerned about from the legislature,
and we were able to put $2.5 million for the first time
ever into an accurate count committee that was administered
by the secretary of state.
I know that Malden might have been undercounted,
but we tried everything we could,
at least from the legislature, to put things in place so that
wouldn't happen.
Hopefully, that next time that will not happen,
but at this point in time, we're constitutionally mandated
to use census data.
So whatever they give us and whenever they give it to us,
that's what we have to use by Constitution.
So but listen.
Thank you for your testimony.
It's very much appreciated.
Thank you for participating.
There are some people who have signed up
but have not seemed to check in.
Yolanda Greaves is signed up, and we
haven't heard from her yet.
Darlene Hayes, Isaac Beers, and I
think the next person that is here is George Ahlin.
George Ahlin from Mystic Valley Elder Services.
George, are you there?
[INAUDIBLE]
George, did you want to--
Hello, George Ahlin.
Hello, George Ahlin?
Yes, George Ahlin.
All right, excellent, George.
Thank you for coming to this hearing virtually,
and please give us your comments on redistricting
that you'd like us to hear.
Well, first of all, my name is George Ahlin.
I'm a retired clinical pharmacist from--
in Massachusetts.
My job as a pharmacist was to protect the public health.
I am retired right now.
I am concerned about this redistricting.
I represent Mystic Valley Elder Services all the time,
not only for Revere.
I came from-- lived in Melrose for the past 45 years,
and now I'm living in Revere with my wife.
I feel that redistricting is very, very important.
My wife just came from [INAUDIBLE] Life,
where she brought in the [INAUDIBLE]..
I support this program.
Unfortunately, as we just heard, in Malden,
the census wasn't too good because of the--
it just doesn't work.
And it has-- it's been like that throughout the country.
I am feeling very strong about the problem
we have with gerrymandering.
And we need to get--
eliminate the partisan gerrymandering
and make it an independent, nonpartisan redistricting
commission.
And I have seen other community estates that has done this,
and I feel that would be the best interest.
Massachusetts is a great state.
We've got a great mayor.
We've got a great-- and my representative,
Katherine Clark, has done an outstanding job.
She really has.
She's been very supportive, as everybody in the state
has been to Mystic Valley Elder Services and the seniors.
So the seniors really appreciate the hard work you're doing.
I would like to think that as you're going forward,
partisan politics has got to stop.
And we've got to get in and stop from this gerrymandering that's
going on.
We need an independent, nonpartisan redistricting
commission, and maybe the Supreme Court
are the ones that should be able to monitor what they do.
The seniors in Melrose, Melrose, Malden, Medford,
all the communities, Stoneham, Wakefield--
I can go on. [? There's several ?] other
communities--
they're concerned about how things
are getting done, because seniors seem
to be pushed off on the back.
But thank god, the Massachusetts Congress
has done an excellent job, and it's keeping our seniors going.
We appreciate your hard work.
I hope to see you all at the next luncheon--
at the next breakfast meeting at Mystic Valley.
Thank you.
OK, thank you, George.
[INAUDIBLE] time to [INAUDIBLE] and give us your comments.
Next up is Paul Schlichtman.
He is a member of the Arlington School Committee.
Paul?
Good evening, and thank you, Mr. Chairman
and Senator Brownsberger, who's an old friend.
I represent-- I'm a member of the school
committee in Arlington, and we're
the heart and soul of this district,
of the 5th Congressional.
We punch above our weight.
Arlington is a municipality, produced the ninth largest vote
total in the Democratic primary this year for President.
we're certainly not the ninth largest municipality.
We really enjoyed being represented by Speaker O'Neill,
and we look forward to being represented by Speaker Clark.
So yeah, we-- we're the heart and soul
in the center of the 5th.
We'd like to stay that way.
I want to speak about our situation
with the State House of Representatives.
We are currently divided between two representatives,
Representative Garballey and Representative Rogers.
Historically, Arlington has been tied to Belmont
in the rep race.
We have been well served by this.
Senator Brownsberger has been an excellent representative
for us, and we're happy to see him in the Senate.
We miss him, and we're glad he listens
to us, even though we're no longer in his boundaries.
The current division works for us.
So if you're looking at making Arlington work in terms
of representation, we're pretty happy where we're at.
So if you're going to mess with lines and mess
with other things, go around Arlington.
Leave us alone.
We're doing pretty well.
I know this is hard work for you guys,
and you've got 351 communities with a whole different bunch
of viewpoints.
And I appreciate the supreme challenge of the population
shifts this year have put before you.
And I admire your work, and we'll
be happy to talk to you further, if you so desire.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Paul.
I will be sure to pass that along
to Representative Rogers and Representative Garballey
that you want to keep both of them.
I understand-- I understand Sean Garballey, but Dave Rogers,
I got to be honest with you.
I'm just kidding.
That's a joke.
I'm just kidding.
Dave's a good friend.
There are a lot of people who have seemed to sign up here,
who have not logged in yet.
So if you would indulge me, I'm going
to read through their names, because I just want,
if they are watching, to let them know that we have not--
they have not logged in yet in a manner in which we can
pull them out for testimony.
Janet Sturman, Karen Roy, Guy Abernathy,
Patrick Leahy [? Nally. ?] Joan [? Weskit, ?] Lisa Sullivan,
[? Tristan ?] Campbell, Matthew [? Luss, ?] [? Katherine ?]
[? Phillips, ?] Edward [? Mahati, ?] Mary [? Reddy, ?]
[? Louis ?] Sampson, Gregory [? DiGirilmo, ?] I think that
is, Paul [? Joy ?] John Burgess, and John [? Manni. ?] So those
people have registered to testify,
but they have not logged in yet.
The next person that has logged in that would like to testify,
I believe, is Teresa [? McNutt ?] from Belmont.
Mr. Chairman?
Yes.
Maybe it would be useful just to repeat, in case, just possible
that some people don't realize that they
need to come into the Zoom link in order to be recognized.
When you signed up through the form, you were--
a Zoom link was displayed for you.
And if you are not seeing that Zoom
link, another way to get it, again,
would just be to re-sign up.
And then you'll see that Zoom link,
so you can come in and testify.
So this-- people who are seeing this
through the live feed as opposed to the Zoom link
may pick that up and be able to come back in and take
their place in line to testify.
Great.
Thank you, Senator.
Again, who is registered in here, I believe,
is Teresa [? McNutt ?] from Belmont.
Teresa, you there?
Yes, I am.
I'm a listener.
I do not intend to testify.
So thank you for acknowledging that I had that opportunity.
OK.
Thank you, Teresa.
Also, who is here, I believe, and would like to testify,
Jack Lebovic.
Jack?
Hello.
Good evening.
Can everyone hear me?
Yep.
Thank you.
I'd like to begin by thanking Chairman Brownsberger, Chairman
Moran, and the members of the committee
for hosting this hearing and for your continued
commitment to engaging committee members
throughout the redistricting process.
My name is Jake Lebovic.
I lead community outreach work at Lawyers for Civil Rights.
LCR protects and expands voting rights for people of color
and traditionally disenfranchised groups.
As part of this work, we, along with our partners
under the Drawing Democracy Coalition,
are ensuring that the forthcoming redistricting
process across the Commonwealth is fair, equitable,
transparent, and community-driven.
I'm here today to echo the powerful testimony provided
by the community members and groups here before you
and to underscore the importance of keeping these communities
together when redrawing district lines,
particularly for the communities comprised predominantly
of immigrants and people of color
in cities such as Revere, Framingham, and Malden.
Through our partnerships and advocacy
on behalf of residents in CD 5, we've
seen that when communities of color are empowered,
it strengthens our common law.
In Revere, LCR is leading eviction prevention work
as a critical part of our medical legal partnership
with MGH Revere.
And Framingham LCR is actively supporting
the membership of the Brazilian Workers' Center.
In Malden, LCR protected the rights of young black women
to wear their hair in braids at Mystic Valley Regional Charter
School.
In this manner, LCR is familiar with the needs
on the ground of CD 5, and we know that fair representation
is the foundation of advancing racial justice and equity
in these communities.
Based on our first-hand work in the district,
we are firmly convinced that drawing district lines that
keep communities of color and immigrant communities
together is a necessary first step toward making
fair representation a reality.
Throughout the line-drawing process,
LCR will continue to be a resource
to elevate the voices of community members
and to ensure compliance with the federal voting rights laws
on their behalf.
We are grateful for the opportunity
to support the residents in this district,
and we look forward to continuing
to work with the Drawing Democracy
Coalition and this committee to foster
a more equitable and inclusive democracy.
Thank you.
Great.
Thank you, Jack.
Thank you for your testimony.
Thanks, Jack.
So Patricia Muldoon is next.
I don't believe she is logged in,
but we wanted to call her out.
[? Caitlin ?] [? Christopher ?] from Bellingham,
you would be next.
[? Caitlin? ?]
Hello, can you hear me?
I can.
You're here.
OK.
Oh, thank you.
Sorry.
It logged out for a second.
So thank you for hosting this session for all of us.
I'm here, just because I had received
an email from Katherine Clark, which I really appreciated.
And I just wanted to show up.
I wanted to listen to what everyone else has to say,
everyone in my immediate community.
And I suppose I just want to say that with things going
the way that they had in the country
in the past several years, I'm just afraid that certain people
aren't being represented, while other people are being overly
represented.
And I don't know what to suggest to combat this issue
for this particular process.
Gerrymandering has come up, but I just
want to urge you to do right by all of our people, especially
underrepresented minorities.
Please give them a voice.
BIPOC people, immigrants, the working class--
I just want to see, I guess, more representation
given to these people so that they have more opportunities
and so that the community at large can flourish and do well.
That's it.
Thank you.
Thank you, [? Caitlin. ?] That is certainly
the intent of this committee, to do exactly what you said.
I believe 10 years ago, that was also the intent,
and some would say that that's exactly what we did.
And we have the strongest and most diverse
congressional district that we could draw,
and that's being represented right now by Ayanna Pressley.
So anyways, next, signed up to testify
is [? Sarah ?] Stone and Roy Saltman,
but they have not checked in yet.
So we'll go down to Christopher Fry.
Christopher Fry from Sudbury?
Christopher, you here?
Wait a minute.
Now, can you hear me?
I can hear you now, Christopher.
Thank you.
At the beginning of this session, somebody--
I'm sorry, I forgot who said-- our district is
unique to the state for a number of important reasons.
As an instructor at MIT, I certainly second that.
But further, we are unique in the country,
and I would actually argue the entire world.
With such great intellectual resources
comes great responsibility.
As such, I have an innovative proposal.
Rather than doing another gerrymandered congressional
district map, I suggest making Massachusetts one district that
elects nine representatives using instant runoff voting,
like Cambridge does for its city council.
I would like to list five objections to my proposal,
because I'm sure there's a lot of them,
and give some responses just to help
clarify what I'm talking about.
First objection-- IRV is new and untested.
That's true relative to first past the post,
but there's plenty of examples of it in the world.
First past the post has failed to give us a government that
makes optimal decisions.
We need a better process.
We, our congressional district, can
lead the way in Massachusetts to getting the country a better
government.
Massachusetts invented gerrymandering.
Massachusetts should invent something better.
Objection two, this won't allow a representative
to bring home pork to their district.
That's correct, and that's a good thing.
Federal tax dollars should benefit the whole country
efficiently, not isolated districts.
Local projects should be funded with local money.
Objection three, no incumbent will
vote for this, because they care more about re-election
than anything else, and any change to the rules
will make it less likely that they'll win again.
This objection is the reason my proposal
is least likely to get adopted.
But I will say, one, when districts
change under the old systems, representatives
lose some of their supporters.
This lets them get them back.
Two, special issue candidates will get support
from all over the state for their special issue, which
will only need 1/9 of the state of support coming
from all districts, when they wouldn't be able to get 1/9
from just one district.
And a third advantage for representatives
is they'll get to represent the entire state of Massachusetts,
and by doing so, build their name recognition
for a Senate run.
Fourth objection, this proposal makes party politics
less influential in corrupting the will of the people.
My response is I'm afraid so.
And my last objection--
this will allow minorities to have
more say in how their taxpayer dollars are spent
and, thus, disrupting the status quo.
Again, I'm afraid so.
I'm done.
Thank you very much, Christopher.
We appreciate your opinion, although I'm not
sure I agree with all of it, but I appreciate it.
So next up would be [? Pradaka ?] Pratt
from Framingham, who I don't believe has logged in yet.
Virginia [? Rosen, ?] who I don't believe
has logged in yet.
[? Danee ?] Johnson, who I don't believe is logged in yet.
And I believe who is here is Joan Hill from Natick.
Joan?
Joan Hill, you there?
In the meantime, if Christopher is still here, Paul Frost,
Representative Frost has made it known to me
that he would like to ask a question.
Representative Frost?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I think all I kind of want to do is comment
and to say that regarding that last proposal that we had,
had received, it was to ask the question
or at least address the issue as saying,
I think that there would be a fourth or fifth objection
of being from Central Massachusetts.
I think they would be-- and I don't
know what his thoughts on that were-- but some objection
to folks, say, out in Central or Western Massachusetts
that if Boston gets to decide who our Congress folks are
going to be out this way, I think
there would be definitely some pushback on that.
And he didn't seem to address that particular issue.
And at some point down the line, if he does return,
I would like to hear his comments on that.
But being from Central Massachusetts, you know,
I've advocated for that Worcester-based district
for a long time and to have regional sense
with these districts.
And I obviously-- and I think you do agree, Mr. Chair--
that a proposal, such as a statewide deciding the nine
seats would take away influence from the very regions that
are looking for that influence from their congressmen
and that representation from their congressperson.
So thank you, Mr. Chairman, and that was
kind of my statement/question.
All right, and I believe Christopher Fry is still on,
and he would like to address that.
And that would be acceptable.
OK, thank you.
Yes, and that is a good point, and I did not
articulate it well in my initial presentation.
What I would say is that we're becoming
less of a sort of region special interest and more
of a global everything interest.
So this would not reduce the power of a vote
by people from Central Massachusetts or anywhere,
really.
It gives everywhere a much more equal vote.
And as I tried to articulate, with our two-party system
and these congressional districts right now,
a third party option just really isn't possible.
But if we have this expanded district
count with a whole state voting, that
means that even a ninth party might have-- a ninth most
important party might have enough votes to actually gain
representation in Congress.
Right now, unless you're part of one of the two parties,
you have zero representation in Congress.
And to even put it more finely, unless you're
part of the winning group, you have zero representation.
This would give many more people a voice
in the US federal government.
Thank you, Christopher.
Unless one of my other colleagues has a question,
we would move on to Joan Hill.
Any of my colleagues would like to ask
Christopher another question?
He's bringing up some--
Hi.
Is that Joan?
No, it's me, and I will let that 9 and 1 question rest.
My objection is that Cambridge is split down the middle,
and we're one city, and it makes it
difficult to have issues addressed citywide when we're
splitting into two districts.
And it looks to me as though it's
quintessential gerrymandering to have
the center of the butterfly in one district
and the two wings in another.
And it's all-- ever since from 10 years ago, it's bothered me
that this has happened.
And I'm delighted to have Congresswoman Clark, as I'm
in her district, as well as--
and anyway, in her district.
And I would like to keep it that way.
I think the whole city should be under her [INAUDIBLE]..
And I think--
Go ahead.
I'm also in Marjorie Decker's area and Senator Boncore.
And I'm happy with all of them, but I
think Cambridge needs to be a unified city.
And having it split into two districts is silly.
OK, thank you.
Thank you, Joan.
Just to give you a rationale for why that's done,
Fresh Pond and the areas around MIT,
who are majority-minority parts of Cambridge,
and the reason we put them into the congressional district
there is because that is a majority-minority district.
So we felt it was only right to let the folks that
live in the Fresh Pond and MIT area who are majority-minority,
put them in a district where they more closely are aligned
with the person who now represents them,
which is Ayanna Pressley.
Right.
So I just want to--
you can disagree with that or whatever.
But that was the rationale behind it and why we did it.
And--
Thank you.
Just want to let you know why.
That's all.
OK, thank you so much.
OK, no worries.
So--
Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to call your attention
to something that popped up in the Q&A.
We have a Mr. Juan Jaramillo [INAUDIBLE],,
of Revere who's asking to testify.
The mayor of Revere is asking--
Aide to the mayor of Revere is--
says the mayor could not attend, but we
were hoping it would be possible for me
to testify on his behalf.
I believe my staff has already told him yes,
and he is on the list.
OK, very good.
Next to testify is Clarence Ligon.
Ligon?
Clarence, are you with us?
OK, Joel Rothstein is signed up but hasn't checked in yet.
[? Renee ?] Hopper is also signed up
and hasn't checked in yet.
Clarence is in there. [? He just got on. ?]
All right, Clarence, I'm understanding you're here.
Clarence, are you here?
Clarence, I think, is on mute.
OK, now I'm unmuted.
All right, Clarence, there you are.
Thank you.
Thank you for the redistricting community chairs, Senator
William Brownsberger, Representative Moran,
and other members of the committee.
Thank you for hosting this public hearing
and your comments, commitment to engaging
as many grassroots organizations as possible
during this process.
My name is Clarence Ligon.
I have been a member of the NAACP for many years,
and I am currently the treasurer.
I wanted to share my opinion that is essential
that we continue to move Massachusetts closer
to ensuring that everyone, including BIPOC
committees, low income people, and immigrants
have equitable representation.
What's troubling-- what's troubling me
the most is the continuing inequities between residents,
like public education, housing, health care, and criminal law,
and policing reform.
I had been a resident in West Medford for over 30 years.
We must keep an open public dialogue between community
members and a redistricting committee,
so we can work together to accomplish our goals.
Four points should be emphasized.
One, redistricting process is transparent and open to all.
Two, education and getting community members
to participate in public forums and provide feedback
on district maps.
Three, increasing access to data and mapping tools
to increase community voice and redistricting.
Four, developing a statewide map that keeps historical
marginalized communities and increases the number
of majority BIPOC districts to better reflect
its entire population.
Thank you, again, for your work on redis--
I can't get it out--
redistricting.
Clarence, thank you.
And I would encourage you, if you haven't already,
to go on to our website, which is mahouse.gov.
And when you go there, you will--
we provide you with three different links,
so you can download a mapping software, so you can draw maps,
and you can submit those maps to us.
So--
OK.
A lot of the stuff on that website
I think you will find very useful,
and I think you'll see that we are
trying to do a lot of the things that you would encourage
us to do.
So I just want to thank you for coming and giving us
your testimony.
And hopefully, we'll see you again at one of these.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Clarence.
OK, next, we will have, from the mayor's office in Revere, Juan.
Are you with us, Juan?
Juan Diego Jaramillo?
Hello?
Juan, are you there?
Oh, hello.
Yes, hi.
Can you see me?
Yep, I apologize.
When you signed up through the website,
you didn't say the mayor's office,
so that's why you didn't jump out at us.
OK, right, yeah.
I apologize for that.
I'm sorry about that.
No worries.
Yes, the mayor couldn't make it today.
But really, he wanted to express his full support
for the collaboration with Congresswoman Clark.
Revere has been very well served in the 5th Congressional
District, especially over the past five years.
Revere, in the context of the 5th District,
is a community that really provides
a vital supply of what became known
as essential workers in the community.
You see Revere residents working throughout the Boston area,
working in Cambridge, working throughout the 5th
Congressional District as well.
As was mentioned earlier by a colleague in Malden,
we have also struggled with having undocumented folks,
undocumented residents that participate in our community
and also provide essential work.
We're grossly undercounted in the census.
We understand, of course, that the US Census
is the official tally that is in use,
but we just wanted to call attention to that fact as well.
Revere, in the past 10 years, has seen immense development
and growth, both along the eastern border, Revere Beach,
as well as in the western and northern areas of the city,
where we border Malden and Everett.
So really, we believe that we deserve
to remain in the 5th District.
We believe we are well served being fully within Senator
Boncore's district as well.
And we would like to advocate for a fair redistricting
in terms of providing representation
for working class people in the Commonwealth.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
And our regards to the mayor.
Tell him we said hello, and we appreciate your testimony.
Next would be Nick and Jane Garcia.
Nick and Jane Garcia, are you here?
[INAUDIBLE]
Nick?
Nick and Jane Garcia?
They appear to be muted.
I need you to unmute, Nick.
[INAUDIBLE] as we speak.
All right, so let's stop.
Nick is, I think, trying to unmute himself,
or if he wants to speak.
Karen [? Rothkin ?] is signed up and not here,
as well as Linda [? Thomasetti. ?] Who is here
is Richard Rosenberg from Holliston, Richard Rosenberg,
who is representing Mass 350.
Richard, are you with us?
[INAUDIBLE]
Hm?
He left.
Richard has appeared to leave, so Richard is not here.
How about Kenneth Bernard?
Kenneth?
I'm sorry, Keith Bernard.
Keith Bernard?
Hello, there.
Hey.
How are you, Keith?
I'm great.
You know, I want to start off by thanking
you, Chairman Moran and Chairman Brownsberger
as well as the members of the Joint Committee,
and I just want to thank [INAUDIBLE] in advance.
My name is Keith Bernard, proud resident
of Malden, Massachusetts.
Thank you for letting me speak and providing the opportunity
for the public to weigh in during this important step
of supporting the democratic process.
I'd like to reinforce the need, and it's
been spoken of by several other people
to please take into account the need for providing diversity
for our community as well as others
throughout the congressional district.
Just as a little background, this last summer, I
had the opportunity to volunteer with one
of our local mutual aid groups, and I got
to meet many of my neighbors.
Some of them were undocumented.
They were in need, and they were afraid to get involved
in some of the political processes
in order to express their needs.
And I think it was very important for us,
as a community, to join together, especially
during the pandemic, to go and show them and try to encourage
them to get counted, to go and show that we were going--
we would support them, that they were our neighbors
no matter where they were in their immigration process.
And also that they have families that have mixed status, where
their children were citizens, and yet they
might have been undocumented.
They have a voice.
They have a role to play in our society.
A lot of them are important critical workers
that stayed working throughout this summer.
And we need to actually get out there and make sure
that when we're redistricting, especially in Malden,
where we've historically been undercounted, to make sure
that we encourage them to continue going and speaking
out, going and getting involved in discussions for our schools,
for our roads, for our resources,
and we're supporting them in general.
We're a stronger district.
We're a stronger city.
We're a stronger state, and we're
a stronger nation if we have a diversity of opinions
and experiences at the table.
So again, thank you for this opportunity.
When you're making your decisions,
I want to just reinforce again, please
make sure that you're going and doing everything
that you can to go and make sure that everyone goes and gets
represented and that we're not going and cutting up
neighborhood [INAUDIBLE] keep it from going and having
those political voices.
Thank you.
I appreciate your testimony.
We have every intent to do what you say,
and last election redistricting process,
we made the first ever fully majority-minority congressional
district, and we created 20 majority-minority house seats
as well as, I believe, there were at least--
well, correct me if I'm wrong.
There were at least three or four majority-minority Senate
districts that we created.
And that was the most we could create
and the most anybody create, looking at the map.
So we're going to go at it with that same attitude this time.
And I think it's important that we do that.
So I appreciate your testimony.
Thank you.
Next, I'm going to read off a few people that have signed up
but are not here.
[? Siobhan ?] [? Natun, ?] Claude [? Dizeer, ?] Neil
[? Aresti, ?] Lawrence [? LaFour, ?] and Thomas
[? Huff. ?] They've appeared to--
they've signed up but haven't checked in yet.
So who has checked in is Norma [? Shulman ?] from Framingham.
Norma, are you there?
I'm here, and--
Hi, Norma.
I'll start the video.
Thank you very much to all of you for the opportunity
to comment.
I'm a long time resident and an activist in Framingham,
and I'm honored to have three fine state
representatives representing parts of Framingham.
And, of course, our fine State Senator, the Senate President,
and our Congresswoman Katherine Clark.
I testified at a redistricting hearing
following the previous census.
From that experience, I have some of the same basic requests
that I'd like to emphasize again.
Some of these things have already been said,
but I'll be brief.
I-- it is important for Massachusetts
to continue to set the best example
for a transparent and neutral process.
I request that voters who may be directly affected
by census numbers that require a change at any level
of their districts, to be directly informed in advance
and given the opportunity to provide input
to proposed changes.
Whenever possible, please keep precincts and neighborhoods
and communities intact.
Keep in mind that Framingham represents a widely diverse
population and requires your extra careful attention
when considering drawing district lines.
Thank you very much for your work.
Thank you very much, Norma, for checking in with us.
And as far as Framingham goes, I know last cycle,
there's a sizable Latino population in Framingham,
and we were able to put them all in one-- well, the precincts
that were majority Latino, all into one
district for that very reason.
So we have no intent on breaking them up this time around.
And you're right.
You do have some fine representatives out there
in Framingham, so we appreciate your testimony.
Thank you very much.
Next, who is here, I believe, is Eric Volkin.
Eric Volkin from Framingham?
Hello.
Good evening.
Hey, Eric.
How are you?
Great, thanks.
Hope everybody's doing well tonight.
Thank you.
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Special Joint
Committee.
My name is Eric Volkin.
I'm a resident of the fighting 5th Congressional District.
And I'm here to make sure that the Special Joint
Committee, on this redistricting,
has all the necessary information to draw
a fair map for everybody and to really
assure that the process is fair and transparent, as many
have already mentioned.
And really, my desire is to have the city of Framingham
remain with the fighting 5th represented by Congresswoman
Katherine Clark.
And I really take pride in having
Congressman Clark representing us
and appreciate all her hard work and efforts.
And it's basically the results that I've
seen in these past few years that, really, it
shows what can be done in Congress
with the right representation.
And where-- I do desire that, where the representation still
remains after the redistricting is complete.
And just to mention, Congresswoman Clark
makes government very approachable and real for me.
She actually listens to us and gets results.
So thank you for this opportunity
to address the committee, and I wish you all the best.
Thank you, Eric.
I appreciate your testimony.
I do want to recognize a couple of representatives
who have joined us over the last few minutes.
Representative Nick Boldyga is here,
a member of the committee, as well as the gentleman from
Boston, Representative Dan Hunt, and the gentleman from
Lawrence-- no relation--
Frank Moran is here.
Thank you, Frank, for attending.
We appreciate your attendance.
Next up to testify is--
I'm going to get this name wrong.
I promise you that, and I apologize ahead of time.
It's Girish Pathak?
Pathak?
Girish Pathak from Sudbury?
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes, I can.
And would you mind stating your name,
so I can get it right next time?
Absolutely.
This is Girish Pathak.
Oh, I came close.
I came close.
Good evening.
I'm here.
Thank you.
Good evening.
I'm Girish Pathak from the town of Sudbury and I'll be brief.
I have just two questions, so call them inquisitions up sort.
Two questions on the current map of the 5th Congressional
District--
the first question is, why is Sudbury
split into two districts?
The split dilutes the votes and voice of the Sudbury
as a whole.
And I'm not asking how we got there or why we are here.
Instead, going forward, why not have
Sudbury under one district?
And that is my first suggestion in requesting a response
to the question.
The second question I have is, why is Congressional District 5
so thin and long?
It almost looks like a--
it looks between a pencil and a banana, if you will.
And it has a basket of towns in it.
As a result, any policy or bill at the district level cannot
serve most towns, let alone all.
There's hardly any common issue from one end to the other.
Why not find a map close to a circle or a square
or a polygon of the whole towns?
Why not just have few whole towns,
essentially from Metro West, presumably
all from Middlesex County, adding up to 700-plus thousand
that you need?
I'll stop here.
Thank you.
Thank you, Girish.
I really can't comment on the second part of your question,
because I don't know if the shape of a district
necessarily is predictive of a homogeneous district.
So that is up for interpretation.
But the reason we did go down to--
why Sudbury was split is that we, last time around,
because of what we understood to be one of the places
where people were getting sued was you had to,
on your process, was that you had to make your districts even
in number down to the person.
And since one of the principles or one of the objectives
of the process last time was to not be sued,
which we weren't, by the way-- there was only five states that
were, and we were one of them that weren't.
Sorry, 45 states had litigation, and we were one of the five
that weren't--
that didn't, sorry.
And so we have to go down to one person.
And to do that, you have to find--
you'd have to pick somewhere where
you'd have to split a town.
And why we picked Sudbury, I can't really remember,
but that was the reason for it.
So just to give you why we did that, so hopefully,
that's an answer-- a satisfactory answer for you.
You may not like it, but it's the answer.
My request remains the same.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you, Girish.
I appreciate it.
OK, I want to mention some people that have signed up
but are not here now.
Patrick [? Kasmir ?] signed up, and he hasn't checked
in, as well as Carla [? Shobanik. ?] But who has
signed up and who is here is [? Giorgio ?] [? Bonmassar. ?]
[? Bonmassa? ?] [? Bonmassa? ?] [? Giorgio ?] [? Bonmassar ?]
from Lexington.
Yes.
Hey, how are you?
Thanks for coming.
Thank you, [INAUDIBLE].
Would you like to testify, Giorgio?
No, just observe.
Thank you so much.
Oh, OK.
No, my apologies.
Thanks for letting me know.
OK, so we'll move to--
we will move to Lynn Sullivan, please.
Lynn Sullivan, if you're here, we would love to hear from you.
OK, Lynn Sullivan apparently has not--
was here, but left.
An elected official who is here, who checked in, is Isaac Beers.
He is a city councilor from Medford.
Isaac, are you here?
Hi, there.
How are you?
I'm great.
How are you?
Good, thank you.
I appreciate you taking me out of turn.
I was in a council meeting.
No, I assumed you were doing something, Isaac.
I appreciate you checking in with us.
Thank you.
And thank you, Senator Brownsberger,
Representative Moran, and members of the committee
for hosting this public hearing and for your commitment
to engaging with grassroots organizations
throughout your redistricting process.
I'm Isaac "Zac" Bears, a city councilor in Medford.
And I'm here today to advocate for keeping all of Medford
within Congressional District 5, as well as
to encourage you to support racial and economic diversity
throughout the redistricting process.
Medford is a community of approximately 60,000 people,
centered on the Mystic River.
We have many different neighborhoods
with many different fields.
But we have certainly benefited from being
within a single congressional district
and being able to address federal issues with one
member of Congress.
We have issues around airplane noise,
and we have Interstate 93 as well as
all of the other federal policy issues that we care about.
We also have a great benefit of being in a central location
for the district, having previously hosted the district
office in Medford Square.
I would also like to add my voice
to the chorus of grassroots residents,
activists, and groups, who are speaking about maintaining
the integrity of their communities and neighborhoods
in congressional districts, and as well as supporting
racial and economic diversity as a priority during the process.
I deeply appreciate your work and your time
taking me to testify.
And I look forward to future redistricting meetings
regarding our State Senate and State House.
Thank you.
Thank you, Isaac.
I appreciate your testimony.
Next up, I'm going to mention a few people that, again, signed
up, but they're not here.
Walter and Maggie [? Linehan, ?] Molly [? Asselin, ?] and Daniel
[? Hynes ?] have signed up, but they don't [? appear. ?] But
who has signed up and who is here is Jessica [? Farrell. ?]
Jessica [? Farrell, ?] are you here?
OK, apparently, Jessica has left us.
But Juan Pablo Jaramillo has not left us,
so I believe he is here from Revere.
Good evening, Chairman Moran, thank you,
and to Chairman Brownsberger, and through you, to the members
for hosting this very important meeting today.
My name is Juan Pablo Jaramillo.
I am a formerly undocumented immigrant
that immigrated right here to the first public beach
in America, where I spent my entire life working
as a community activist, as a legislative staffer, most
recently as a candidate for office, and union member
and state committee member for the Democratic party.
I'm here to tell you a little bit about our city,
city of Revere, which has expanded in growth
over the last 10 years.
The district and census tract where I live,
a largely immigrant working class community,
largely underrepresented from the city level
all the way up to the federal level in terms of demographic.
We have never had a person of color
occupy any seat in any of these offices,
and, therefore, I believe that it
is time for a city that has grown
in this region for some time to possibly
add a second sure seat for the city of Revere
to include more working class people.
In particular, one of the legislative districts
in this city is split between Revere and Winthrop, a far
richer and a far whiter town.
And I am not, in any means, in any way,
advocating for Winthrop to be split up,
but rather that we can give a little bit more leverage
to the working class people of Revere.
And I must say--
I would be remiss to say that I am not well served
by my former boss, Senator Joe Boncore,
but I am here today in the capacity
as the president of El Concilio Latino de Revere, where
we advocate for social justice right here in the community.
And we really would love to have more representation
and opportunities for working class folks to run
and represent this district, which,
as was mentioned previously, provided a vital resource
to the region and first responders,
essential workers, my parents included, who
each worked 16 hours a week--
16 hours a day and, therefore, would benefit
from further representation.
So again, thank you for your time for--
I know the amount of work that goes into this.
And I know that you will do right
by the residents of the Commonwealth
and that you will take, hopefully,
my comments into consideration.
Thank you, Chairman Moran and Chairman Brownsberger
and to the members.
Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, sir.
Just a quick question.
Could you just be a little clearer about what--
I get what you're trying to do, but sort
of more specific about what you're
urging as to whether it's a Senate district or a Rep
district.
I'm not even sure which one you're speaking to.
No, so the Senate district probably
makes a lot of sense, Senator-- or Chairman.
But if you look at the city of Revere,
the eastern part of the city has really
grown over the last few years.
It's also the part of the city that
is home to a lot of the working class community,
immigrant community.
It's sad some of the concerns that were
presented by the census is--
for example, the census tract where I live and grew up in
answered the census at 51% compared to the city's 61%,
which is still poor.
The CD 5th answered upwards of 75% of their census tract.
And I think that, obviously, a lot of factors
played into that--
the fear mongering from the White House, et cetera.
Organizations like ours really tried our best to kind of get
as many people as counted.
But the eastern part of the city,
like I mentioned, working class, low to middle income
families like mine and my parents, the western part
of the city, fairly well represented.
It's a far more affluent part of the city of Revere,
yet both of these places have about the same populations
despite them voting at different rates.
And so what has happened continuously--
I mean, previously, we have been blessed
and we were served by the Speaker of the House,
so the district was, luckily, very well served.
But it's time, right?
As we think about the reckoning that our country is going
through, I think it is important to consider
that while some populations might vote at lower numbers,
they do have a clear voice when they do come out to vote
and that it's important to take that into account
as they are electing their leaders.
And we can get a global conversation
about how to encourage or make democracy more accessible,
but this is one way that we can make democracy
more accessible-- ensuring that the eastern part
of this district, in particular, is kind of taken into account
and based on different things.
Like, we have all of the public transportation,
rapid transit stops are in the eastern part of this district,
which attracts, like I mentioned,
more working class communities.
Also, the eastern part of the district has--
the eastern part of the district has more multifamily homes,
which means that we're seeing more working class folks here
compared to the western part of the district.
For the 19th Suffolk legislative district,
for example, which is where I live,
this part is tied and anchored, as a voting bloc,
by and with Winthrop-- more single family homes there.
The poverty rate there is three times less
than the poverty rate in the eastern part of the Revere
part of that district.
And populations are pretty evenly split.
It's about-- and so, in fact, there
might be a little bit more people in the Revere part
of that legislative district.
And again, I'm not advocating for Winthrop be split.
I think that we should honor the people of that town
to make sure that they have continued representation.
But if we're looking at disenfranchised communities,
historically disenfranchised communities,
I think that what we're going to see
from the results of the 2020 census,
despite the challenges that we've
had in the city of Revere to count as many people
as we needed to, we're going to see the population growth here,
and we're going to see the demographics
and the economic data that's going to show us
that this part of the city probably deserves a little bit
more leverage in electing their leaders.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chairman Brownsberger.
Thank you, Juan Pablo.
I appreciate your comments, and we will take it--
we will take that under consideration.
Thank you.
Next up is [? Peter ?] [? Bronk. ?] [? Peter ?]
[? Bronk, ?] are you here with us?
[? Peter ?] [? Bronk ?] has left.
How about Carl Fox?
Carl Fox from Cambridge.
Rothenhaus-- Rothenhaus, sorry.
[INAUDIBLE] Rothenhaus?
[INAUDIBLE] waiting for him to pop up.
He's not-- Carl, we can't hear you.
Nope.
[LAUGHS]
Does this work?
No.
There you go.
Sorry, hello.
Thanks, again, Senator Moran and Senator Brownsberger,
members of the Committee on Redistricting.
My name's Carl Rothenhaus I'm a soon
to be graduated political science and geography
student at the George Washington University.
I'm also a resident of Cambridge.
I believe that Massachusetts should
be district, all seats, both state and federal,
using the shortest split line method.
It's the only way that I think to ensure that there's
no bias in redistricting, because it's simply
a spatial formula based upon where the people are.
As we know, the United States House of Representatives,
a lot of the number of seats among the states
using a mathematical formula, the Huntington Bill Method.
So to me, it would logically follow
that the division of seats among the people geographically
also be a mathematical formula, the shortest [INAUDIBLE]..
Excellent.
Is that it?
That's it.
I love that bow tie.
Thank you.
Good looking bow tie.
Thanks, Carl.
I appreciate your testimony.
Thank you very much.
Next up after Carl was Diana Jeong.
Diana Jeong from Malden, Greater Malden Asian-American Community
Coalition, Vice President.
Yes, thank you so much for having me.
As I said, my name is Diana Jeong.
I'm the vice president of the Greater Malden Asian-American
Community Coalition.
And I was born in Malden, Massachusetts,
and when we were growing up, there
was only about half a dozen Chinese families
in the city of Malden.
But I think after the [INAUDIBLE] opened two stations
in the mid-'70s, Asians were looking for safe and affordable
housing, left Chinatown for Quincy and Malden.
We believe that the 2020 census will
show that the Asian population in Malden
will be significantly increased from the 20000 census.
And what happened in those 10 years?
Well, Asians, including myself, truly
consider Malden home, our home.
We've purchased property here.
We sent our kids through Malden public school systems.
We've been increasingly involved in civic engagement
and various volunteer activities throughout the city.
We are no longer invisible, and we're not an asterisk.
We are truly a part of the fabric of the city of Malden,
and that's why I speak here tonight,
because we want to make sure that when redistricting
happens, all due consideration is given
to ensure that Malden's Asian population is fairly
represented.
Malden is unique from its neighboring communities
and the depth and width of its diversity.
Quite frankly, over 70 languages are spoken at Malden High
School, and I don't want to see that uniqueness diluted
or the Asian population further underrepresented.
That's all I have to say, and I truly thank you
for your consideration.
Diana, thank you.
We appreciate your genuine and fine testimony.
OK, thank you.
Have a good evening.
You, too.
Bye bye.
OK, bye bye.
So we have Dave [? McGinty. ?] Dave [? McGinty? ?] All right,
Dave is not here.
Alan [? Strauss ?] is also not here but signed up.
Eden Garrett Smith from Malden--
she is here, I believe.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Hello?
Yeah.
OK.
I just want to say I live in Malden,
and I agree with Diane, who just spoke.
And I feel like Malden [INAUDIBLE]..
In terms of state reps, we have three,
and I'm one of the ones tagged on to Medford.
And I just--
I've lived here for 20 years, and I just
find it kind of frustrating as a voter.
I don't feel represented.
I just feel like an afterthought being part of Malden
with a rep from Medford, and I don't
feel like there's any way to be representative by a Maldenian.
And I feel the same way looking at parts of Malden that
are represented by Melrose.
I can't say how they feel, but I feel
like we're split into three.
And earlier in this commentary, the school committee member
from Arlington said they're only split into two.
And, like, I just--
I don't know.
I mean, Malden's pretty diverse.
It is very diverse, and just the idea
that we're split into three, that maybe, in some ways,
we're more representative, because we have
three people representing us.
But I really don't feel that way.
And I mean, you know the stats more than I do,
but I can only just say, as a human being,
I get a postcard for my birthday,
but I want to be represented in more than just a birthday
card from my rep.
Like, I want the person to know me.
And I can only say that the person that knows me
is the person that lives in Malden, but he's not my rep.
So thank you.
That's all I have to say.
Thank you, Eden.
We appreciate your testimony.
I'm going to name a bunch of people here that are not here.
And I believe we're coming to the end of people that have
registered and have signed in.
So David Stafford, Jonathan Paz, Edward Cross, Barbara Kim,
Emily [? Shatzo, ?] [? Dimple ?] [? Rayana, ?] Elizabeth Cabot,
Eleanor [? McLean, ?] Linda Thorson, John Looney,
Robert [? Sanclemente, ?] but I believe Toby Frost is here.
Toby, are you here from Lincoln?
I'm not prepared to say anything.
I came to look.
That's quite all right, Toby.
We appreciate you coming to look.
Thank you very, very much.
I'm sorry you had to look at me, but that's OK.
Thank you very, very much for checking in, Toby.
I believe, at that point, the last person on the list was
[? Steven ?] [? Peson ?] from Ashland,
but I don't believe he's here.
[INAUDIBLE]
And we're going to try Nick and Jane Garcia.
We're going to go back to them.
I believe they're still here.
They haven't had a chance to testify, but they're still on.
If they want to testify, just please let us know.
They are muted, it looks like.
OK.
So folks, this was a little bit faster hearing
than I thought it was going to be.
We have a bunch of people that have signed up,
but they have not checked in with us.
I will remind them, if they are listening,
that there will be many chances to testify moving forward.
And they could testify either by sending us
their testimony, written testimony through the website,
or they could testify at the next hearing
or multiple hearings that we're going to have down the road.
The next hearing that we will have is on Monday, May 24,
and that will start at 5:30.
It centers around the 2nd congressional district.
For those of you who don't know that district,
that is the one that is currently
represented by Jim McGovern.
And it's Worcester County, lots of Worcester County,
the Blackstone Valley, parts of the Blackstone Valley.
Again, that will be Monday, May 22, at 5:30.
There will also be a Zoom hearing.
My chairman, my co-chair, Senator Brownsberger
will be running that one.
And I will remind everybody that's here,
please visit their redistricting website,
malegislature.gov/redistricting.
There is a whole bunch of stuff on there
that I think you will find helpful.
And I think it will--
you will find educational.
So hearing that there's no one else here to testify,
I'd like to adjourn this hearing and thank everybody
for their participation.
Do I have a second on that?
Seconded, Mr. Chairman.
All right, this committee on redistricting is adjourned.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for your patience.
Have a good night, everybody.
Nice job, guys.
Mr. Chairman, have a good night.
All right, bye bye.
Thank you, good night.