Above: Aja James, at left, assistant commissioner for Disability Determination Services, noted to the committee she was “a Dorchester girl” with lots of family in Mattapan. Center, MassAbility Commissioner Toni Wolf. At right, Dorchester’s Mo Vasquez also gave testimony for MassAbility. Seth Daniel photos
Decisions on how to spend the Commonwealth’s $62 billion state budget are typically made six miles away on Beacon Hill, but last Friday, lawmakers who serve on the Joint Ways and Means Committee gathered on Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan to discuss their spending priorities in front of a roomful of advocates and local residents.
Legislative staff said the session marked the first time that this committee had met in Mattapan for a public hearing. The all-day event included testimony from officials from across the Commonwealth with a specific focus on the Health and Human Services division.
Agencies like MassAbility, the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Blind, Transitional Assistance, Veterans Services, and Children and Families were among those whose officials appeared before the lawmakers.
State Rep. Russell Holmes co-chaired the joint meeting with state Sen. Lydia Edwards, of East Boston. Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid of Mattapan and Boston Public Library Director David Leonard were also on hand for the event, which was held inside the Mattapan branch of the BPL.
“The reason we are here in Mattapan is primarily because of the fact that we want to make sure you come to our neighborhood,” said Holmes.
“There are only two districts of the 160 in the Commonwealth that are majority Black and you’re sitting right where they intersect…So, it is important for us to bring you to a neighborhood that many people have told me they’ve never been to over my last 16 years. We ‘re going to give you a reason to be here.”
He added: “My demand is that this neighborhood becomes a destination. A place you don’t just drive through, but a place you drive to.”
Fluker-Reid (above) said it was appropriate to bring this specific hearing closer to the people most impacted.
“This moment is worth celebrating and it is especially significant that this hearing is being held here for the first time because for too long communities like this one have not been at the center and forefront of these conversations,” she said. “It still matters that the budget process shows up here.”
Leonard said the Mattapan branch is now 16 years old and was one of the first of several new libraries to come online. He said the hearing shows the importance of libraries and how they can be a hub for community.
“It’s a privilege to be asked to host a statewide hearing – Boston Public Libraries are a leader in the public library space,” he said. “And we are seen as the library for the Commonwealth. It’s one more way our libraries can serve the public.”
There was no shortage of Dorchester and Mattapan residents who were there on official business to testify for their various departmental budget hearings, including Sehin Mekuria, chief financial officer for the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Mo Vasquez, from the offices of MassAbility.
Aja James, assistant commissioner for Disability Determination Services at MassAbility, came to the microphone noting that she “was a Dorchester girl.”
Later, she told The Reporter that she grew up on Ripley Road and had family on Alabama Street in Mattapan – often crossing in front of the library as a kid when the property was a pizza shop and auto body garage.
“I was really excited to see the hearing was going to be at Mattapan Public Library,” said James. “So often these events don’t happen in our community, and we are never fully heard…I actually got a little teary-eyed when I heard it was the first time ever for a hearing to be held in Mattapan…I believe in divine appointments so for me this felt like a little girl coming full circle.”
There were about 20 legislators who attended in person and about 5 who tuned in online from all over the state, from western Massachusetts hamlets to places like Foxborough, Chelsea, Worcester and Cape Cod.
A majority of the time was spent reviewing spending line items and programs in the various departments and commissions.
The state budget hearing process will continue through the spring, with a final version due out of the Legislature by June 30, a deadline that is often more missed than hit
