Two PM board members recently had letters to the editor published in the Boston Globe.
Jonathan Cohn, “Mass. should move on Safe Communities Act before session ends,” 12/28/20:
The Globe editorial board is spot-on with its call for ending Bristol County’s 287(g) contract with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in light of Sheriff Thomas Hodgson’s latest abuses of power (“Time’s up, Sheriff Hodgson,” Dec. 21). Massachusetts is the only state in New England where such contracts exist. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until the new presidential administration to end them.
A bill called the Safe Communities Act, filed in the Legislature by Representatives Ruth Balser and Liz Miranda and Senator Jamie Eldridge, would end such contracts with ICE and take additional steps to make sure that the rights of our immigrant communities are respected. It was reported out of committee in July, and it deserves a vote before the session runs out.
If we don’t take action soon, Massachusetts will have gone the four years of the Trump administration without passing any new legislation to strengthen the rights of immigrants in our Commonwealth, a sorry reflection of the politics in our so-called deep blue state.
And Mohammed Missouri responded to a misguided column by Globe opinion columnist Joan Venocchi:
The 15th Suffolk state representative race was the most hotly contested legislative primary of 2018 (and the most expensive). Voters in the district looked to the State House to find a bold response to the chaos and daily horror show of the Trump administration. They were hoping for bold action to protect immigrants’ rights, ensure a livable planet, and invest in community needs. But despite the high rank of their state representative, Jeffrey Sánchez, they didn’t find that leadership. So they voted him out, as we do in a democracy.
It’s easy to blame progressive activists for any disappointing outcome, as Joan Vennocchi does in her column “With Speaker Mariano, progressives get what they deserve” (Opinion, Dec. 29). But she ignores that Ways and Means chairman Sánchez was himself supporting majority leader Ron Mariano for speaker, and many of Mariano’s supporters pledged to him more than a decade ago (“Long the House’s consummate insider, Ronald Mariano poised to finally lead it,” Page A1, Dec. 27). An alternative outcome, unfortunately, wasn’t in the cards.
Many politicos believe that Mariano’s tenure will be short before he passes it on to someone else. Rather than relitigating old fights, I hope to help build support for a progressive speaker. I invite Joan Vennochi to join me.
