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THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – WEDnEsDAy, DECEmbER 24, 2025 Page 17 THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local senators voted with their party’s leadership in the 2025 session through December 19. Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 113 of the 116 votes from the 2025 Senate session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls except three that were on local issues. The votes of 32 Democrats were compared to Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D-Newton), second-in-command in the Senate. We could not compare the Democrats’ votes to those of Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) because, by tradition, the Senate president rarely votes. Sixteen (50 percent) of the 32 Democrats voted with Creem 100 percent of the time. Not counting the senators who voted 100 percent of the time with Creem, another 15 (46.8 percent) of Democrats voted with Creem at least 90 percent of the time (from 90 percent of the time to 99.9 percent of the time.) Only one Democrat, Sen. John Keenan (D-Quincy), voted with Creem less than 90 percent of the time. He voted with Creem only 88.3 percent of the time (99 times.) Rounding out the list of the top fi ve senators who voted with Creem the least percentage of times are Sens. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) 104 times (92.0 percent); Michael Moore (D-Millbury) 105 times (92.9 percent); and both Michael Brady (D-Brockton) and Nick Collins (D-Boston) 108 times (95.5 percent). Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted all fi ve senators and asked them why they voted among the least percentage of times with Sen. Creem. Only Sens. Keenan and Moore responded: “I have great respect and admiration for my Senate colleagues and appreciate that we represent unique districts and at times have diff erent opinions on issues,” said Keenan. “In the fi nal determination, I will always vote in the way, that in my judgment, best serves my constituents in the Norfolk and Plymouth Disfl uence and sway the town’s decision. They noted the fl ow of dark drowns out the vote of the local voters. The four co-sponsors of the trict and the commonwealth as a whole.” “The people of the Second Worcester District sent me to the Massachusetts Senate to address the challenges aff ecting their daily lives and to amplify their voices on Beacon Hill,” said Moore. “My ultimate responsibility is to do what is right for my constituents and my voting record refl ects that.” Three senators did not respond to repeated requests asking them to comment. They are Sens. Brady, Montigny and Collins. Beacon Hill Roll Call also contacted all 16 senators who voted with Creem 100 percent of the time and asked them to comment and to cite any issues, beyond the ones that came to a roll call vote, on which they disagree with Creem. None of the 16 responded. They are Sens. Mike Barrett (D-Lexington); Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont); Jo Comerford (D-Northampton); Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn); Julian Cyr (D-Truro); Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett); Lydia Edwards (D-Boston); Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington); Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville); Robyn Kennedy (D-Worcester); Joan Lovely (D-Salem); Paul Mark (D-Becket); Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow); Pavel Payano (D-Lawrence); Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport) and Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury). The votes of four Republican senators were compared with those of GOP Senate Minority Leader Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). None of the four voted with Tarr 100 percent of the time. Sen, Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) voted with Tarr the least percentage of times - only 88.4 percent of the time (100 times.) Kelly Dooner (R-Taunton) voted 102 times with Tarr (90.2 percent); Peter Durant (R-Spencer) 106 times with Tarr (93.8 percent); and Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) 109 times with Tarr (96.4 percent.) SENATORS’ SUPPORT OF THEIR PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2025 THROUGH DECEMBER 19 The percentage next to the senator’s name represents the percentage of times the senator supported his or her party’s leadership in 2025 through December 19. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the senator opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some senators voted on all 113 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll calls. The percentage for each senator is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted. Sen. Sal DiDomenico 1 0 0 percent (0) ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL KEEP DARK MONEY OUT OF TOWN MEETING (H 806) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that would apply the state’s campaign finance election laws to political expenditures of more than $1,000, made by persons, corporations, associations, organizations or other groups of people, to infl uence the outcome of articles that appear on Town Meeting warrants. The person or group would be required to fi le disclosure forms and failure to comply would be punishable by a 1-year prison sentence and/ or a $1,000 fi ne. Supporters said that the bill will close a loophole that allows unlimited amounts of unreported funds by outside individuals and groups to inlegislation, Reps. Simon Cataldo (D-Concord), Tom Moakley (D-Falmouth) and Sens. Dylan Fernandes (D-Falmouth) and Julian Cyr (D-Truro), submitted joint testimony in a letter to the Election Laws Committee which heard testimony on the measure in October. The letter said, “Our proposal is consistent with existing Massachusetts campaign fi nance law, which requires full disclosure of contributions and expenditures for candidates, political committees and ballot question campaigns. By extending disclosure requirements to individuals and entities aiming to infl uence town warrant articles, this bill would bring local governance practices in line with these established democratic norms for state-level elections, closing a loophole in Massachusetts election laws.” The letter continued, “There is motivation for entities to use the existing loophole. Major policy decisions are made at a town meeting level. Many warrant articles concern areas where corporate and special interest groups have a direct fi nancial stake, such as zoning laws, housing developments, telecommunication rules and environmental regulations. Without mandated transparency, these groups can present their well-funded campaigns as grassroots eff orts.” REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS (H 836) – The House gave initial approval to a measure that would establish uniform polling hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for elections in which regional school districts ask voters to incur debt. Supporters said that under current law, regional school district committees have discretion to set polling hours anywhere between four and eight consecutive hours, which can result in reduced voter access compared to standard municipal and state elections. They noted that this inconsistency was evident during a recent special election for the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical School’s $317 million new building project where polls were open only from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.—providing just seven hours of voting time compared to the standard 13-hour window used in most municipal and state elections. “This bill simply makes voting easier and fairer by setting uniform polling hours … when regional school districts ask voters to incur debt for major projects, such as renovations or new buildings, ensuring every voter has the same opportunity to participate, no matter where they live,” said sponsor Rep. Richard Haggerty (D-Woburn). “This extended 13-hour polling window is designed to accommodate voters with diverse work schedules, family obligations and other commitments, ensuring all residents have a fair and equal opportunity to participate in decisions aff ecting their regional schools.” ADOPT A SHELTER DOG MONTH (H 3288) – The House gave initial approval to legislation that would designate the month of October as Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. “Massachusetts shelters take in more than 20,000 animals each year, and despite our high save rate, they continue to struggle with staffi ng BEACON | SEE PAGE 18

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