THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 4, 2026 Page 15 Beacon Hill Roll Call Volume 51 - Report No. 35 August 24-28, 2026 By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local representatives’ roll call attendance records for the 2026 session through August 28. The House has held 154 roll calls so far in the 2026 session. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of rolls calls on which each representative voted and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. Sometimes a representative is not able to attend only one or two sessions during which roll calls are held. However, since there are sometimes multiple roll calls on each one of those days, the number of roll calls they missed can be high even though they only missed one or two sessions. Eighty-four (53.2 percent) of the 158 representatives did not miss any roll call votes and had a 100 precent roll call attendance record. Seventy-four (46.8 percent) of the representatives missed one or more roll call votes. The representative who missed the most number of roll calls is Rep. Tackey Chan (D-Quincy) who missed 34 roll calls (77.9 percent roll call attendance record.) “For the past 14 years I was the primary caretaker for my mother who had stage 4 lung cancer,” Chan told Beacon Hill Roll Call. “This year her condition changed from stable to terminal. I was caring for her in her final days. This resulted in my absence from formal sessions.” The representatives who missed the next most number of roll calls are Reps. Chynah Tyler (D-Roxbury) and Amy Sangiolo (D-Newton) who each missed 27 roll calls (82.4 percent attendance record.) “Both absences were family-related,” Sangiolo told Beacon Hill Roll Call. “I was out on Feb. 26, 2026, for my nephew’s wedding in San FrancisRECORDS THROUGH AUGUST 28 Here are the 2026 roll call attendance records of local representatives through August 28. The attendance records are based on 154 roll calls. The percentage listed next co and missed 16 roll call votes on that day. We had purchased tickets months in advance and booked for Thursday so I would not miss a formal session [because formal sessions are rarely held on Thursdays]. But a formal session was held on [that] Thursday. I was also out on April 27, 2026, to watch my son, who lives in England, at his competition in Florida and missed 11 roll call votes that day.” Rep. Tyler did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking her why she missed 27 roll calls. Fourteen other representatives missed ten or more roll call votes. Beacon Hill Roll Call asked all 14 why they missed roll calls. Only five responded. “Rep. Silvia was out due to a medical issue (cardiac surgery), and he had two very significant deaths,” said Rep. Alan Silvia spokesperson Monica Sousa. “His 23-year-old grandson who was on active duty at Camp Lejeune and his long-time legislative aide, Clara Fallon.” Silvia missed 25 roll calls (83.7 percent attendance record.) "During the recent roll call votes, I was out of state supporting my wife and family following the passing of my father-in-law—a man who has been a cherished part of my life since I was 17 years old—after he was hospitalized on Father's Day and placed in hospice care,” said Rep. Homar Gomez (D-Easthampton) who missed 11 roll calls (92.8 percent attendance record.) “While my commitment to serving our community remains absolute, being at his bedside and standing by my family through this profound loss was my essential duty." Rep. Margaret Scarsdale (D-Pepperell), who missed ten roll calls (93.5 percent attendance record), said she missed roll calls because she was out of state for her niece’s wedding and then also out of state for her only son’s wedding. Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose), who missed 12 roll calls (92.2 percent attendance record), said she missed roll calls “due to parenting responsibilities.” Rep. Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge), who missed 12 roll calls (92.2 percent attendance record), said she missed roll calls on February 11 because of a family emergency, and then again on July 31 because of a death in the family. “The vast majority of votes I missed — if not all of them — occurred the week of June 3, 2026, when I traveled to attend the wedding of my niece, where I served as officiant,” said Rep. Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) who missed ten roll calls (93.5 percent roll call attendance record.) “It is a choice I expect my constituents would understand.” The remaining nine representatives who missed more than ten roll calls did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them why they missed roll calls. They are Reps. John Barrett (D-North Adams) and John Rogers (D-Norwood) who each missed 16 roll calls (89.6 percent attendance record); Colleen Garry (D-Dracut) and Nick Boldyga (R-Southwick) who each missed 14 roll calls (90.9 percent attendance record); Joe McGonagle (D-Everett) and Tram Nguyen (D-Andover) who each missed 11 roll calls (92.8 percent attendance record); and Chris Flanagan (D-Dennis) and Mark Cusack (D-Braintree) who each missed ten roll calls (93.5 percent attendance record). 2026 HOUSE ATTENDANCE - LEGAL NOTICE - City of Malden Massachusetts Board of Appeal 215 Pleasant Street Malden, Massachusetts 02148 Telephone 781-397-7000 x2104 MALDEN BOARD OF APPEAL PUBLIC HEARING The Malden Board of Appeal will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada) at Malden City Hall, 215 Pleasant St., Room #106 Herbert L. Jackson Council Chambers, Malden, MA on petition 26-007 by Mystic Valley Regional Charter School seeking a variance under the Code of the City of Malden as amended - Title 4 Section 4.16.090 (A) Table of Intensity Regulations: Specifically: Awning sign in the Residence A Zoning District as per plans SGER077161-2026 at the property known as and numbered 31 Granite St., Malden, MA and also known by City Assessor’s Parcel ID #133-663-303 Additional information, Petition & plans available for public review in the Office of Inspectional Services, 215 Pleasant St., 3rd floor, Malden, MA or online at www.cityofmalden.org or https://maldenma-energovweb.tylerhost.net/apps/SelfService#/home Nathaniel Cramer, Chair August 28, September 04, 2026 to the representative's name is the percentage of roll call votes on which the representative voted. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Rep. Paul Donato 97.4 % (4) Rep. Steven Ultrino cent (0) 100 perALSO UP ON BEACON HILL TOXIC MEDICAL DEVICES (H 5550/S 3106) - A new law that would ban the use and sale of DEHP, a toxic chemical which is commonly added to plastic intravenous bags and tubing and linked to breast, liver, lung and testicular cancer took effect on August 25. The bag ban would begin on January 1, 2030, while the tubing ban would begin on January 1, 2035. Supporters of the law said this timeline gives health care providers and manufacturers time to transition to safer alternatives that are already in use at hospitals in Massachusetts. BHRC| SEE PAGE 16
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