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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – Friday, January 10, 2020 Page 11 5:35:49 and watch it until 5:37:39. It all happened in a little over two minutes. To the reader and viewer, this appears that these 63 Democrats simply watched how DeLeo and Petrolati voted and blindly followed their lead and voted “no.” And then switched to “yes” when DeLeo and Petrolati switched to “yes.” Did these 63 even know what they were voting on? Did they care? What would cause them to switch their votes other than they decided to follow the “suggestion” of the speaker? Beacon Hill Roll Call set out to find the By Bob Katzen With today’s edition, The Revere Advocate begins coverage of the 2020 Massachusetts legislative session with our weekly Beacon Hill Roll Call report. This feature is a clear and concise compilation of the voting records of local state representatives and senators. Beacon Hill Roll Call provides an unbiased summary of bills and amendments, arguments from floor debate on both sides of the issue and each legislator’s vote or lack of vote on the matter. This information gives readers an opportunity to monitor their elected officials’ actions on Beacon Hill. Many bills are reported on in their early stages, giving readers the opportunity to contact their legislators and express an opinion prior to the measure being brought up for final action. Beacon Hill Roll Call is written and provided by owner/publisher Bob Katzen, a former Boston radio talk show host at WRKO, WITS and WMRE. Bob has been providing this feature to hundreds of newspapers across the Bay State for 45 years since 1975. Bob invented the “Bagel Route” when he was 10 years old. It’s like a paper route but Bob took pre-orders from neighbors and delivered bagels every Sunday morning. THE HOUSE AND SENATE. The House and Senate began the 2020 legislative session last week with its usual ceremonies, always with much pomp and circumstance. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate. This week Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on how often local representatives voted with their party’s leadership in 2019. The votes of the 2019 membership of 31 Republicans were compared with those of GOP House Minority Leader Brad Jones (RNorth Reading). The votes of the 2019 membership of 126 Democrats were compared to House Speaker Bob DeLeo (D-Winthrop). Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 121 votes from the 2019 House session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls that were not quorum calls or votes on local issues. A total of 82 (65 percent) of the 126 Democrats voted with DeLeo 100 percent of the time. That means that nearly two-thirds of the Democrats always voted with DeLeo. The Democratic representative who voted the lowest percentage of times with DeLeo is Rep. Colleen Garry (D-Dracut) who voted with DeLeo only 73.2 percent of the time. She is followed by Reps. Patrick Kearney (DScituate) 76.1 percent; Russell Holmes (DBoston) 77.9 percent; Angelo Scaccia (D-Boston) 81.6 percent; Denise Provost (D-Somerville) 83 percent. Only two (6.4 percent) of the 31 GOP members voted with Jones 100 percent of the time. The Republican representative who voted the lowest percentage of times with Jones was Rep. Mike Soter (R-Bellingham) who voted with Jones only 88.5 percent of the time. He is followed by Reps. David DeCoste (R-Norwell) and Peter Durant (R-Spencer), both at 90 percent; and David Vieira (R Falmouth) and Tim Whelan (R-Brewster) both at 91.5 percent. BLINDLY FOLLOW THE LEADER?–Below is a reprint of a Beacon Hill Roll Call exclusive story from February 2019. It might help readers to understand why so many Democratic representatives vote with House Speaker Bob DeLeo 100 percent of the time. The House uses a large electronic voting board that shows how each representative votes on a roll call. Members press a button at their desks and their vote appears next to their name on the board for everyone to see. When a representative votes “yes,” a green light appears next to his or her name. When he or she votes “no,” a red light appears next to his or her name. On January 30, the House was debating the joint rules under which the House and Senate would operate in 2019-2020. House Speaker Bob DeLeo (D-Winthrop) rarely presides over a session and this day was no different as Rep. Tom Petrolati (D-Ludlow) was the acting speaker and the presiding officer calling the shots. As the debate dragged on, House GOP Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) offered an amendment that would repeal a rule, used for the first time in 2018, that prohibited the appointment of a conference committee after July 17, 2018. A conference committee is a six-member committee appointed by the House speaker and the Senate president to work out a compromise version of a bill when the House and Senate approve different versions of the measure. Jones spoke in favor of his amendment and no one spoke against it. His amendment was non-controversial. Jones said that the new rule, pushed by the Senate leadership in the rules adopted for the previous twoyear session, was designed to have more legislation acted upon and more transparency. The rule forces lawmakers to appoint a conference committee well before July 31 after which the rules basically make it impossible to appoint a conference committee because the House and Senate meet only in brief, informal sittings a couple of days a week until the annual session ends at the beginning of January 2019. The rationale was that a conference committee often takes weeks to hammer out a compromise bill and any committee appointed after July 17 would likely not have time to reach an agreement. Critics say that the new rule backfired and failed to accomplish its intent. Each branch had approved different versions of an important $666 million economic development package but it was after July 17 – too late to appoint a conference committee under the new rule. The House and Senate on July 23 began meeting behind closed doors and then sending different versions of the bill to each other until the Senate ended up accepting a new House version which neither House or Senate members had any time to read. Despite that, on July 31, the House approved the package 151-0 and the Senate passed it 36-0. Gov. Baker signed the bill after vetoing several sections. Seconds after the roll call on the Jones amendment began, Acting Speaker Petrolati and Speaker DeLeo both voted “no” and a red light appeared next to their names. According to House rules, the acting speaker (Petrolati) actually casts the vote for the speaker and a court officer casts the vote for the acting speaker. As is often the case, many Democrats quickly took their cue from DeLeo and Petrolati and voted “no” as well. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the House. In this case, it was at least 63 Democrats who played “follow the leader” and voted “no.” As the board began to fill up with “no” votes, Petrolati apparently took notice and talked into a microphone he didn’t know was on. “It’s a yes?” “Switch ‘em. Yes, yes, yes, yes, Mikey,” shouted Petrolati to Division Leader Mike Moran. Suddenly, DeLeo and Petrolati’s votes switched to “yes.” And then 63 Democrat who had initially voted “no” suddenly switched his or her vote to “yes.” The House’s only unenrolled non-party affiliated member Susannah Whipps (UAthol) had also voted “no” and then switched to “yes.” There may have been more than 63 Democrats who first voted “no.” While the “no” votes appeared on the electronic voting board for a brief time, once the switchers changed their vote to “yes,” there was no longer a permanent record of the “no” vote. Beacon Hill Roll Call watched a videotape of the session in order to see who voted “no” at the beginning. The camera pans the scoreboard a few times but there is no guarantee we were able to spot every red light. You can see the story unfold by watching the video of the January 30 House session at https://malegislature.gov/Events/Sessions/ Detail/3297 Fast forward on the counter to answers and over the course of three days, sent two e-mails to each of the 63 Democrats who had flip-flopped. The only response was from Rep. Paul Donato, a member of the leadership team who also usually acts as the acting speaker and presides over the sessions. Donato gave a brief explanation basically saying that there was confusion surrounding the vote and some members mistakenly voted “no” and then had to switch to “yes.” Not a single one of the other 63 representatives responded to our e-mails. Here are the 63 Democratic representatives and one unaffiliated non-party member who switched their votes from “no” to “yes. James Arciero (D-Westford), Brian Ashe (D-Longmeadow), Bruce Ayers (D-Quincy), Christine Barber (D-Somerville), John Barrett (D-North Adams), Jennifer Benson (DLunenburg), David Biele (D-South Boston), Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford), Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn), Daniel Carey (D- Easthampton), Gerard Cassidy (D-Brockton), Michelle Ciccolo (D-Lexington), Claire Cronin (D-Easton), Daniel Cullinane (D-Boston), Mark Cusack (D-Braintree), Marcos Devers (D-Lawrence), Daniel Donahue (D-Worcester), Paul J. Donato (D-Medford), Michelle DuBois (D-Brockton), Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston), Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), Dylan Fernandes (DFalmouth), Carole Fiola (D-Fall River), Sean Garballey (D-Arlington), Colleen Garry (DDracut), Kenneth Gordon (D-Bedford), Jim Hawkins (D-Attleboro), Stephan Hay (DFitchburg), Jonathan Hecht (D-Watertown), Kevin Honan (D-Boston), Louis Kafka (D-Sharon), Mary Keefe (D-Worcester), John Lawn (D-Watertown), David LeBoeuf (D-Worcester), Jack Lewis (D-Framingham), David Linsky (D-Natick), Jay Livingstone (D-Boston), Elizabeth Malia (D-Boston), Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy), Paul Mark (D-Peru), Christopher Markey (D-Dartmouth), Joseph McGonagle (D-Everett), Rady Mom (D-Lowell), Frank Moran (D-Lawrence), James Murphy (D-Weymouth), David Nangle (D-Lowell), Harold Naughton (D-Worcester), James O’Day (DWest Boylston), Jerald Parisella (D-Beverly), Smitty Pignatelli (D-Lenox), Dave Robertson (D-Tewksbury), Paul Schmid (D-Westport), Alan Silvia (D-Fall River), Theodore Speliotis (D-Danvers), Thomas Stanley (D-Waltham), Jose Tosado (D-Springfield), Paul Tucker (DSalem), Chynah Tyler (D-Roxbury), Andres Xavier Vargas (D-Haverhill), Aaron Vega (DHolyoke), John Velis (D-Westfield), RoseLee Vincent (D-Revere), Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody), Susannah Whipps (U -Athol). Beacon Hill Roll Call sent an e-mail to and asked the opinion of the 94 representatives who had not switched their votes and seemed to vote “yes” from the beginning. Only three of those members responded. A veteran Statehouse observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity said that is not surprising because those 94 representatives do want to antagonize the speaker by talking about “Follow the Leader.” “Welcome to the House of Representatives,” said Rep. Russell Holmes (D-Boston). “This is exactly how the House runs itself and the members should be ashamed. The speaker is like a shepherd leading a flock of sheep. Some members may have known what they were voting on and may have even agreed with Brad Jones. However, agreement with Brad does not matter if it conflicts with the speaker. This is particularly the case in the rules debate as the speaker has given orders to all Democrats that he wants no changes and that he is taking notice for consideration of leadership and committee assignments. We term the statements and speeches in rules debate as ‘community auditions.’” “The public is well informed,” continued Holmes. “Many know that the only reason these Democrats changed their votes is because they await their instructions on all votes from the speaker. Members do not think of what is in the best interest of their districts but instead they consider what is in the best interest of themselves by voting with the speaker. This disenfranchises the voters who sent them to the Statehouse. I refuse to arrive in the building and hand over the voice and power of my constituents to the speaker. The best way to eliminate this hypocrisy is to bring pay equity to the building and pay all the members the same regardless of positions in leadership or committee. I was a ‘yes’ vote and voting with Brad before seeing how the speaker voted. Ideas should rule the day.” «I think that every representative has had the experience at one time or another of casting a vote only to have a colleague come and talk to them and explain an issue perhaps in different terms which may cause them to change their mind,” said Rep. Joe McKenna (R-Webster). “I think that is okay. Unfortunately, what we saw during the rules debate is entirely different and is something that we have seen numerous times in my two-plus terms. It’s simply a ‘follow-the-leader’ mentality where members seem to take their sole direction from the color of the light next to the speaker’s name with apparently little awareness or concern for the matter being voted on or its content. Leaning on colleagues for guidance and advice is okay, but the type of blind following we saw takes it too far.» Chip Ford, Executive Director of Citizens for Limited Taxation: “Captured red-handed on video doing what The Best Legislators Money Can Buy do best – mindlessly following the leader. What a real-time votes tote board exposed through an embarrassing glitch is revealing of what’s so wrong on Beacon Hill. Good catch Beacon Hill Roll Call.” «Too often, House Democrats will vote in lockstep with the speaker, whether he’s right or wrong, without doing their own due diligence about what they are, in fact, voting on,” said Jonathan Cohn, Chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts. “Legislators should come to their own conclusions about bills and amendments based on their own promises and principles and the input from advocates, policy experts, and their own constituents — not just on how the speaker chooses to vote … The House had a long debate about its rules, but for the rest of the session, there needs to be a serious debate about the norms by which the chamber operates and how badly they are in need of a change.» PERCENTAGE OF TIMES REPRESENTATIVES VOTED WITH THEIR PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2019 The percentage next to the representative’s name represents the percentage of times the representative supported his or her party’s leadership. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the representative opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some representatives voted on all 121 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll call. The percentage for each representative is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted and does not count the roll calls for which he or she was absent. Rep. Bob DeLeo 100 percent (0) Rep. RoseLee Vincent 100 percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of December 30-January 3, the House met for a total of one hour and two minutes while the Senate met for a total of one hour and 20 minutes. Mon. December 30 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. Senate 11:08 a.m. to 11:21 a.m. Tues. December 31 No House session No Senate session Wed. January 1 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:01 a.m. Thurs. January 2 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:57 a.m. Fri. January 3 No House session Senate 11:28 a.m. to 11:47 a.m. Senate 11:10 a.m. to 11:58 a.m. No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com 1. On Jan. 10, 1949, what recording innovation did RCA debut? 2. What is the title of Ray Bradbury’s most famous book? 3. On Jan. 11, 1964, the Surgeon General announced the results of a health/smoking study ordered by what president? 4. How are Newfoundland, St. Bernard and Maltese similar? 5. Savoy is what kind of vegetable? 6. On Jan. 12, 2010, an earthquake rocked what Caribbean nation? 7. In 2005 what spin-off of “The Apprentice” was broadcast? 8. In what year did the U.S. first win a gold medal for ice hockey: 1950, 1960 or 1970? 9. Jan. 12 is unofficially Kiss A Ginger Day, a celebration of redheads; what capital reportedly has the highest percentage of redheads? (Hint: starts with E.) 10. What is skijoring? 11. In which U.S. state is the world’s tallest living tree? 12. On Jan. 13, 1887, what singer was born in Ukrania? (Hint: “I’m The Last Of The Red Hot Mamas.)” 13. What is Japan’s national fruit? (Hints: orange, starts with P.) 14. On Jan. 14, 1898, what English writer died? (Hints: “Jabberwocky,” “Through the Looking-Glass.”) 15. Were the first U.S. automobiles left- or right-handdrive? 16. On Jan. 15, 1967, the Rolling Stones’ performance of “Let’s Spend the Night Together” was censored on what TV show? 17. An ermine is what kind of animal? 18. At the 1984 Super Bowl, what product was launched by Apple Computer? 19. On Jan. 16, 1919, the 18th U.S. Constitution amendment was ratified, prohibiting what? 20. In what book would you find the quote “Big Brother is Watching You”? ANSWERS 1. The 7» diameter 45 RPM record (“single”) 2. “Fahrenheit 451” 3. John F. Kennedy 4. They are dog breeds. 5. Cabbage 6. Haiti 7. “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” 8. 1960 9. Edinburgh, Scotland 10. Being pulled behind a vehicle or horses while wearing skis 11. California (a redwood about 379.7 ft. tall) 12. Sophie Tucker 13. Persimmon 14. Lewis Carroll 15. Right-hand-drive 16. The Ed Sullivan Show 17. Weasel 18. Macintosh 19. Alcoholic beverages 20. George Orwell’s “1984”

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