THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 Page 15 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen By Bob Katzen GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST–Join more than 22,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList—the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in Massachusetts politics, policy, media and influence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced writers Chris Van Buskirk and Keith Regan who introduce each article in their own clever and never-boring, inimitable way. MASSterlist will be e-mailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening in the blood sport of Bay State politics. For more information and to get your free subscription, go to: www. massterlist.com/subscribe GOV. CHARLIE BAKER ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT RUN FOR RE-ELECTION – Gov. Baker announced that he will not seek a third term as governor of Massachusetts in 2022 while Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito also said she will not seek the governorship. This leaves the race wide open. “This was an extremely difficult decision for us,” said the pair in a joint statement. “We love the work and we especially respect and admire the people of this wonderful commonwealth. Serving as governor and lieutenant governor of Massachusetts has been the most challenging and fulfilling jobs we’ve ever had.” “We have a great deal of work to do to put the pandemic behind us, keep our kids in school and keep our communities and economy moving forward. That work cannot and should not be about politics and the next election. If we were to run, it would be a distraction that would potentially get in the way of many of the things we should be working on for everyone in Massachusetts. We want to focus on recovery, not on the grudge matches political campaigns can devolve into.” “Today is about the future. This next year needs to be about recovery, not about politics. We are grateful for the chance we have been given to serve the people of this great state and will give it our all between now and the end of 2022,” concluded the statement. Four candidates had already entered the race before Baker’s announcement. Democratic candidates include Incumbent State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Boston), former State Sen. Ben Downing and Harvard professor Danielle Allen. The only GOP candidate currently in the race is former State Rep. Geoff Diehl. The two biggest names being tossed around as possibilities in political circles on the Democratic side include Attorney General Maura Healey and U.S. Secretary of Labor and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. 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 senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2021 session. No more roll calls are planned in the Senate until January 2022. The Senate held 115 roll calls in the 2021 session. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator votes 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. More senators have 100 percent roll call attendance records this year than at any time in recent memory. Thirty-seven of the 39 members did not miss any roll calls wayward boys; in what year did it start accepting girls: 1918, 1960 or 1978? 8. Do both male and female mosquitoes bite? 9. Omicron is the 15th let1. On Dec. 10, 1830, poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Mass.; where did she attend college? 2. The first-known written mention of “pigs in blankets” was in a Betty Crocker children’s cookbook in what year: 1921, 1945 or 1957? 3. How many ghosts are in “A Christmas Carol”? 4. In “computerese” what does SMTP stand for? 5. On Dec. 11, 1769, Venetian blinds were patented in what country: England, Italy or the United States? 6. In what United Kingdom language with many words describing snow would you find “skelf” (a large snowflake) and “spitters” (small drops of driving snow)? 7. On Dec. 12, 1917, in Nebraska, Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town for ter of what alphabet? 10. How are ostriches, emus and kiwis similar? 11. December 13 is National Cocoa Day; in 1765 chocolate manufacturing – using West Indian cocoa beans – in the American Colonies began in what Massachusetts city? 12. How are “Death Valley Days,” “General Electric Theater” and the 1959 Tournament of Roses parade similar? 13. What Christmas movie/ song character “stink, stank, stunk”? 14. On Dec. 14, 1542, afand have 100 percent roll call attendance records. This can be attributed to the fact that under emergency rules adopted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of the 39 senators are not in the Senate chamber during a session. Most are watching and listening to the session from their home or business and voting remotely. Senators’ votes are communicated to Senate officials during the session or prior to the session if senators are informed in advance that there will be a roll call vote. If a member wants to speak on an issue under consideration, they do so on a separate “debate phone line” and their voice is then heard in the Senate chamber and by anyone watching the broadcast online. The number of senators who had 100 percent roll call attendance records in the prior four years was 33 in 2020; 28 in 2019; 20 in 2018; 24 in 2017; and 17 in 2016. Sen. Mike Barrett (D-Lexington) and Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) were the only two senators who missed any roll calls this year. Barrett missed 13 roll calls (11.4 percent) out of 115 for a roll call attendance record of 88.6 percent. “In my capacity as State Senate chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee of the Legislature, I attended the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow for its climactic second week,” Barrett told Beacon Hill Roll ter her father died, Princess Mary Stuart became Queen of Scots at what age: one week, four years or 16 years? 15. How are “Becoming,” “Where the Light Enters” and “Spoken from the Heart” similar? 16. December 15 is Bill of Rights Day; how many constitutional amendments are in the Bill of Rights: five, 10 or 27? 17. What two animals are used to hunt truffles? 18. What color is in an Elvis Christmas song title? 19. What is the name of the mountain range that goes through Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia? 20. On Dec. 17, 1917, Sir Arthur Charles Clarke was born, who cowrote the screenplay for what 1968 sci-fi film? Call. “In doing so, I missed several roll calls back in the Senate, all taken on a single day. I regret this, but feel my responsibilities to my constituents were best satisfied during that particular time by my working at the U.N. event. Achieving emissions reductions relies heavily on ‘subnational’ governments like state legislatures, where so many of the actual programs are designed and funded.” “Over 400 private jets crammed Scotland’s airports and Massachusetts sent several of our state’s leading green elites to virtue signal and share their moral authority with other self-absorbed bureaucrats and politicians,” said Paul Craney, spokesman for the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “While his legislative colleagues were trying to determine how to best help their constituents with COVID relief money, the Lexington state senator was boasting about serving on a climate panel in which he spoke to ‘legislators’ from other countries including from China and Russia. Can Massachusetts’ most narcissistic green elite be this tone deaf or is he there for the self-celebration and pageantry?” It’s a Senate tradition that the Senate president only votes occasionally. Current Senate President Karen Spilka follows that tradition and only voted on 45 (39.1 percent) of the 115 roll calls while not voting BHRC | SEE PAGE 17 ANSWERS 1. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which became Mount Holyoke College 2. 1957 3. Four: Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. 4. Simple Mail Transport Protocol 5. England 6. Scottish 7. 1978 8. Only the females do. 9. Greek 10. They are flightless birds. 11. Dorchester 12. Ronald Reagan acted as host for all of them. 13. Mr. Grinch 14. One week 15. They are books by First Ladies: Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and Laura Bush. 16. 10 17. Dogs and pigs 18. Blue – “Blue Christmas” 19. The Atlas mountains 20. “2001: A Space Odyssey”
16 Publizr Home