On Tuesday, voters in the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire District sent Western Massachusetts State Senator Paul Mark back to Boston for a second two-year term. The Democrat served as a Berkshire County state representative for 12 years until his ascension to the upper chamber in 2023. He easily bested a challenge from Eastern Massachusetts Republican David Rosa, earning 71 percent of the vote. With the election dispensed with, Mark and his fellow legislators still have major unresolved bills before them before the new session starts in January. With Donald Trump returning to power in Washington, Mark says state leaders are bracing for sweeping changes in federal policy after four years of President Joe Biden. Mark spoke with WAMC Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes about Election Day outcomes, controversial ballot questions, his plans for 2025, and more.
MARK: On the Senate side, we did complete the energy bill. The House is still waiting to do that. And on the Senate side, we did the energy bill in a in a formal session with a recorded vote. And so, it looks like the House wants to do the same path. What we're both waiting for together is for this economic development bill that has been pending since late July, for that to get reconciled and for that to have a final vote, which as a bonding element, it's going to require a roll call vote. So, there's going to have to be another formal session for the Senate and for the House. And other than that, on the Senate side, there was a couple of overrides of gubernatorial vetoes that we did not take up from the budget. I had been thinking we were watching revenue projections and maybe considering if we were going to do them later in the year. Now with the national election, that may be an even more cautious approach as we move forward. And then locally, I have a good number of bills. Out of 57 cities and towns, we have these home rule petitions. So, the cities and towns can ask us specifically to file special legislation for them. And I'd say I probably have about eight of those that are still pending that have to get done before January 1.
WAMC: Now, let's look ahead into 2025- What do you think the legislature will be jumping on in the House and Senate come the New Year and with this new slate of representatives,
I think we continue to work on climate, we continue to work on economic development, we continue to work on housing, we continue to start working on the next budget, the fiscal year 2026 budget. I think there's all the traditional issues that we tackle pretty repeatedly. I hope there'll be a transportation bond, there wasn't this session. I hope there'll be a capital projects bond, there wasn't this session. But the national election does really potentially change some of the narrative and some of the topics that we might be handling. So, I remember the last time there was a Trump administration, there was a lot of reactivity, there was a lot of need to maybe shield people and change some of our laws and do some things that are really important to the people of Massachusetts that may not be happening anymore on a federal level, and so we're going to have to be ready for that. I've already seen a statement from the House Speaker and the Senate President to that effect, that Massachusetts is going to stay a safe, welcoming, open-minded state, open-minded community, and we're all prepared to work together to make sure that that that remains the case. And I think the funding picture in terms of what we receive from the federal government is potentially going to be very different than it's been for the last four or five years. And so that's, when we when we consider the budget and we consider the $9 billion we have saved in the rainy day fund and what we're looking at in terms of spending in a new fiscal year, these elements are all going to impact us.
Now, I wanted to ask you about the successful passage of Question 1, in which voters backed a measure to affirm the state auditor’s authority to fully audit the state legislature. It's been a long, ongoing battle between State Auditor Diana DiZoglio and many leaders on Beacon Hill. From your perspective as somebody in that body, what are your thoughts on that outcome?
No, it's a very solid win. I intentionally did not take a public position on the question, because I thought it would be self-serving to do so. I still have some concerns, potentially, depending on what items anyone might be interested in auditing, if something's against the Constitution, if something's a conflict of the separation of powers, that that might end up in court. That's not what anybody wants, because when the legislature and the auditor are in court, that means the people in the people in the state are paying for it. So that's never a great thing. But personally, the financials are being audited. It doesn't bother me if the auditor now has the authority to also audit or issue a report on those financials. I don't see- I really hope there's nothing to hide. So, the voters spoke. I think as much as constitutionally practical, it's the right move to respect that.
Now, another question that generated a lot of division among Democrats was Question 2. We had a large outpouring of support for the measure to remove the MCAS standardized test passage from high school diploma graduation from the teachers’ unions and a lot of other groups like that, and then a lot of opposition from the Maura Healey administration. Any thoughts on how that came down? Is it a referendum on the governor's ability to influence public opinion on these kinds of decisions?
No, I don't think so. I don't think it's something she had been vested in for like a year, two-year campaign. I think she came in kind of late. And the statement, the policy statement being made by the voters here is, as far as I'm concerned, we don't like the idea that the MCAS, if a student can't pass it in spite of 12 years of successful education, a successful high school career, and because they do poorly on this one test, they're not going to be able to graduate. Well, the voters, again, are speaking pretty clearly that that's not what we want. I don't think anybody's saying we don't want to know how schools are performing, we don't want any accountability, we don't want any measures of success versus district over district. So, I think this is going to be a place where you're going to see a new method of how we keep track of performance is going to emerge. And I was a public supporter of Question 2. I voted yes on Question 2, and so I think it's the right move for this to not be a high stakes test that graduation depends on.
Now, turning to the national stage, obviously a lot of dismay in the heavily Democratic state of Massachusetts about the outcome of the national election. From your perspective, what does your party have to learn about the failures of the 2024 presidential election?
Well, I'll speak specifically to rural areas. In the United States, from what I can see – and this has been pretty consistent for the last 15, 20 years – there are about two areas in rural America where the people of the region consistently vote for Democrats, and that's the Berkshires and parts of Western Massachusetts, and then the state of Vermont. And so, I think it would be really, really wise for the national Democratic Party to maybe get in touch with people from this area and from Vermont and try to find out, so, what are you doing differently? What is the message that you're putting out there in rural America that is having success in a very urbanized state like Massachusetts? I think the Berkshires, to its credit, has this amazing spirit of collaboration, and instead of local leaders, local organizations and even local elected officials like myself at the state level deciding that, because we don't always get the fullest piece of the pie from Boston, there just shouldn't be any pie, which seems to be the message in much of rural America, that that the national government, whichever branch of government, isn't going to come through for you so we might as well just not have any functions. Instead, we find ways to make what exists work and work in rural communities, and I think there's a lot to be learned from here, and I think that's the number one message I would send to the national Democratic Party.
