Senator Cindy Friedman discusses bail reform and how the Senate’s Criminal Justice Reform bill addresses that.
Friedman finds her place as state senator The Lowell Sun
BOSTON — Sen. Cindy Friedman never thought she wanted this job. But last year, everything changed.
She’s managed political campaigns, and even worked as chief of staff for a senator. But she’s ‘always been behind the scenes — and I’m fine with that.’ Then her boss in the Statehouse, Kenneth Donnelly, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. He died in April.
Friedman didn’t have to run for his open seat. She could’ve stepped back and let a newcomer try their hand at state politics. But she felt like she lost her “partner,” she said.
“I had to get out of my comfort zone and say, this is important to me that I’m willing to risk losing, that I’m willing to put everything I have out there to try to remain in this work so I can continue it,” she told The Sun in a recent interview.
Senate Healthcare Report & Legislation
Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Senate released a health care report with accompanying legislation that focuses on short and long term goals to fix our healthcare system to lower costs, improve outcomes, and maintain access. The report is a result of a yearlong study and research conducted by the Senate’s Health Care Cost Containment working group on best practices, cost-saving measures, and innovations and trends in seven states.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in the coming weeks to further strengthen the bill to ensure that we continue to develop the most efficient way to deliver high quality health care coverage to consumers at a fair price. To learn more about the health care report and proposed bill, please refer to the following links. In addition, I invite you to share your comments on this post.
Push to open region-wide lockup sites Sentinel & Enterprise
BOSTON — If lawmakers give county sheriffs the funds and leeway to open up region-wide lockup facilities for detainees, Middlesex County would need to expand its current jail facility — but its current staff could handle the influx of prisoners, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian says.
Sen. Cindy Friedman, Donnelly’s successor and former chief of staff, said she has heard from several concerned police chiefs who feel the bill would save money in the long run. The bill filed last session was reported favorably out of committee before stalling.
Friedman, a Democrat whose district includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington and Lexington, said the Senate Ways and Means Committee expressed some concerns last session about the funding of the facility. “This time we’re gonna try and address those issues for them, so people feel comfortable about it,” she said.
Friedman supports changes in sentencing, curbing ‘machine-gun’ devices Your Arlington
Issues embracing limits on prison sentences and on devices aimed at producing machine guns drew support last week from Sen. Cindy Friedman, Democrat of Arlington.
On Thursday, Oct. 12, she expressed support for a comprehensive criminal-justice bill, sponsored by Sen. Will Brownsberger, Democrat of Belmont: “I am proud to stand with Senate colleagues and community advocates…Now is the time to bring real, meaningful reform to fruition in our state to reduce unnecessary incarceration and refocus on criminal diversion.”
She commented in an Oct. 14 news release following a State House rally seeking the passage of Senate Bill 2170, An Act Relative to Criminal Justice Reform.
Lesley Ellis School completes move to East Arlington Arlington Advocate
After the town of Arlington decided to turn the Gibbs building into a sixth grade school, the Lesley Ellis school was one of the four tenants who needed to find a new home.
On Oct. 11, Benson invited school community members and state Sen. Cindy Friedman to a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the new location. Lesley Ellis currently serves 183 students from preschool to eighth grade. Roughly half of those students are from Arlington and the rest are from surrounding towns
“You should all be very proud, this is a wonderful building. It’s old, it’s got great roots and you’ve done a beautiful job to modernize it and make it a welcoming environment, which is one of your great legacies,” said Friedman.
New Seatbelt Bill Goes Before Public Safety Committee Arlington Patch
BOSTON, MA — Several years ago Mary Maguire’s 17-year-old son was driving home from a homecoming dance. He fell asleep at the wheel while on I-495 near Wrentham. He woke up while his pickup truck was taking down highway reflectors and over-corrected course, the truck hurdling across all three lanes before crashing.
He was trapped so tightly he couldn’t reach his phone. It took three sets of “jaws of life” to get him out. The emergency crews told Maguire later that it looked like it would be a salvage mission instead of a rescue mission. But her son made it out alive. All because he was wearing his seatbelt that night. Now a more strict seatbelt law is being sought by legislators. One bill was presented this week to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. If passed, it would essentially require everyone to wear a seatbelt, allow police to pull over a car for anyone who is not wearing one, and double the current fine for not wearing one.
“Seatbelts save lives. That is a given,” said State Senator Cindy Friedman, who said she wasn’t familiar with the law yet. “In general I agree with mandatory seatbelt laws. We would have to make sure that there are no unintended consequences in terms of how the law would be applied.”
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Elected Officials Tour Burlington Businesses BCAT TV
In an attempt to better learn about the issues facing local businesses a group of elected officials and their aids joined the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce for a tour of some Burlington companies last week.
Burlington DTC holds meeting Bedford Minuteman
The Burlington Democratic Town Committee recently held its first meeting of the 2017-18 year, with State Sen. Cindy Friedman delivering an update on legislative priorities.
Friedman’s priorities include preserving access to and coverage for health care; support of paid family leave; and support of the Fair Share Amendment, which would tax income over $1 million as an investment in public transportation and public education. Friedman is also focused on increasing worker protections and rights and is currently leading the effort in the Senate to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2021.
Billerica making a longshot bid for Amazon HQ2 Wicked Local Billerica
Amazon’s search for HQ2 has generated quite a buzz across the continent, attracting nearly every major U.S. city to consider a bid, as the technology giant searches for a second home.
Among the likes of Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto, Billerica might seem a small fish. But, after checking off the prerequisites to apply, the town is moving forward to bid for the second Amazon campus.
State Sen. Cindy Friedman and state Rep. Marc Lombardo support Billerica’s bid, which must be filed by Oct. 19. Amazon is expected to choose its new headquarters location sometime in 2018.