The following announcement was provided by Progressive Watertown:
WBUR characterized the end of the 2023-2024 MA legislative session as “a showcase of dysfunctional governance that was [as] demoralizing as it was infuriating to witness.” “Deeply broken” was a headline in the Boston Globe. Activists are boiling over with frustration!
What’s going on? Why does the MA legislature pass so few bills? Why couldn’t MA pass a climate bill after the hottest summer on record? Bills are routinely negotiated by a very few legislators meeting behind closed doors, out of sight of the public and even most of their colleagues. How can we advocate for change?
Let’s talk about this! Come to a Free Public Forum entitled “Behind Closed Doors: What’s Wrong with our State Legislature.” Join former Watertown State Rep Jonathan Hecht and Harvard Professor Danielle Allen on Sunday, October 27, from 3-5 PM at the Coolidge School Apartments Auditorium, 319 Arlington Street.
Rep Hecht is on the leadership team of Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts and the steering committee of the Coalition to Reform Our Legislature. Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard and Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School. We are thrilled to have these two distinguished speakers share their insights about the MA legislature. There will be ample time for questions and discussion as well. The Forum is sponsored by Progressive Watertown, a chapter of Progressive Massachusetts.