Bob Havern has been my State Senator for almost as long as I have lived in Massachusetts. I was a bit shocked to hear that he may be moving on. Here I quote the State House News Service:
ML Strategies “has indicated a desire to discuss an employment” opportunity, Havern disclosed in a filing with the Senate clerk earlier this month. He did not say whether he was interested in the job.
Thanks to the “Your tax dollars at work” function on the Boston Herald website, I know that in 2006, being a State Senator meant that Robert Havern earned $70,556.00 for the year. Not exactly a royal rate for managing billions of dollars, and a job he has done for almost twenty years [raises are not frequent in the legislature]. I gather the “base pay” for a State Senator in 2007 is $58,000.00 – Havern’s higher rate comes from leadership roles which do pay some premiums. But still, after all those years it is not extremely high pay. You don’t go into the legislature for the pay rate.
I am somehow sure that ML Strategies would pay much better. On the other hand, Senator Havern called having his boys graduate from college the best “raise” he ever received.
When Senator Havern hosted a civics class from Arlington High School, where I was one of the chaperones from the League of Women Voters of Arlington – he called himself one of the last liberals in the State Senate.
Well, Senator Magnani is gone. Senator Traviglini is gone. Senator Barrios moved on. Will Senator Havern be next?
He’s also a great guy. It would be a shame to lose him to the private sector.
I felt a bit sad when I saw the story…so…shared it.
So who’s going for his seat?
Senator Havern is an important progressive voice on Beacon Hill. We should write him Robert.Havern@state.ma.us and ask him to stay. We need good ideas and good people in the Senate.
Just go to: http://news.bostonhe…
<
p>
Type in Havern. NO question – these folk earn about as much as a Boston teacher with a master’s degree.
Is being a State Senator a full time job in MA? Are there opportunities to pad one’s income [ethically and legally] on the side?
Three years ago I interned with my state senator at the time, Cynthia Stone Creem, D-Newton. One of the things I found out was that Senator Creem maintains, and commits quite a bit of time too, her thriving law practice. Granted, my internship was over a summer, when the legislature was out of session, but I only saw her come in twice.
<
p>
Also, it seems that senator Steve Baddour, D-Methuen, is making good money representing restraunts trying to dodge or change Boston’s silly blue laws
<
p>
http://www.boston.co…
Is being a State Senator a full time job in MA?
<
p>
…long ago I had been led to believe that members of the MA state legislature were permitted to maintain their, for example, law, real estate, and other practices, while being legislators, as long as they did not involve unethical practices, which primarily meant that they were not permitted to lobby state government.
<
p>
Iff (if and only if) they wanted to lobby state government, they had to leave the legislature. Of course, as state legislators, they were already in effect lobbyists, so the distinction is a bit unclear. Maybe they just couldn’t be directly paid for the lobbying. Indirectly paid? Maybe.
Or the representative. Someone like Rep. Jay Kaufman or Rep. Marzilli [both of whom I know well] are definitely full time – to the best of my knowledge, Sen. Havern though an attorney, does not maintain a “side practice” at all, and I think I would know.
<
p>
But, as I said, it depends. I believe Rep. Fagan of Taunton has a thriving ciminal law defense practice. My understanding is that Rep. Haddad does [or did?] have a real estate license and office.
Bob is definately one of the most engaging/funny legislators around. He was able to add some levity and humor to the very strident debate over gay marriage. As I remember he told the story of having to explain why he supports gay marrage to a group of either old local vets or a local sports group and said somethink like:
<
p>
OK, I get that you guys have a problem think about two guys haveing sex! I understand, but if that’s your problem then you got to support marriage because as we all know once your married you never have sex again anyhow.
<
p>
Now that’s political genius and just plain funny.
Couldn’t agree more – add state legislator to the list of important jobs that need to pay more if we want to attract and retain the caliber of people we want in those positions. State legislator, public school teacher…what else?
Shes a pretty good bio teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin.
Jim will seek the senate seat if Havern resigns. Arlington votes very heavily in Democratic primaries, so the political drama would be very interesting – including the undercurrents of the race for the rep seat if Jim wins.
He was one of the first politicians in this state to endorse Deval Patrick back in 2005. He was generous enough to open up his home and his fridge to a bunch of us who volunteered on a very hot August day. I won’t forget that, and he has a solid progressive voting record to boot, and his wife has been a consistent advocate for peace and justice in her own right. Couldn’t find a better replacement for Senator Havern, although I’d prefer that both keep their current positions due to the benefits of seniority and the uncertainty of who would replace Marzilli.
I learned of Bob Havern’s discussions to depart from the Senate when I read the State House News Service report late on Friday afternoon that he is negotiating the terms of a new job in the private sector. He may be leaving the Senate before his term is finished. If that happens, I will be running for the Senate seat in what will likely be a special election. If he leaves at the end of his term, I will run at that time.
<
p>
I am on vacation as I write this, out of state, but I did not want there to be any doubt about my intentions. I posted the following note on Arlington’s community email list today, to let my neighbors know of my candidacy.Here, then, my note to my neighbors:
<
p>
—————-
I have had the honor of serving Arlington and West Medford as its state representative. It has been a great opportunity to work on the issues that are important to our town: state aid to education, tax relief for low income households including the senior circuit breaker and the earned income tax credit, two increases in the minimum wage and an economically and environmentally sound energy policy. Serving in the state Senate will give me an opportunity to expand my efforts on behalf of our shared concerns.
<
p>
You will be seeing a lot of me as I go door-to-door through the district, which includes all of Arlington, half of Lexington, Woburn, Burlington and Billerica. A special election will be called if the Senator does leave before his term ends.
<
p>
I would be honored to have your support and personally will be asking as many of you as possible. I intend to run a vigorous and positive campaign.
<
p>
I am out of town on vacation this week but will be back next weekend. I can be reached at my home phone at 781-641-2334 through the wonders of call forwarding.
<
p>
Jim Marzilli
crossposted at Progressive Mass in Lexington:
<
p>
It seems to me Marzilli will have a pretty large advantage going into the race if Havern resigns. He’s popular in his home town of Arlington, which is pretty dominant in the district. At this early, early point, I would have to wonder if the only opening Marzilli leaves would be for a more moderate/conservative Dem, and we would see a rematch of Havern’s 06 primary, in which he trounced Woburn selectwoman Joanna Gonsalves. She won some votes in the more conservative Woburn/Burlington/Billerica, but Arlington (and Lexington) overwhelmingly gave it to Havern.
The political mathematics in the district would suggest that Marzilli is a heavy favorite to win the seat. It’s a strange district, essentially split in two with two distinct personalities.
<
p>
Looking at the district’s primary votes last September, here’s the number of votes cast from each city/town in the district. (In a special election with a lighter turnout, the southern half of the district historically has a heavier turnout than the north.)
<
p>
Southern half of the district:
Arlington 9475 (37%)
Lexington 3839 (15%)
<
p>
Northern half of the district:
Billerica 4317 (17%)
Burlington 3169 (12%)
Woburn 5156 (20%)
<
p>
Havern, running against Woburn city councillor Joanna Gonsalves, won 61% of the vote in the district. However, if you look at the way the district splits, Havern won 76% of the vote in the south and 44% of the vote in the north.
<
p>
Marzilli would enter the race with a solid organization in Arlington, and will have the advantage of Jay Kaufman’s support in Lexington.
<
p>
Former Arlington Selectman and Shawsheen Tech Superintendent Charlie Lyons, who has a base in Burlington and Billerica, could win the north and do well enough in the south to beat Marzilli and win the seat. However, he would need to give up a $160,000 day job (according to the latest Boston Globe numbers) to be a state senator.
<
p>
Another strong candidate from the south could split the vote, but the north would need to unify around another candidate to take the seat away from Arlington. Conversely, a split in the north would just make it easier for Marzilli to win. This is a distinct possibility, as a conservative Democrat will likely emerge from Billerica, and I wouldn?t be surprised to see a candidate emerge from Woburn.
<
p>
A savvy Arlington candidate, looking for a term in the statehouse, would find it advantageous to help Marzilli and clear the state representative seat, and use that time to build an organization to run in that primary. Unless, of course, that person lives outside Marzilli’s current district. In that case, the statehouse is likely a dream.
Assistant Senate Majority Whip Robert Havern, a 10-term legislator, is leaving the Senate to join the ML Strategies lobbying firm. ML Strategies, the lobbying affiliate of the Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo law firm, announced the move internally today.
<
p>
[A snippet from the State House News]
Below are excerpts from an article in the “Lexington Minuteman” that give a bit of background on some candidates for the seat who reside in Lexington and Burlington. Quotes and more info can be found in the full article (http://www.townonlin…) .
<
p>
Robert Peters, a Town Meeting Member in Lexington, announced Friday that he would run for Havern’s vacated 4th Middlesex District position. Peters also serves as a commissioner on the Housing Authority, and [served] as the district’s campaign manager for Gov. Deval Patrick[‘s campaign].
<
p>
Ken Donnelly, an Arlington resident who was a firefighter in Lexington for 35 years, has also announced his intent to run. Donnelly has also been active in local and state labor unions like the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, and has served as the commissioner of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) that oversees the state’s 106 public pension systems, according to a statement released Friday.
<
p>
Virginia Mooney has been active in Burlington politics for 40 years. She has been a Town Meeting Member for 33 years, served on the Board of Selectmen from 1988 to 1991, and served on the Democratic State Committee for eight years.
She is running for the Senate because she feels leadership change is needed at the state level so that towns can begin to receive the type of funds they need to balance their budgets.
<
p>
Thomas Fallon, the other Burlington resident who took out nomination papers, could not be reached for comment by press time.
<
p>
Joanna Gonsalves, alderman-at-large in Woburn, said last week that she would not seek the 4th Middlesex District seat, choosing instead to focus on her reelection bid as alderman.
<
p>
Candidates will have to gain 300 signatures by 5 p.m. on Oct. 2, have them certified, and will have to file their certified nomination papers with the state ethics commission and the Secretary of the Commonwealth in order to be on the ballot. The election will take place in December.
<
p>
~ Eric Eid-Reiner