 And I'm James Milan. Welcome to actually one of my favorite Talk of the Town episodes that we do regularly and that is a legislative update with our state senator Cindy Friedman who represents five cities and towns but you know what, lives in only one of them right here in Arlington. So Cindy, so glad to have you with us. It's been a few months and lots of busyness on your part. I hope you found some rest and relaxation somewhere over these last months. Thank you. Hi James, it's good to see you. I'm glad to be here. Yeah, I think things are getting closer to a new normal. That's a good thing. Yes. Well obviously the specter that you're referencing that we're all more than familiar with is the kind of derailment of legislative business as well as so much other, so many other parts of our life by the pandemic which has both, again, derailed a certain amount of the business that you would have been taken care of and also exacerbated some of the issues that are most pressing anyway. So we will get to that but let me get your thoughts to begin with on just how things have proceeded more within the last few months since we last spoke but if you want also over the entire course of our response here in Massachusetts to the pandemic, your own role as much as you'd like to share that but also just your comments and thoughts on how things have worked on the state level. Sure. I think things are moving in the right direction. We have or will very soon have over 50% of our adult population vaccinated with two vaccines. We have the lowest rate of hesitancy I think in the nation at 7% which is pretty extraordinary and I would say not unexpected in a place like Massachusetts where people are well educated, well informed, thoughtful and that we have a very strong sense of community and we understand that a vaccine is not just for me, it's for my neighbors and the people who run businesses, schools, etc. So I think that all is working. We've worked very hard to get vaccines down into the communities at the local levels and that's finally I think we're seeing a major shift. The governor had announced that they were closing the big vaccine sites in June and that just means that more of those vaccines will be coming locally where our boards of health have been heroic in their work to get vaccines out to the most vulnerable people in our communities and I just I can't say enough about our local boards of health in my district, across my district and you know and in Arlington I mean Christine Manjaro is just amazing as our other local boards in my community. So I think that all is moving in the right direction. I think we're at a bit of a kind of turning point. We can continue to get better and we could go back and so that's kind of what we're all holding our breaths and wearing our masks for so that we can keep this this upward positive trend. So I think it's moving. We're still working very very hard to get to the communities where there's more hesitancy where there's less outreach or connection with health care and those people may not be hesitant but just don't even know and so we are very proud of how much the senate and the legislature have pushed the governor to really focus on outreach and really go deep into the communities where people are very vulnerable but less connected to systems and so I'm very proud of that work that we've done and I think we're starting to see some improvement. So it's a kind of mixed bag but we'll keep focusing on it. I actually I'm curious about one thing you know your your district encompasses as I mentioned at the outset a number of different towns and cities that Arlington, Bilrick, Burlington, Lexington and Wuburn are you finding that there are pockets within your own district of you know greater either hesitancy or more difficulty with access or anything like that or or or not but what are you finding within your own district? In terms of access that was a major issue and I think I'm seeing it a lot less I think people or things are getting much more accessible especially in the areas of people who are homebound or less able to get to a vaccine a large vaccine site. So I think while that was a major issue that is has really I think been addressed and still need work to do but there's a system in place so I feel that we've made real progress there. The hesitancy that I see in my communities in my district they're small pockets they're not large groups and so I haven't really seen it as a major issue for for me or for the fourth middle sex it's been much more people are much more open once they hear about it lots and lots of people have gotten vaccines that's what we heard about in the beginning you know where am I getting where can I get it where can I get it so I don't see the hesitancy as much as some other people some other senators do. Yeah so one last thing before we move on to looking at into the future rather than the past but I can't not ask you about the fact that in speaking with our local officials both Christine Bongiorno who you mentioned who directs our Board of Health and also Adam Chaptilane over you know weekly over these last months they have different times expressed quite a bit of frustration with the way that the rollout happened here in Massachusetts and and specifically with the governor's directives around around vaccine distribution etc. I'm wondering if you have if you could just weigh in on that briefly again before we move on. I completely understand and I share their frustration and you know this is something that the Department of Public Health and local boards of health have been actually working on and training for for 20 years since 2001 since September 11th and I appreciate that we have a very what's the word I would use. We have a very large public health system that is comprised of very sometimes very small entities so we under 651 cities and towns have their own boards of health and they are tasked with the charges that all the boards of health have and it is absolutely true that there are some boards of health that are absolutely extraordinary and able to tackle anything and there are other boards of health that aren't because they live in very small communities or you know for very legitimate reasons. We have not funded public health. This is what happens when you don't fund public health or when you don't have an overall strategy but having said that I would have chosen to move vaccines to local boards of health that I knew and know were capable of getting vaccines out quickly and then I would have dealt with the remainder. The governor said no get big sites up just get as many people vaccinated just doesn't matter whoever can get there get there and that's the way he did it and I disagree. I'm not sure that we would have gotten we wouldn't have gotten there any slower if we had actually used our local boards of health but it is what it is and but I I totally and completely share the frustration that Adam and Christine experienced and that all my local boards experience just they were all capable of doing a thousand shots you know in a couple days they got better and better at it and to take them out of the mix I think just added a lot of angst and confusion that we didn't need to have. Yeah well thank you for those those comments we appreciate it and certainly they do echo a lot of the reasoning that Adam and Christine shared with us as well especially as you said the fact that they've been preparing for a long long time for exactly this kind of scenario so it must be particularly frustrating to have your hands tied you know when you're ready to go. All right let's move on the you know I want to focus on your legislative priorities and the session coming up 21-22 session but you know as I looked at as I was preparing for our interview I looked at you know some of the 40 bills that you have you know pending and the areas the 21 different areas as I mentioned to you before I counted them up in which those that legislation is happening and obviously I needed to wrestle that down into something more manageable and what it seems to me would be a good focus for us is that the as mentioned earlier the the pandemic caused some things actually made certain situations either worse or more urgent etc and so I'd like to focus on some of those subject areas and just talk about legislation coming up or that you hope to make to to effect. One of those areas is housing as we know moratoria on on people being evicted has been being lifted at both the federal and local levels and people I think are are rightly concerned here in Massachusetts for a number of reasons about about the housing situation so what what what do you have going on in that area? I don't specifically I don't have a specific housing bill I am what I have learned yet again because I knew this but learned it again that if you are if you are if you want to focus on health care that the first thing in health care that you have to ensure is that people have stable housing and they have food and any anything we do to increase health the health of our citizens and our residents our residents has to encompass safe and secure housing and food security and so what I have done is worked with my colleagues who are really focused on the nitty gritty of housing and how to make it more affordable and how to build more of it I have I am working with them and taking their lead in that area and I will support and work for and be an advocate for anything that brings stable affordable housing to the commonwealth because without it we're sort of that's square one right you can't overstate the importance of those two things if you want to keep people healthy if you want to have a good economy um if you want to have a informed and engaged citizenry um you know if you want good schools if you want you know if you want to be able to to provide education it starts with food and housing and we have really learned that yet again right I mean one of the most shocking um ramifications of this pandemic was to find out that how much food comes from our schools to children and without it they starve they don't have enough so we can't lose that focus and I will support all of the efforts um that are going on in the senate to increase you know to to make those things a reality for for people um well well said that you know the how pivotedly essentially important food and housing are to public health and keeping people healthy speaking of which I know that you know mental health um has been a an issue around which you have been an active advocate uh you know from from from the get go um and that there that that is another area in which the pandemic has really increased both the need or the severity of the need um as well as related to that substance abuse um and the increasing uh death toll uh really nationally I'm I'm less aware of what the impact has been here in Massachusetts but I know it's been an epidemic of its own nationally so wondering if you could just speak to potential legislation coming up in those areas sure we have a couple of things that are going on um right now hopefully we will see in the senate budget um a um funding that will directly and immediately address the issues around emergency department boarding for people with mental illness especially for children which is right now an epidemic of its own um the number of children in ed's waiting to get a placement somewhere to get treatment um so we've been working as the chair of vice chair of ways and means um I've been working on that part of the budget and hopefully we're going to see some um immediate steps that we can take to reduce that uh I and and we will continue um to push up our bills that are around um uh parity and ensuring that behavioral health including mental health and substance disorder treatment are treated the same exact way that any physical health um um uh issue or condition is treated uh as you know and I've said several times with you we have uh we have laws on the books both at the state level and the federal level that require parity between behavioral health and physical health and we don't enforce them and we don't have true parity and so I I'm working on that and we have a I think a great mental health parity bill that will be filing again we did last session something that got derailed although the senate did put it into its mental health did a big mental health omnibus bill and they did put the parity bill in there um so we'll be doing that again um and we'll be requiring um much more um enforcement and investigation to ensure that there is parity um we also have um again be looking at and have language if we need it to make sure that the um doctor that that insurance companies have enough doctors on their uh panels so that when people need help they can get it and that's still the ghost networks are still an issue um and so we'll be we'll be looking on looking at that so those are the two big mental health um uh bills that I have and um there's a couple other things that we're going to be looking at and um we'll be including in a in a budget in a um another mental health bill which I hope is that it will take up but those those are um those are the two big ones right now um you know as you were answering that and you you refer to your your work in your position on the house on the I'm not the house excuse me on the ways and means committee um it uh that reminds me that um I wanted just to ask you about the budget um and uh what what are you uh what are you seeing and as you look forward to this next session and also this next budget year this next fiscal year um are you hopeful with the influx of federal money are you well just what are your thoughts in terms of uh our budgetary situation here in Massachusetts both currently and as we look forward yeah well I think to a lot of people's surprise our revenues are up um we're doing really much better than anybody thought in terms of you know revenue to the state and that that's been enormously helpful and um and in addition we have um an administration at the federal level who believes that this is the time that government steps in and helps and so between of the rescue act has been extraordinarily helpful has taken a lot of pressure off states um and municipalities and you know if we can get an infrastructure bill that will be um that will be enormously helpful um the issues around childcare that they're addressing that will be helpful because that will allow people to come back to work um so I am um cautiously optimistic that things will continue in this trend I think right now we're in pretty good shape um in terms of the state and being able to fund the things that we really care about like local aid and education and healthcare and um and safety net programs so I think that that you know without burdening um the residents by raising you know enormous amount of taxes or you know that kind of thing even though you know that may be something in the future but right now I think we're in pretty good shape um yeah I'm curious about one one thing I know a little bit about here on our it's a very local level here at Arlington that some of the influx of money that's coming in through these federal support acts um or this funding coming from the federal government um is actually creating odd uh problems um in terms of just being able to figure out how to deal with a uh what can feel like a flood of money coming in is there any such thing uh as as similar problems on the state level where uh you know it's actually an issue to figure out how to spend the money I don't think it's it I don't think the issue is how to spend it it I think the issue from the way I understand it is what you're allowed to spend it on so the money has come but the guidances have come or are coming after the money or after the money's been allocated allocated um and I think that's what a bit of the confusion is and that's what it makes it makes it hard for the state so for instance I'll give you an example I'm pushing a um pushing a budget item that would create a um loan repayment program for uh psychiatrists child psychiatrists who would work in community health centers okay and it would be a significant loan repayment in the hundreds of thousands okay now we're getting money from the federal government right and one could argue that oh a loan repayment program is a perfect way to use money because it's bounded it's not a continual you know you don't have to um allocated every year it's like a good it's sort of it's it's a lot of buckets and it's something that we really need because we need to get people into the healthcare system um but we don't know if you can use it that way right we're not sure and we're not sure when it's coming and we're not sure you know so what do you do do you put it in part of your budget um and and bake it into a state budget or do you say well we're not going to do that yet but and we'll wait well how long do you need to wait and you know the need is now and so so I think that's a lot of the churn that at least I'm seeing is what can we do with this bucket and what can we do with this bucket yeah that's that's a that's a great point I'm wondering if there you are familiar I'm sure with the adage that you know there are some some kinds of positions in which it's better to ask for forgiveness afterwards than for permission before uh is this one of those situations where you know it's it seems like responsible actors at the at the state level are saying well we need to wait and see if it's okay to spend this money I'm wondering hey maybe we should is it is there a possibility that you move forward with allocating the money um and then assume that you've got it right or when when you hear otherwise you seek forgiveness so to speak in some way yeah I'm not I'm not totally sure that that will work because the issue is if you don't get forgiveness then you're on the hook and we've already allocated all of our dollars to other you know to other things so you you don't want to get into the position of saying okay you know I told you I'd give you money sorry you have to take it right I think I think the the responsible financial gals and guys would say no we can't we can't count on that because it's we can't and also they can't spend the money because they don't have it yet so but it's a great so so in other words that it does it does show that that's a really good illustration of what a problem so to speak or at least a problematic situation that can arise is if you get if you know the money's coming but it's not yet there and or you don't know if you're allowed to spend it in the way you want then it'll get cleared up I mean it you know it'll get cleared up we just happen to be in the middle of our budget cycle so it's really important to us right but other places are done their budgets and so they don't have that same um issue at least that's my understanding of of what's going on you know we've talked about a number of different areas in which the kind of the long tail of the pandemic is continuing to play out and and and intersecting with your work as legislators um the other great um what would you call it um well the other reckoning uh for sure that we are all going to forever associate 2020 with um and into 2021 and beyond um it relates to racial equity police reform and those kinds of issues um obviously here in Massachusetts a significant bill uh is is you know we've nearly passed around police reform I'm wondering whether there is anything um coming up that is worth mentioning in the area of either criminal justice reform generally police reform specifically etc that you'd be aware there are a number of things that are coming up in I think around criminal justice um I would say from my point of view and what I'm working on in terms of police reform is um we need to make sure that if we're transitioning um our police from a sort of warrior to guardian um frame of reference that we make sure that we provide resources um that allow that to happen um and that means you know how well do we train our police to um be able to deescalate um what are what are expectations of um of how um of how police respond um a really good example of that is Arlington has all has has for many years and it came under um because of Chief Ryan and is um and is um wholly embraced by Chief Flaherty is this notion of ride along um you know of um social workers people who are really trained in deescalation really trained in working with people who have a mental health or substance disorder uh condition going on at a moment they they are with the police and that is I think an extraordinarily good model and that's the kind of thing where we say yes we have an expectation that you will treat people um in a certain way but we are going to give you the tools and resources to do that and I think that's what my focus is right now because you can't expect people to do to be experts at everything all the time right we never we don't expect that and so I think in this case we want to make sure that um in terms of just policing and you know um that if we have these expectations which are absolutely I think um appropriate that we make sure that we can support those efforts by providing police with the resources that they need um in terms of criminal justice we have so much to do in terms of our departments of correction and um right now interestingly our um census for uh DOC is down so we have many we have many fewer uh prisoners the prisoners with a mental health condition or a substance use disorder is way up so more and more our prisons are becoming the treatment the the treatment options for people who actually have an illness and this is just intolerable um we have women in prisons that really don't need to be there um they are there because of a domestic violence issue that um you know for for example and there are so many better ways to treat that to work with people who you know who have dealt with that with trauma um or I I I I ask everybody to read the the trump department of justice report on how people who have a mental illness and and are put on suicide watch how they have been treated in the jails it is horrific it is like reading about a third world country and so these are all issues that we need to address because if you don't fix the department of corrective you don't fix incarceration you just cause more incarceration people get people get um they're sick they come in they don't get treatment they get worse they get they leave with no support and they just go back into the cycle so we really really really need to focus on that and I am I have to say I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with this administration and um and their willingness and seriousness about reforming our department of corrections yes uh you know there's a lot in what you said there both with relation in relation to police reform uh and the situation in our in our jails and prisons right now um but what I'm struck by is the common theme there that in people intersecting with the police more than has ever been recognized before um are dealing with other issues beyond whatever the specific you know police training would would would uh you know make that officer think and so a lot of as as you're aware of of course there's a there's a whole defund the police idea that is frankly sounds like not very popular with large segments of the population but a lot of that is really divert what lies behind that seems to be diverting more resources away from traditional policing and more towards provision of mental health professionals on scene and in counseling and training of police officers around these things we know that we're lucky here in arlington that as you have already cited there's been a program in place and a vision in place around this for years also that is reflected in middle sex county to some to to some degree uh where there's that kind of so so I feel like we are uh in a you know in a relatively good position compared to many other parts of the country and yet you point out rightly and with passion that there is so much that is still not being done right um or enough uh in in in our state um and and it's you know it's definitely a sobering reminder that um you know progress has been made and so much more needs to be done and I don't mean to minimize the racial disparities or the disparities between treatment between people of color and and you know and people who are Caucasian I I don't mean to minimize that I know that that is a huge issue um and it's something that we need to um address head on and you know um but I do believe that you know there's there's um I do believe that when we have an expectation of our systems that we need to be ensure that the systems can you know can do what we're we're directing them to do and you know um I'm very proud of the police reform bill that we did um I think it's totally in the right direction um and I also believe that there are lots of people out there lots of police officers who want to do things differently and we have to make sure that they have the resources to do it um I've got just one other thing that I've been gonna want to ask you about but before I do I wanted to invite you if we have missed any if there's any glaring areas or particular bills that you wanted to make sure that our audience hears about and we haven't mentioned please do um I'm sure my staff is going to watch this and say you didn't say this you didn't say this and you didn't say this and I'm gonna say you're right but um that's what part of what we like about you though Cindy is that you you know you are who you are and you know you're not gonna get everything right oh I forgot that uh so anyway no but people should come to my uh office hours that's one thing I'd like to say um they're always on our website we text out that we're having them um they're all on zoom now so they're easy to you know to get to and um so if you know go to the website or uh wash for tweets or on facebook um because we're we're announcing when they are and it'd be great for people if they just want to talk about things that they care about that would be wonderful that's that's great and that does remind me uh of a question that that that I am curious about it's something that we are dealing with in town meeting here in Arlington right now um you were just saying that because of the pandemic as we know things migrated to zoom um we are getting you know we are beginning to envision getting back to a place where we're dealing with each other face to face again as as the norm um when that happens and when that's possible do you plan to do you have have you guys thought about and do you plan to keep this remote option remote participation option um you know available for people generally I think yes I think generally um in some ways this has worked really well and I mean you can see it in the participation of um just town meetings not town meeting but you know how many more people go up and how many more people watch and um and that's all that's great um I don't think we yet have a good idea about how to mix those two but I think there's a general acknowledgement that we probably have to do a mixture of both because it does work and it and in certain ways it in certain very profound ways it really expands access and that's great in other ways we really need to be together um so we have covered a lot of ground as I expected um and touched on some really important issues that have been key uh for you and your time uh in the state house um you know from the mental health and and and health in general uh issues through criminal justice reform through uh you know housing and the others and other things that as we know um have been great priorities for you I think though that people may be wondering well why hasn't he asked you about the most important thing and so let me do that and and that is is it true that the giant puff ball mushroom is really going to be declared the mushroom of the state the official state better me if I have any stay over it it will be the is the giant puff ball a personal favorite of yours is that it absolutely and it was it was brought to me by a then junior high student in Arlington who is a mycrologist my okay the word just went on but a mushroom expert okay and um it's a wonderful bill and he's a incredibly cool kid and um so yeah we're pushing it all right we're serious exactly so take note folks out there um these are the kinds of things that if you show up during Cindy's office hours you've got a legitimate chance of making these things happen absolutely all right well I appreciate that and and ending on uh on a note that is you know light but nonetheless you know it's it's I love the origin story of that bill that's great that uh that this is somebody who cares a lot about it and brought to your attention and you're going to be a response absolutely I mean it's a it's a good idea and it shows passion and fortitude all right just like the giant puff ball itself all right no more mentions of that uh Cindy thanks again for your time and this has been basically the spring edition of these legislative updates and we'll look forward to checking in with you in the summer even as we also wish you the opportunity to get away at some point this summer and and do some R&R for yourself it's been a very very long year and and plus for all of us but certainly for those of you um in the Massachusetts State House it's been a lot to do yeah well thank you and um thanks for all your um civic mindedness and um and I really appreciate that you do this and that you give me an opportunity to um to just have a conversation it's great well we uh as I said we we really do value it and just so you know I've been speaking to our state senator Cindy Friedman from her home right here in Arlington um and uh we do as I said wish her the best and we do wish the same for you out there in the audience thanks so much for joining us I'm James Milan and we'll see you next time