Tim Toomey, 2010 State Rep Questionnaire Responses

1. What are your top three agenda priorities and how will you take action on these priorities?

Healthcare:

My top priority has been and will continue to be securing the right of quality, affordable health care for every citizen. I have been a long-time advocate for the establishment of a single-payer health insurance program in Massachusetts. Our country’s experience with Medicare has shown that a public health care system can be run with a level of efficiency that exceeds that of private insurers, yet can still provide comprehensive, high quality health care to our nation’s elders. I envision a day when all Americans are able to enroll in such a system, and I believe that Massachusetts should be the first to start down that road.

In the meantime, I will strongly oppose any proposed cuts to the MassHealth and CommonwealthCare programs. When tough decisions need to be made when crafting a budget for the new fiscal year, it always seems that the programs that are vital for the welfare of the poor, young, elderly, and disabled are the ones that suffer the most devastating funding cuts. I believe that this is the wrong approach to balancing the budget, and I will fight to make sure that funding is maintained for the programs that are vital to the wellbeing of so many residents of our communities, even if it means exploring new means of generating revenue. Fortunately, the federal government has approved $450 million in medical assistance for Massachusetts, which will significantly lessen the sting of funding cuts that were made in this year’s budget. Should this funding need a formal roll call vote in order to be approved, I will urge leadership to bring the House back in to session in order to put this money to work as soon as possible.

Finally, it has become apparent that the Cambridge Health Alliance has entered into preliminary talks with area health providers in order to explore a potential affiliation or sale. I have made it a priority of mine to monitor this situation closely to ensure that any potential affiliation or sale agreement does not impact the quality of care that so many residents of Somerville and Cambridge expect and rely upon from the CHA.

Public Education:

Every child should have the opportunity to experience a quality, comprehensive education, no matter where they live or what their family’s financial or legal status is. A quality education begins at a very early age, which is why it is necessary that the legislature work to strengthen the state’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten program. Although the program did receive about $1 million more funding this year than it had in 2009, it has still not seen the same level of funding that it was given before a steep cut in 2008. I hope to restore funding to this program to its pre-2008 levels as we renew our commitment to early childhood education.

I voted in support of An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap, which passed the House in January and was instrumental in securing $250 million in federal “Race to the Top” funding that was awarded to the state at the end of August. In the coming term I will also continue to fight any attempts to cut Chapter 70 funds to local schools. With so many school districts relying heavily on this money to provide an education to our children, we simply cannot afford to reduce the amount of funding allocated by the state for local public education. If Massachusetts is to remain a national and global competitor in these uncertain times, we must make the necessary investment to ensure that a diverse range of students are given access to an education that will allow them to create, innovate, and achieve.

Civil Rights:

I believe that equality under the law is a fundamental right for every person, and I wholeheartedly support and defend the right of any two people to enter into a marriage, regardless of sex or gender-identity. Unfortunately, we have seen in recent years that powerful interest groups can and will attempt to reverse the progress that states have made toward achieving full rights for their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens. I will fight to make sure that this never happens in Massachusetts. I have strongly opposed any attempts to change the Massachusetts Constitution to strip the right of same-sex marriage from our state’s citizens, and I will oppose any bill or amendment that would attempt to harm the families of same-sex couples.

In the same spirit of equality under the law, I believe Transgender people have the same right to protection from hate crimes, abuse, and discrimination as any other citizen. This is why I was a cosponsor of the Transgender Civil Rights Bill (H1728), and have written several letters to my colleagues and to House leadership advocating for the legislation. I also cosponsored Amendment #764 to the FY ’11 Budget, which would have included the language of H1728 in the House’s final version of the bill.

Although H1728 never made it to a vote in the 2009-2010 session, I believe that it is essential that we pursue this matter vigilantly, and I will continue to work to make sure that action is taken on it by strongly urging leadership to bring the bill to the floor early in the 2011-2012 legislative session.

2. How have you as an office holder worked to support progressive causes?

Public Transportation:

Expansion of the MBTA rapid-transit, light rail, and commuter rail services should be one of Massachusetts’ top priorities in the coming decades. With the growth of suburban cities and towns, more people are using cars than ever before, causing ever-worsening traffic issues and negatively impacting the environment and public health. Public transportation provides a cleaner, cheaper, more efficient alternative for moving large amounts of people long distances. By moving drivers out of their cars and onto a bus or train, improving public transit reduces the number of cars on the road and makes the streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians (which, in turn, encourages commuters to engage in the healthy behaviors of walking and biking). With this in mind, I have closely monitored the progress of the Green Line Extension into Somerville and Medford to ensure that this project proceeds in a timely manner. This project is critical for the area—high rates of asthma have been found in Somerville, and this has been linked to the high volume of traffic that flows through the city due to a lack of adequate public transportation. With that said, I will continue to work with MassDOT to make the concerns of residents and abutters clear as the project moves forward. Our goal should be to produce an expansion of the MBTA system that is safe, efficient, and improves the overall quality of life of the residents in the areas that it will serve. (More on the Green Line Extension below in response to Question #3)

Immigrant Rights:

I have always been a staunch advocate for the rights of the immigrants who live and work in our communities. Lately immigrants have been the subject of an increased amount of scapegoating, anger, and suspicion, which has been exacerbated in Massachusetts by misguided attempts by the legislature to place them under additional state scrutiny. This year, members of the House and Senate attempted to insert new, harsh, anti-immigrant language to the 2011 budget that would have overburdened both the Attorney General’s office and local law enforcement, and worsened tensions in some areas with high numbers of immigrants. I fought against these attempts, and fortunately, the Republican initiative was defeated in the House and the vast majority of the language failed to become law.

In 2006, I was the subject of a fierce nationwide campaign against me due to my support of a bill that would have allowed the children of undocumented workers to pay in-state tuition at state universities (original op-ed attached). This bill was an attempt to break the cycle of poverty that stems from a lack of affordable higher education, and unfortunately we may never know how many young men and woman have failed to achieve their true potential because of this bill’s failure. This is a cause that I continue to strongly support, and I will be looking for new opportunities in the coming legislative session to introduce legislation that will give the children of undocumented workers the opportunity that every resident deserves to become engaged and productive members of our society.

Healthcare:

I have worked to keep health care costs as low as possible for all Massachusetts residents. In the last year, I have fought to keep the prescription drug gift ban on the books, ensuring that doctors are making decisions that are solely in the best interests of their patients and that the cost of medication is kept under control. I supported a bill that allows individuals and small businesses to group together to buy health insurance, keeping costs under control for those who are often shackled with the highest insurance prices.

Additionally, as the national healthcare debate was reaching its boiling point, I was one of the earliest, strongest, and most vocal supporters of the legislature’s move to fill the late Senator Edward Kennedy’s seat with an interim appointment (original press release attached). This guaranteed Massachusetts two voices in the Senate during the debate that created the bill that would become a strong step forward for healthcare in the United States.

Progressive Income Tax:

I believe that the best tax policy is a policy that allows citizens in every income bracket to thrive, and throughout my career I have publically supported a constitutional change to allow for the implementation of a progressive income tax. The Massachusetts Constitution should be amended to change the income tax from a regressive flat tax rate for all citizens to a graduated rate dependent upon income. This would allow low-income residents to keep a critical portion of their paychecks each week – one that might be necessary to feed, clothe and shelter their families – while generating much needed revenue for the state by taxing those who can afford it at a reasonable rate. At a time when upward mobility is being stifled by the economy, I believe that a hard look at tax policies in Massachusetts should be undertaken in order to craft a policy that benefits all citizens.

3. How will you work with the federal, state, and local governments to ensure that the Green Line is extended through Somerville to Medford by December 31, 2014? What will you do to ensure strong community participation throughout the process?

The extension of the Green Line beyond Lechmere through Somerville to Medford is vitally important to Cambridge, Somerville and Medford, and has been a top priority of mine for many years. Expanded access to public transportation for currently underserved urban neighborhoods in my district will be a major boon for the area, reducing congestion on the roads, improving air quality in the region, and enabling increased mobility for area residents.

Having worked closely with local elected officials, the state legislative delegation, the Somerville Transportation Equity partnership (STEP), the Executive Office of Transportation (currently MassDOT), and the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) to secure the Commonwealth’s 2007 commitment to the 2014 deadline, I was very disappointed to learn that MassDOT now estimates the project will not be completed until October 2015.

However, the reason for the anticipated delay stems largely from the extended alternatives analysis process in the final selection of the location for the maintenance and storage facility. MassDOT’s initial site selection of the Yard 8 parcel outlined in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was simply unacceptable – this location would have been a major burden to the abutting residents living in the Brickbottom Artists Association, and would have had a significant negative impact on the long-term economic development potential of the Inner belt area.

As the result of a robust public process, MassDOT responded to the call of local residents, transportation advocacy groups, and state and local elected representatives, changing the preferred alternative from Yard 8 to Option L. While I am very frustrated by the prospect of further delays, I firmly believe that Somerville will benefit tremendously from this decision.

I will continue to work with my colleagues to apply sustained pressure on the Governor and MassDOT to stay on schedule and to meet the legal air quality mitigation requirement contained in the State Implementation Plan (SIP). The resulting decrease in emissions will help to reduce the significant incidence of asthma we have seen in Somerville.

I will also continue to meet with residents and local advocacy groups to ensure that the extension is not just completed, but completed in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the various neighborhoods it will impact. In my formal written comments to Secretary Bowles on the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) I advocated strongly for the completion of the Community Path as a component of the Extension, for measures to increase the safety of pedestrian access to the stations, and for an analysis to be done of the feasibility of converting the current Lechmere Station into a year-round public market.

I have also posted regular updates on my Community Blog (http://timtoomey.blogspot.com/), and will continue to encourage an active dialogue between decision makers and residents to facilitate a process that will be responsive to community needs.

(Editor's Note: The two documents referenced in these responses are attached below.)