State Senator Paul Mark of the Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire district is concluding his first year in the upper chamber. After years of serving in the state House, he overwhelmingly won his 2022 bid to replace Senator Adam Hinds.
Mark tells WAMC that catastrophic flooding caused by heavy rain in July was the biggest story of the year for his district.
“In terms of something completely unexpected, something that took a lot of resources and something where all levels of government really tried to get together and try to do something to help people in a moment of need," he explained. "I mean, we had the governor coming out, the governor flying by helicopter around the region looking at the damage. And I was pretty pleased with the response in terms of the response to the needs of farmers who had their crops devastated, both in the flooding and in the freeze in the springtime earlier this year. I was glad we were able to deliver money resources directly from the state and in coordination with nonprofit public entities and private entities. And those payments have already started making their way out to some of these farmers that lost the full season's worth of work.”
While Massachusetts has distributed millions in relief money to farms, North Adams – the second largest municipality in the Berkshires – has yet to secure state funding for the damages it suffered in the July storms. Mayor Jennifer Macksey estimates the city faces almost $5 million worth of repairs after the flooding overwhelmed crumbling infrastructure and left sinkholes, blown out culverts, and washed-out roads in its wake.
“The farm money flowed through right at the end of budgeting for Fiscal Year 2024," Mark told WAMC. "So, it hit at the exact right moment where the storm damage was a little more- We needed to gather what communities were hit, we needed to give the cities and towns time to gather their estimates to find out what they were going to need and how they were going to be able to get where they needed to be. And so, the only negative I would say is, when we knew we wanted to get $15 million as the starting point as that first number to get the money out the door to communities like North Adams, Williamsburg, Clarksburg, Whately. The only problem became that stalling out of the final closeout budget that took probably three weeks longer than it should have done because of some disagreements and some bizarre procedural stuff. But hopefully the mayor is going to start getting that money that's been signed now into law, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that that gets into the hands of these communities as quickly as possible. And North Adams is certainly one of the places that that should be qualifying.”
Mark cited the establishment of a state Green Bank among the successes of 2023- legislation he has repeatedly pushed for over his many years on Beacon Hill. The entity will offer loans to renewable energy projects, decarbonization efforts, and other climate change informed undertakings- including investment in environmentally friendly affordable housing.
“I'm looking forward to, January or February of ‘24, having a presentation from this new entity that people in the Berkshires are going to be able to get on the call, and they're going to be able to find out, so, how do we access this? How do we make any of this promise a reality? How do we how do we help, how do we have this help for projects we're trying to undertake both at the individual level and at the community level?” said Mark.
The senator says funding for the many rural communities in his district was also a big win in 2023.
“I don't know if that’s ever going to make headlines, because rural communities generally really aren't treated as the most glamorous things in the world, but the fact that we tripled that rural school aid, that we got, for the first time, this rural road money separate and distinct and added above and beyond the traditional road money, and we're seeing some of that come out now in the form of these Fair Share Amendment grants that are being distributed to the towns, right now as we speak," Mark told WAMC. "I think that should be a headline, that rural communities are being paid attention to, Western Massachusetts, I think, is being paid attention to in a way that I haven't seen for a very long time.”
Asked to reflect on the first year of fellow Democrat Governor Maura Healey’s tenure, Mark said it’s clear she was still ironing out her transition from her former role as Attorney General.
“I've found this past year, to move at a much slower pace than I had been used to for the last couple of years- and that feels frustrating, and also can feel frustrating to the people we represent, and they express that frustration, of course, to us, and we send it back up the chain," said the state senator. "But I also think you have to give a pretty strong level of respect to someone who's coming into a different job and is wanting to make sure she does it right, that she's not making short sighted mistakes and that she's taking a thoughtful, balanced approach and listening to people.”
While Mark says he wants to see Healey offer a more detailed agenda and more outspoken advocacy for legislative goals in 2024, he’s happy with some of her key appointments from 2023- including former Western Massachusetts State Senator Anne Gobi as the inaugural Director of Rural Affairs and Yvonne Hao — a Williamstown homeowner — as Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development.
“I really liked the choice of Melissa Hoffer to be the first ever Climate Chief," said Mark. "She's been a great partner, she partners across multiple agencies in the administration, which, when you look at the bureaucracy of state government, in and of itself is a daunting task, but then kept us in the loop as they were moving forward with their plans to turn my legislation into something concrete, something realistic. And they've kept us in step with everything they're doing to now make that make that a reality.”
One of the first significant legislative dates of 2024 will be January 18th, when a housing bond bill will receive a hearing on Beacon Hill.
“We've been hearing a lot of traffic about this, both in my final term as a state rep and now in my first term as a state senator," Mark said. "I'm hearing it no matter which region of my district- North County, South County, Pittsfield, and even in the Pioneer Valley, three counties that have 25 towns, and it's pretty uniform. And so, making sure that we get as much local assistance that will work in either gateway city like Pittsfield, or the rural communities as small as 200 people, making sure that what we're given isn't one size fit all fits all, that it is instead tailored that every community has ability, every county has the ability to take advantage and really address housing crisis in ways that are smart, I think is really important.”
The Massachusetts House and Senate reconvene on January 3rd.
