SOMERSET—Massachusetts Congresswoman Patricia Haddad is pensive and proud of her illustrious 24-year career.
Haddad, a change agent who has worked to advance divisive legislation, a longtime advocate for clean energy and offshore wind on the South Coast, and a symbol of fortitude, will be defeated by Republican Justin Thurber. ‘s election victory was “disappointing,” he said, “but I’m looking forward to it with hope.”
Haddad, a Democrat, has represented Bristol’s 5th District, which includes Dighton, Somerset, Swansea and Taunton, since 2001. She is the first woman to be appointed interim chair, which she said is “a great honor.”
The controversial bill proved to be a major civil rights victory for Haddad.
Her first term was embroiled in a landmark bill that made it legal to prosecute priests and clergy. “I voted yes,” Haddad said, adding, “I was in the newspaper for 28 days straight. People called me and said, ‘What are you doing?’ Ta. And I would say, “That’s the right thing to do.” ”
“This was controversial,” Haddad said, recalling another bill that would have given rape victims access to free emergency contraception. “We wanted it to be available on college campuses as well.”
The legalization of same-sex marriage came during Haddad’s second term, which ran from 2003 to 2004. “There was a sense of tension,” she said, recalling how she was escorted from her office to her car as the crowd of protesters descended on the steps of the Capitol. “I was one of 35 people not to vote for the compromise.”
“Part of being a representative is listening to everyone, and there are so many votes that are not about you,” Haddad said, referring specifically to herself. “To me, it was a civil rights issue. If you vote no, you’re disenfranchising someone. I couldn’t do that.”
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Advancement of early education and childcare
Mr. Haddad served as chairman of the school board for four years, striving to improve early childhood education and childcare.
Prior to chairing the committee, she was appointed to a committee that looked at providing accessible, affordable and quality childcare, ultimately focusing on education rather than health and human services. proposed a bill.
Haddad said 1,700 children in Fall River alone are seeking slots in early childhood care. “It requires funding,” she said, and is still in development.
In analyzing inequalities related to access to affordable early education and later education, Haddad identified inequalities in school funding formulas that had not been adjusted “since 1993.” He said he had discovered it. “It was 2005. We needed to do something, and I was all about process.”
Her goal was to “create a continuum” that would track students from kindergarten through 12th grade. She planned to survey five to six communities willing to share information about demographics, tax rates, and annual school budgets. She ended up being stopped 13 times.
There were dozens of issues, including special education and the condition of school buildings, but the amount of education funding that local governments receive is linked to their fiscal situation, so a balance needed to be struck. Haddad found that the last “Wealth Measure” allocation was created from the 1990 census.
Mr. Haddad created a new system for evaluating municipalities’ self-reported income, with a reassessment of assets every three years in line with new funding allocated at a floor of 17.5% and a ceiling of approximately 85%. did. “But no one will be penalized if a town or city loses its population, its tax base improves, or the cap is reached.”
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Offshore winds blow into Somerset with Haddad’s help.
By the time Dominion closed the Brayton Point power plant in 2017, “they were still paying close to 12 million a year in taxes,” Haddad said, making up a significant portion of Somerset’s tax base. said. “We were nearing the end of all pipelines,” Haddad said, and members from Bristol Community College and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth urged her to consider “alternatives.” .
In 2014, she hosted a summer conference at the Somerset Public Library where experts from around the world weighed in on her big question: “What can we do for Massachusetts?” Through this process, “it became increasingly clear that offshore wind was the way to go,” she said. “I had three three-hole binders filled with all the work I had done.”
Haddad said the bill passed nearly unanimously in the House before being approved by the Senate and was referred to a conference committee with “real cooperation” from “both sides of the aisle.”
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“I was always attending conferences,” Haddad said. “If I was given the opportunity to speak, I would do it. Picture me standing in Mount Hope Bay, waving my arms and saying, ‘Come here, come here.’ Everybody was excited about it.” But Haddad was instrumental in bringing in new business.
Green energy companies in the supply chain needed incentives. “Then Jake Auchincloss came along,” Haddad said, referring to the U.S. representative from Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District. “And he saw the value.” Haddad credits Auchincloss with pushing the idea of offshore wind in Congress and bringing Somerset to the attention of Washington, D.C.
Regarding President Joe Biden’s surprise visit in July 2022, Haddad said: This day was also the hottest day of the year. It was huge. ” The president’s visit sent a signal to people outside of Massachusetts that “this can become a reality,” Haddad said.
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Haddad names himself ‘big picture’ policy maker
It wasn’t until 2008, when Mr. Haddad was appointed House Majority Whip, that a new goal emerged. “As a woman, your job is to uplift other women,” she said. During my two years as an assistant to Chairman Robert DeLeo, 40% of the chairs and vice chairs were women.
Negotiating gender and racial inequalities in pay was another political victory for her, with support from then-Attorney General Maura Healey and a new bill from the Boston Chamber of Commerce. It urged businesses to complete self-assessments of wages. Position and salary for 3 years.
“It has to be about the big picture,” Haddad said. “We engage with people and make policy based on what’s best for the majority of people.”
