Representative Don Humason



CON-CON CON By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. July 15, 2006 I can’t remember who spoke the famous line, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” It might have been P.T. Barnum. But it may just as well have been uttered by the House and Senate Leadership this Wednesday regarding the Constitutional Convention. The Legislature was slated to meet and take up 20 items on the ConCon calendar, including the controversial and long standing issue of gay marriage. The citizen’s initiative petition was signed by over 170,000 Massachusetts residents. To get on the 2008 ballot it needed 50 votes in consecutive two-year legislative cycles. The Senate President, who acts as the presiding officer of the ConCon, had stated publicly his intention to bring the question up for a vote. “It is my intention to bring all of the items on the calendar before the body for a vote,” Travaglini said. Yet after only a few hours of debate, on a motion by Senator Diane Wilkerson, D-Boston, the members of the House and Senate, by a vote of 100-91, voted to recess the Constitutional Convention until AFTER the November elections without taking up the matter. I couldn’t help feeling that legislators, the media, and the public had been conned by the Leadership when we were all told we would have a chance to vote on all the items before the Convention. I share the disappointment and disgust of a number of my constituents who have contacted me. One person wrote, “As voters and citizens who supported the petition, my wife and I are disgusted at the outcome of Wednesday's Constitutional Convention and the motion to adjourn until after the November State elections…As an elected official, it is your DUTY to act on (and in a timely matter) behalf of the people who put you in office…the political games the Liberal, Democratic Majority in this state plays are horrible.” Another wrote, “Very disappointed that you and your fellow legislators decided to adjourn before discussing and/or voting on the recent question of marriage. I hope you step up and do your job as an elected official in the future, rather than passing on items such as these.” House Minority Leader Brad Jones said, “Delaying a controversial vote past the point of accountability is an affront to thousands of Massachusetts residents who signed the petition and to those who hoped the issue would be disposed of today.” Governor Mitt Romney stated, “In a democracy, the people are sovereign. Tens of thousands of citizens have petitioned the government for the right to have their voices heard. They have played by the rules. This issue won’t go away until the people are heard.” Let me be clear, I am one of those who voted AGAINST recessing. I have been a consistent supporter of traditional marriage, the union of one man and one woman. But even more than my personal beliefs, I was elected to represent the people of Westfield and a vast majority of them have told me they want to have the opportunity to vote on the question of marriage themselves rather than let the Supreme Judicial Court or the Legislature do it for them. I don’t like being conned by the Leadership. And I’m certain my constituents don’t like it either. By using parliamentary tricks they just drag this out. I think we should have taken the vote, up or down, and ended it. Anyone who really thinks the Legislature will convene in another session of the ConCon two days after the 2006 election is either stupid or naive. By now you have heard of the tragedy in the Big Dig tunnel where a woman was killed when a concrete ceiling panel collapsed on the car she was in and crushed her to death. The Governor, Legislature, Federal Highway Administration, Executive Office of Transportation, and the Turnpike Authority have all mobilized to uncover the extent of the construction problems with the Big Dig and to ensure the safety of the motorists who use the Central Artery and Tunnels. There will have to be a full accounting of the entire project, the most expensive public works project in the United States. The dust will not settle on this issue for a long time. If you’re looking for something to do outside this summer weekend may I suggest the Grandmother’s Garden Tour Saturday and Sunday or the 13th annual Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival at Look Park in Northampton Saturday. The Dan Kane Junior Singers will perform in the pavilion at Stanley Park on Sunday night at 6 PM. The concert is free of charge. Representative Don Humason and his aide Joe Wynn may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA01085, 568-1366. Their Boston address is State House Room 443, Boston, MA02133, (617) 722-2460. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us * * * Please feel free to forward this column to your family, friends, and associates. If you do not wish to receive an email copy of my Saturday Westfield Evening News column, please reply and let me know. I will then take you off the list. Sorry for any inconvenience.
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CON-CON CON

By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.

July 15, 2006

I can’t remember who spoke the famous line, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

It might have been P.T. Barnum. But it may just as well have been uttered by the House and Senate Leadership this Wednesday regarding the Constitutional Convention.

The Legislature was slated to meet and take up 20 items on the ConCon calendar, including the controversial and long standing issue of gay marriage. The citizen’s initiative petition was signed by over 170,000 Massachusetts residents. To get on the 2008 ballot it needed 50 votes in consecutive two-year legislative cycles.

The Senate President, who acts as the presiding officer of the ConCon, had stated publicly his intention to bring the question up for a vote. “It is my intention to bring all of the items on the calendar before the body for a vote,” Travaglini said.

Yet after only a few hours of debate, on a motion by Senator Diane Wilkerson, D-Boston, the members of the House and Senate, by a vote of 100-91, voted to recess the Constitutional Convention until AFTER the November elections without taking up the matter.

I couldn’t help feeling that legislators, the media, and the public had been conned by the Leadership when we were all told we would have a chance to vote on all the items before the Convention.

I share the disappointment and disgust of a number of my constituents who have contacted me. One person wrote, “As voters and citizens who supported the petition, my wife and I are disgusted at the outcome of Wednesday's Constitutional Convention and the motion to adjourn until after the November State elections…As an elected official, it is your DUTY to act on (and in a timely matter) behalf of the people who put you in office…the political games the Liberal, Democratic Majority in this state plays are horrible.”

Another wrote, “Very disappointed that you and your fellow legislators decided to adjourn before discussing and/or voting on the recent question of marriage. I hope you step up and do your job as an elected official in the future, rather than passing on items such as these.”

House Minority Leader Brad Jones said, “Delaying a controversial vote past the point of accountability is an affront to thousands of Massachusetts residents who signed the petition and to those who hoped the issue would be disposed of today.”

Governor Mitt Romney stated, “In a democracy, the people are sovereign. Tens of thousands of citizens have petitioned the government for the right to have their voices heard. They have played by the rules. This issue won’t go away until the people are heard.”

Let me be clear, I am one of those who voted AGAINST recessing. I have been a consistent supporter of traditional marriage, the union of one man and one woman. But even more than my personal beliefs, I was elected to represent the people of Westfield and a vast majority of them have told me they want to have the opportunity to vote on the question of marriage themselves rather than let the Supreme Judicial Court or the Legislature do it for them.

I don’t like being conned by the Leadership. And I’m certain my constituents don’t like it either. By using parliamentary tricks they just drag this out. I think we should have taken the vote, up or down, and ended it. Anyone who really thinks the Legislature will convene in another session of the ConCon two days after the 2006 election is either stupid or naive.

By now you have heard of the tragedy in the Big Dig tunnel where a woman was killed when a concrete ceiling panel collapsed on the car she was in and crushed her to death. The Governor, Legislature, Federal Highway Administration, Executive Office of Transportation, and the Turnpike Authority have all mobilized to uncover the extent of the construction problems with the Big Dig and to ensure the safety of the motorists who use the Central Artery and Tunnels.

There will have to be a full accounting of the entire project, the most expensive public works project in the United States. The dust will not settle on this issue for a long time.

If you’re looking for something to do outside this summer weekend may I suggest the Grandmother’s Garden Tour Saturday and Sunday or the 13th annual Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival at Look Park in Northampton Saturday. The Dan Kane Junior Singers will perform in the pavilion at Stanley Park on Sunday night at 6 PM. The concert is free of charge.

Representative Don Humason and his aide Joe Wynn may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA01085, 568-1366.

Their Boston address is State House Room 443, Boston, MA02133, (617) 722-2460. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us

* * * Please feel free to forward this column to your family, friends, and associates. If you do not wish to receive an email copy of my Saturday Westfield Evening News column, please reply and let me know. I will then take you off the list. Sorry for any inconvenience.

This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group