Saunders reflects on first 100 days representing 7th HampdenDate: 4/25/2023 Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) was elected as state representative in November 2022 and reflected on what has been accomplished so far and what the road ahead looks like.
“It’s been wonderful,” Saunders said, “Being able to get more than a few things done for the district early on has been great.”
Saunders mentioned some of the items already taken care of since he has become state representative are bills and grants to assist childcare providers and tax cuts for seniors, working families while addressing competitive batters in Massachusetts.
Saunders has over 20 years of experience in local, state and federal government including six years as chief of staff to former state Sen. Gale Candaras and seven years on the Ludlow Board of Selectmen.
He said he thinks these opportunities have helped him get to where he is today.
Saunders said, “When I was chief of staff for Sen. Candaras, I was lucky that she leaned on me for a lot of the work to be done and in the office there. The single thing that jumps out the most being the representative now, the buck stops at me. Me and my staff are responsible for the work that I am doing. There is a much different level of responsibility and perspective. It’s a big responsibility that the voters have entrusted and I am trying my best to follow through and make them proud.”
Over the last month, Saunders has been visiting communities and their respective municipal boards, civic groups and residents to learn about problems they may be facing.
Saunders added, “It’s been rewarding to be able to get a call where a constituent has an issue that needs to be resolved and being part of that solution.”
The 7th Hampden District shifted as a result of redistricting after the 2020 census and now includes Belchertown, Ludlow, New Salem, Pelham, Petersham, Shutesbury and Wendell.
Saunders said the district reorganization has been something he has been adapting to considering each town is unique but added that the challenges and opportunities of each community are similar.
“Each place that I have been where it has come up, the challenges and opportunities are very much similar across the district. The concerns that folks in Wendell have about food security are the concerns that folks in Ludlow have about food security. In that way, it is interesting to tie this seemingly different communities together with these common threads of challenges.”
Saunders added that Ludlow and Belchertown have great opportunities for redevelopment when it comes to the Ludlow Mills and Belchertown State School property.
“The Ludlow Mills have been going on for quite some time has been a model for success and Belchertown State School property is really primed for some development that benefits the community and regions,” Saunders added.
Saunders also said that he is actively dealing with PFAS chemical issues in communities.
PFAS chemicals are also known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down which has led to widespread contamination.
According to Saunders, Swift River School had reported levels of PFAS in their drinking water that exceeded the allowable limits and Shutesbury reported PFAS in and around the Fire Department including their firefighter turnout gear, fire suppression foam and ground water.
Saunders added, “These are significant issues in terms of residents health and well-being.”
Saunders said that in the first couple of weeks of taking office, he was able to convene the director of the clean water revolving fund from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the entity from the treasurer’s office that oversees the financing of it to take a site visit to the elementary school in New Salem as well as the Fire Department in Shutesbury.
He added, “These are big challenges that are not fixed in the first 100 days but part of those first 100 days is getting to work on them. I was pleased to be able to join the schools and municipal leaders in those communities to lend my support in these difficult situations.”
According to Saunders, the labor and workforce development is going to be active this year.
Saunders was appointed to the Cannabis Policy, Labor and Workforce Development and Public Service joint committees as well as the Human Resources and Employee Engagement House Committee.
“There is a number of policy matters that will have an impact. From a workforce development perspective, one of the things I heard a lot from the campaign and I am eager to be working on in the legislature is how many people that left the workforce during covid and had such a challenge finding affordable childcare coming out of it,” he said.
During Saunders’ campaign, he mentioned that areas he wanted to focus on were regional equity, protecting open spaces, mental health, education, economic development and transportation.
Although there has been progress on fixing problems in these areas, Saunders mentioned that a lot of it is out of his control.
“So much of this is dependent on the cadence of the legislation session. In the two-year cycle, the work really starts to pick up. We passed the tax package, the [House of Representatives] will be taking up a version of the budget soon and there are committee hearings that will be dealing with all sorts of matters through the spring and summer,” Saunders said.
He added, “There is going to be a lot more to come. For the first 100 days I have been excited to see how much we could tee up for action moving forward. There is something on every topic to get the ball rolling.”
That includes bringing equity to the Quabbin area towns, filing legislation for the clear cutting of forests for large industrial scale solar and having Massachusetts join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
Saunders added that joining the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact will “greatly expand the number of doctors available to be licensed in Massachusetts without sacrificing the expectations that we have for these doctors in terms of their qualifications.”
Saunders said he is joining efforts that have already been in place to help in areas like environmental protection and regional equity.
He said, “I remind myself that the Legislature did not start with me showing up. It has been wonderful to join a lot of these efforts ongoing for some time.”
Rising costs is a concern that is not only affecting many people in Western Massachusetts but also all over the country.
Saunders said that providing tax relief is a big priority of his along with the legislation.
He said, “This is something the house made a priority this year. That was providing tax relief that is directed specifically to our seniors, to working families and to small businesses making hour state or competitive. We have doubled the senior circuit breaker tax credit from $1,200 to $2,400. This hasn’t been touched in years. Secondly, we increased the child dependent tax credit to $600 at full face. This will have a significant positive impact on working families throughout the state but specifically Western Massachusetts.”
Saunders said that something him and the house is concerned about is making sure Massachusetts isn’t only a leader in education but also a place a great place to live and raise a family and create a competitive market for businesses to bring their headquarters to.
He said that the first 100 days have been a time to learn about problems in his district and see what can be done to start working on solutions.
Saunders added he is excited for the next 100 days and beyond.
“There is no rulebook for a state representative. You jump in and part of that is working with the folks who are the experts to help the communities address the problems. I am looking forward the next 100 days as well. The first 100 days really sets the stage for the balance of the session and I am very excited about the start we have gotten off to and look forward to continuing with the good work,” Saunders said.
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