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Date: 1/25/2023
SOUTHWICK – Three weeks after taking office in the opposite chamber in the Massachusetts state Legislature, state Sen. Paul Mark is still getting to know the newly expanded district he now represents, including visits to Southwick, and office hours to come.
Mark, a state representative since 2011 based in the Berkshires town of Peru, now lives in Becket. He decided last year to run for an open seat in the state Senate, and won both the Democratic primary election and the general election against independent opponent Brendan Phair.
With last year’s election came new district maps. The senate district formerly represented by Adam Hinds expanded east to include the towns of Southwick, Granville and Tolland in Hampden County. It had already represented Blandford, Chester, Huntington and Otis, and extended west to the New York border and north to the Vermont line.
To get to know the communities that are new both to him and the district, Mark said he has been traveling around and meeting with officials from the new towns. Before Mark took office in December, he spent a day with state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga touring the communities they share, including a stop in Southwick to meet with the Southwick Civic Fund and Our Community Food Pantry for a check presentation with town officials.
Mark also spoke at a recent meeting of the Southwick Democratic Town Committee, where he said they discussed local issues.
“They baked me a cake,” said Mark, sounding both surprised and grateful. “We also talked a lot about [Congamond Lake] and how they are in need of help with environmental issues concerning the lake.”
He said the Southwick Democrats will help develop a list of infrastructure and environmental projects they would like to see completed in Southwick so that if a budget or bond bill comes up, he has a list he can quickly go to in order to get things added to the bill.
As of Jan. 19, Mark said he was working on narrowing down a package of 70 legislative bills to be filed the following day, including two bond bills for rural and small communities announced by newly elected Gov. Maura Healey on Jan. 19.
Mark said he has a handful of priorities he would like to focus on during this legislative session, which could depend on which committee assignments he is given.
“I asked for the Economic Development and Higher Education committees. I also asked to be a member of Ways and Means and the Transportation Committee, which would be really nice,” said Mark.
Another focus, which he shares with other Western Massachusetts legislators, is rail connectivity.
“I want to get rail connected between Springfield and the Berkshires,” said Mark. “I want to make sure our whole region is connected to the state.”
The rail line would pass through Westfield and many of the Hilltowns, though the only local stops planned are in Chester and Springfield
To hear directly with his new constituents, Mark is setting up office hours where he will be available to the public in each of the counties covered by his district. For Hampden County, Mark said he will have office hours every second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. at Southwick’s Town Hall, at 454 College Hwy., Southwick.