Finn re-elected to 6th Hampden District
Date: 11/21/2012
By Katelyn Gendron
katelyn@thereminder.comWEST SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Michael Finn went to the State House two years ago as a freshman legislator without guidebook, however, he plans to enter his sophomore term having learned the rules of engagement and, this time, he's bringing some of his own.
"Honestly, you run for the office and you think that you have a lot of the great ideas and you get to Boston and you see what the realities can be. It really is difficult to learn how that institution works . When you get there you're no different than the guys has been there for 25 years, except that he knows how the institution works," Finn told
Reminder Publications.
"You've got to work and establish relationships with your colleagues. You don't go in and tell everybody how it's going to be," he continued, adding now that he's learned the ropes, he's ready to take charge on behalf of the 6th Hampden District.
The first item on Finn's list is to draft legislation on behalf of parents who struggle to meet the financial needs of their children's college education.
"I plan on filing legislation to help working families to create a tax break for a child's education," he explained.
Finn, a father of three young children, said parents in the Commonwealth need additional resources to help finance their kids' higher education, without putting them in the poor house themselves.
Other concerns for the Representative include the new budget cycle and the possibility of cuts this fiscal year.
"The state budget projections are for mid-year cuts. That will probably be the first part of the legislative session. More importantly, [the cuts] have to be evenly done," Finn said.
"The fact that the economy is going back the other way [toward recession], it's going to be even more difficult," he added of balancing the budget and maintaining current local aid numbers.
"We've got to keep the Massachusetts economy moving forward. We're not out of the woods yet in terms of job creation. We've done some good things but we can't let up," Finn said.
His plans for his sophomore term also include seeing West Springfield's new high school and library construction projects come to fruition, as well as finding a suitable solution to the increasing number of homeless housed by the state in local hotels.
"The major issue facing this town is the homeless in hotels. It puts an incredible burden [on communities and taxpayers]. We need to slowly be chipping away at it and redefine what constitutes an emergency housing situation. It's a huge social issue," Finn said, adding that such a problem won't be solved overnight.
He also plans to lobby for additional funding for his district beyond just local aid such as Chapter 70 and Chapter 90 aid for schools and infrastructure, respectively. Finn said, "There are a ton of opportunities for figuring out how to bring back resources in nontraditional ways."
