Sign online now available. WALK or CLICK .Watertown Faces Climate Change is collecting signatures for 2 ballot petitions asking our state representatives to commit to NET ZERO ENERGY by 2040 with protections for impacted workers and TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT requiring publication of committee votes by state legislators. These ballot iniatives are sponsored by ActonMass.rg and 350Mass.org.
Hopefully, you will get to vote on these questions in November, but first we need to collect signatures to qualify. CLICK here to sign on line or TAKE A WALK and sign on one of the following porches. 14 Bates Road or 170 Worcester Street.
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The question about climate is a clear priority The other one, about the Mass State House of Representatives, might take a bit of explaining.
In Massachusetts, important progressive legislation is blocked year after year. Manyissues — like climate change, voting rights, protecting immigrants, LGBTQ issues and reproductivejustice — enjoy strong popular support and Democratic legislative supermajorities yetnothing seems to happen.
Why? A major problem is that Massachusetts has one of the least transparent stategovernments in the country. Massachusetts is in the minority of states that do not makecommittee votes public. In most states, you can go to the website of the legislature, and look up how your elected representatives voted. Not here.Here a bill can have a majority of sponsors, including committee members, but it won’t get voted out of committee and no one ever knows how their representatives is voting. They can literally sponsor a bill and then not vote for it behind closed doors.
So please come by or fill your own petition.