The Barrett Report
Groundhog Day
Ms. G, goodwill ambassador for rodents everywhere in her capacity as official Groundhog of the Commonwealth, gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up this morning to Governor Maura Healey on the occasion of Groundhog Day. Kudos to Mass Audubon for hosting. According to Gov. Healey, Ms. G did not see her shadow, so we’re in store for an early spring.
A Conversation with Sen. Brownsberger and Sen. Barrett on Climate Change
‘There’s a dam breaking:’ Cities and towns start to kick fossil fuels with new building code
Boston Globe
“This effort to get a municipality to opt in is going to invigorate grass-roots politics in 2023 like you’ve never seen before,” said Barrett, coauthor of the 2021 climate bill that required the creation of the new, optional building code.
Concord Indivisible rallies for democracy
Concord Bridge
Barrett said he was proud to witness the swearing-in of Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and Senate President Karen Spilka. “Anyone who saw those three women up there couldn’t help but feel proud,” said Barrett.
He gave a shout-out to Healey for “giving climate change a big upgrade.”
The Arc of History
As I addressed a rally in Concord to mark the January 6th attacks on the Capitol, the spectacle of what unfolded in Washington in the past week was on our minds, too. The arc of history can take longer than we expect to come back our way, but it still bends toward justice. Our task is to do the work, so that the arc meets up with the world a little sooner.
I had a good week.
Lawmakers walk tightrope on wind power contracts
CommonWealth Magazine
Appearing on The Codcast, Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington and Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin said they were sympathetic to the challenges the wind farm developers are facing, including rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain difficulties, and the war in Ukraine.
“The world is a different place,” Barrett said. “The war in Ukraine could not have been anticipated. The impact on natural gas prices in Europe and the attraction of LNG toward Europe and away from New England which relies on LNG [liquefied natural gas] for winter heating could not have been entirely anticipated. Supply chain disruptions are real.”
Statement of Sen. Mike Barrett in Concord, Massachusetts
Rally at Concord church to demand justice after Jan. 6 uprising
Boston Globe
Other local officials stepped up in Clark’s place Saturday to rally the crowd and tout the influence that the Democrat from Revere will hold as Democratic whip after she was elected to that role in November.
“Talk about Massachusetts catching a lucky break and seeing one of its truly great legislators on the cusp of assuming national power,” State Senator Mike Barrett said, drawing cheers from the crowd. “Her performance over the last several weeks has been heroic.”