{"id":234,"date":"2026-05-31T04:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=234"},"modified":"2026-05-31T04:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:05:10","slug":"transparency-on-tap-during-feisty-debate-between-decker-and-mackay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=234","title":{"rendered":"Transparency on tap during feisty debate between Decker and MacKay"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Transparency in the Massachusetts state legislature was front and center in Thursday\u2019s debate between Rep. Marjorie Decker and challenger Evan MacKay at St. James Episcopal Church.<\/p>\n

Read more Loud bang heard across region, cause unknown<\/a><\/p>\n

The two are vying for Decker\u2019s seat representing the 25th<\/sup> Middlesex District, which is entirely in Cambridge, in a repeat of their extremely close 2024 race. The two did not debate in 2024, meeting directly only in a forum organized by Cambridge Democrats.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, each candidate opened with a brief statement, Decker going first by virtue of winning a coin toss. She emphasized making her voting record transparent through her weekly newsletter and social media updates. \u201cAccountability in government is only possible through transparency,\u201d Decker said. MacKay fronted with their union-organizing skills as the former president of the Harvard Graduate Students Union, strengths they would use to root out \u201csystemic corruption\u201d in the state legislature. \u201cI want our state to run as a counter example to the Trump Administration,\u201d MacKay said. They currently serve on Cambridge\u2019s LGBTQ+ Commission as a Seniors Working Group chair.<\/p>\n

Moderator Phil Septoff of Cambridge\u2019s Committee of Transparency and Accountability (CCTA) then asked a series of questions focused on legislator transparency and accountability. CCTA organized the debate in conjunction with the Coalition to Reform Our Legislature (CROL) and the policy nonprofit Act on Mass. Act on Mass endorsed MacKay in the 2024 race but has not made an endorsement this cycle.<\/p>\n

In 2024, MacKay repeatedly challenged Decker for lack of voter transparency, saying she voted in line with the Democratic status quo.<\/p>\n

Decker took on the issue directly, saying \u201cThere is no reason the state legislature or governor\u2019s office should be exempt from [public records laws].\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKay countered by asking \u201cShould Massachusetts be dead-last in public record transparency?\u201d adding they \u201creally wish their current state representative [Decker] was working on this with receipts,\u201d or evidence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe receipts are in the Boston Globe,\u201d Decker shot back, offering to send \u201cher constituent\u201d \u2014 MacKay \u2014 the article. Decker has voted in house rules that would increase voting history and public record transparency.<\/p>\n

Calling out corruption<\/h2>\n

Asked to grade the Massachusetts state legislature, MacKay gave Beacon Hill an F for the \u201cdurable history of corruption\u201d among Democratic state house representatives.<\/p>\n

They referred to the \u201cbloodless murder of legislation\u201d on Beacon Hill, as reported by the Globe, in which popularly supported bills have been allowed to die in the state legislature due to missed deadlines. Such disregard is a reason why Massachusetts has ranked in the least productive state legislatures. For the 2025-2026 session, the House and Senate re-adopted joint rules for the first time since 2019, meaning efforts to incease legislative transparency by requiring all joint legislative committee votes be public and meetings announced 10 days in advance. Decker countered that despite the low compliance rate of the Massachusetts state legislature, her own committee has been 100 percent compliant with joint rules.<\/p>\n

Decker vowed to fight for transparency in the state legislature and encouraged audience members to push for public record exemptions. MacKay chided Democratic state legislative leadership for creating \u201cthis exemption for themselves intentionally.\u201d They, along with representatives Mike Connolly, Steve Owens and Erika Uyterhoeven, have signed Act On Mass\u2019 Transparency Pledge to make their committee votes publicly available upon request and stand for roll call during recorded votes.<\/p>\n

Read more Two movies on rules rewritten & rules broken<\/a><\/p>\n

Some common ground<\/h2>\n

The two had at least one point of agreement.<\/p>\n

When asked about the stipends paid to committee leaders on Beacon Hill \u2014 which Decker receives as chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health \u2014 MacKay said the stipends caused a \u201cfall-in-line\u201d mentality among state legislators seeking to curry favor with the Speaker of the House who names the chairs of committees. Stipends were also found to be awarded to chairs of committees that have never met. <\/p>\n

Decker noted that her committee is \u201cone of the busiest committees in the legislature,\u201d having put forth 422 bills. She also said \u201cI\u2019m paid the lowest stipend in the legislature.\u201d But, she agreed with MacKay about the need for stipend reform. \u201cI\u2019ve been talking about stipend reform for years and am disappointed it\u2019s not on the ballot,\u201d she said, adding \u201cwe\u2019re right there together on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Checking power<\/h2>\n

MacKay also brought up term limits, stating again how the \u201creceipts\u201d are important. \u201cOur movement got term limits for Speaker of the House. My opponent voted to repeal term limits,\u201d MacKay said, referring to their work with Act on Mass.<\/p>\n

Sparks flew again on a question about the power given to the Speaker of the House.\u00a0 MacKay lambasted Democratic state legislative leadership who are \u201cunwilling to root out corruption at the core of our state house.\u201d They then said Decker has voted \u201c100 percent in line with the Speaker of the House\u201d and that \u201call four of [the speakers of the house who have been indicted or conspired with criminal charges] are supporting my opponent in this race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decker immediately fact-checked MacKay, saying \u201cHow you campaign is how you will govern\u201d and that MacKay was \u201cmaking up things about who\u2019s supporting me.\u201d It was unclear what MacKay meant by support; none of the former speakers appear to have made endorsements in the previous or current election. <\/p>\n

Decker finished by saying \u201cI don\u2019t make promises I can\u2019t keep,\u201d and reiterating her legislative wins.<\/p>\n

Septoff asked about candidates\u2019 position on omnibus bills, which allow legislators to push a swath of bills into study without clear voting records on each bill. The example Septoff gave was a series of climate bills, one of which would create a climate adaptation superfund. MacKay held a staunchly oppositional position, bringing up Maura Healey\u2019s 2023 Massachusetts tax cuts legislation and the \u201ccurrent state representative\u201d \u2014 Decker \u2014 who voted in favor of the tax cuts. Decker in her rebuttal pointed out that the bill also included increased tax credits for children and an increased cap for rental deductions.<\/p>\n

Decker praised the omnibus strategy as a way to address large policy issues, noting she has used them to pass legislation on maternal health and gun regulation. However, \u201cNot every bill should be an omnibus bill,\u201d Decker said. \u00a0She ended her rebuttal by shouting out her mother in the audience and her humble roots in public housing, relying on food pantries, as what has fueled her in her career. \u201cThat\u2019s who I am and that is always who I will be,\u201d Decker said.<\/p>\n

The debate featured lively audience response throughout from the more than 100 people attending, and ran 30 minutes longer than its allotted hour. The biggest crowd reaction came at the end, when both candidates condemned the Trump administration, prompting enthusiastic applause and even a partial standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Read more Yiyun Li on life \u2018in the abyss,\u2019 writing and the importance of \u2018Moby Dick\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The full debate will be available through Cambridge Community TV.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transparency in the Massachusetts state legislature was front and center in Thursday\u2019s debate between Rep. Marjorie Decker and challenger Evan MacKay at St. James Episcopal Church. 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