{"id":390,"date":"2026-06-19T15:04:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=390"},"modified":"2026-06-19T15:04:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:04:01","slug":"transparency-talk-tops-at-2nd-middlesex-district-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=390","title":{"rendered":"Transparency talk tops at 2nd Middlesex District forum"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Sydney Wise<\/p>\n

The setting for a state Senate candidates\u2019 forum seemed emblematic: inside a Quaker meeting room near a home once used as George Washington\u2019s headquarters. The candidates obliged by painting a picture of an opaque, unproductive state legislature failing to live its democratic ideals.<\/p>\n

Read more Don\u2019t fear the garter snake<\/a><\/p>\n

The five candidates for the 2nd<\/sup> Middlesex District senate seat \u2014 state Representatives Erika Uyterhoeven and Christine Barber, Cambridge Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem, Somerville City Councilor Matt McLaughlin, and Winchester School Committee member Tom Hopcroft \u2014 pitched themselves as the one who could bring transparency to Beacon Hill with variations like Hopcroft\u2019s \u201cWe can keep doing things the same way and hope the building reforms itself from the inside, or we can decide that first in education, first in innovation, and last in democracy is no longer good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

All resoundingly supported a potential ballot question bringing the legislature and Governor under public records law. But the candidates split over leadership stipends and an audit bill passed by the House this month.<\/p>\n

Barber, Uyterhoeven defend audit vote<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2024, 72 percent of voters approved a ballot question allowing the State Auditor to audit the state legislature. Since then, legislative leaders have criticized the audit, arguing that it the violates separation of powers, while the audit\u2019s supporters have lamented slow progress.<\/p>\n

In early June, the House passed a bill that would allow for an audit but narrow its scope. Under the approved text, the Auditor can access the \u201cadministrative functions\u201d of the legislature, including budgets, external audits, expenditures, and settlement agreements with former members, officers, and employees. The bill also states that the courts can\u2019t intervene in audit disputes.<\/p>\n

Uyterhoeven and Barber were among those who voted 125-28 to pass the bill. On Tuesday, they defended their positions. \u201cI want the audit to happen already,\u201d Uyterhoeven said. She also noted that the documents included in the bill reflect a list provided by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio in January 2025 (though DiZoglio has indicated she\u2019s also interested in other areas, the Commonwealth Beacon reports).<\/p>\n

Barber agreed. To \u201cput in statute that the legislature will be audited\u201d was critical, she said. \u201cI felt voting for that was a way to move the audit forward and actually get something in law that can continue this discussion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Their opponents were more hesitant. Hopcroft said that limiting the audit\u2019s scope is \u201cuseful,\u201d but that the real issue is the number of bills in the legislature that don\u2019t get passed (or even voted on).<\/p>\n

Azeem said he would not have voted for the bill and called State Rep. \u00a0Mike Connolly, one of three Democrats who voted \u201cno,\u201d \u201cincredibly brave.\u201d Connolly represents parts of Cambridge and Somerville in the 26th<\/sup> Middlesex District.<\/p>\n

McLaughlin also said he would have voted \u201cno.\u201d He added, \u201cI\u2019m genuinely befuddled as to why people are claiming this is an accomplishment when the auditor and other people who supported the audit don\u2019t think that we accomplished anything from this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support for public records referendum<\/strong><\/p>\n

Uyterhoeven said one reason she supported the bill was its provisions for public records. The bill brings the Governor\u2019s Office under existing public records law and sets a new framework for public access to legislative records. That framework outlines specific types of documents to be made publicly accessible.<\/p>\n

The provisions are similar to a referendum that DiZoglio is aiming to get on the ballot this year. If passed, the referendum would bring the Governor and legislature entirely under public records law.<\/p>\n

All of the candidates said on Tuesday they supported the referendum. \u201cIt\u2019s common sense,\u201d McLaughlin said. Uyterhoeven said that public records law is necessary to fight wrongful incarceration.<\/p>\n

Hopcroft criticized the House bill\u2019s uneven treatment of the legislature and Governor\u2019s Office. \u201cIt feels particularly funny that they would say, \u2018oh, you can look over there, you know, the Governor\u2019s Office, but you can\u2019t look over here,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more Somerville arts scene gets vibe checked at community forum<\/a><\/p>\n

Azeem expressed concern that the bill could blunt future progress on the referendum. \u201cOne of the most powerful phrases in politics is \u2018we already did this,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Barber said that, while she\u2019s proud of the \u201cteeth\u201d behind the House bill, she supports the referendum in going further.<\/p>\n

Agreement on stipend reform \u2013 but how<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While all five supported stipend reform, they differed on the specifics. In Massachusetts, members of the state legislature can receive stipends for taking on leadership positions on top of their regular salary. This session, legislators take home a base pay of roughly $82,000, according to the State House News Service. At the highest levels, they might even double their pay: stipends range from $7,776.07 for acting as vice chair of a committee to $119,631.81 for the House Speaker and Senate President.<\/p>\n

A proposed ballot question aimed at changing the way stipends are distributed was blocked by the Attorney General\u2019s office last month.<\/p>\n

Azeem is in favor of removing stipends and normalizing pay through a ballot question to change the state Constitution, which sets the current rate. It\u2019s what\u2019s \u201cfair and just,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Barber is the only candidate who holds a leadership position in the legislature. She serves as Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, a position that earns an extra $22,430.96.<\/p>\n

Barber said she agrees with proposals to re-evaluate stipend amounts based on the amount of work taken on by each position. In her committee, every bill gets a hearing, which is significant work, she said.<\/p>\n

Hopcroft agreed that, if stipends are given, they should be differential (though he said he likes Azeem\u2019s proposal) and require that certain transparency measures are in place.<\/p>\n

There are also challenges with deciding who leads, Barber said. \u201cThere [are] a lot of challenges with committee assignments being given out by who is in favor, who is popular, and there is a better way to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uyterhoeven seconded that. \u201cThere is a literal cost to not following what leadership tells you to do, and that has been the function of having these committees that don\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said, \u201cand so the solution that they\u2019ve had is, okay, we\u2019re going to have hearings and we\u2019re going to try to do something and make it seem like we\u2019re doing it to justify the pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaughlin said that stipends shouldn\u2019t be given based on a committee\u2019s perceived importance. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole point of being out there,\u201d he said of committee work.<\/p>\n

The event is the third in a series of candidate fora hosted by the Cambridge Committee on Transparency and Accountability, Act on Mass (a group cofounded by Uyterhoeven), and the Coalition to Reform our Legislature. Pete Septoff of the CCTA moderated.<\/p>\n

The next forum in the series will be for the 27th<\/sup> Middlesex District, where Uyterhoeven\u2019s departure from the seat has opened a contest between political aide Olivia Gilligan-Corsetti and Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, at the Central Square Library on July 7.<\/p>\n

Read more Flaherty effort to save ShotSpotter misfires<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sydney Wise The setting for a state Senate candidates\u2019 forum seemed emblematic: inside a Quaker meeting room near a home once used as George Washington\u2019s headquarters. The candidates obliged by painting a picture of an opaque, unproductive state legislature failing to live its democratic ideals. Read more Don\u2019t fear the garter snake The five […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[193],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTransparency talk tops at 2nd Middlesex District forum - Cambridge Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=390\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Transparency talk tops at 2nd Middlesex District forum - Cambridge Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Sydney Wise The setting for a state Senate candidates\u2019 forum seemed emblematic: inside a Quaker meeting room near a home once used as George Washington\u2019s headquarters. 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