Local legislators, residents celebrate Duffy during first town hall

Nov. 20, 2020 | Danielle Eaton
daniellee@thereminder.com

HOLYOKE –  Local Western Massachusetts legislators and residents gathered via Zoom the evening of Nov. 17 for a town hall to welcome Fifth Hampden District elect Pat Duffy and discuss the work she will be doing once she takes office.

Including Duffy and her team, local representatives in attendance included state Rep. Aaron Vega who has served as the Fifth Hampden County representative for the last eight years, state Reps. Mindy Domb,  Lindsay Sabadosa and Natalie Blais and state Sen. Joanne Comerford. Domb began by welcoming Duffy to Beacon Hill.

She said while Duffy would be stepping into a new position at the State House, her knowledge and commitment to constituents were already well known among her peers. “Holyoke is so fortunate to have Pat as their state-rep elect. I actually look to her for advice and knowledge about the state house,” she said. “I don’t imagine it will be very different than we have in the past, but maybe that means there will be more opportunities to work together.”

She said both hers and Duffy’s districts had similar struggles and “a lot in common,” and she was looking forward to working with Duffy and other legislators to “not only amplify the voices in the community, but get more support for those in the community.”

Sabadosa also sang Duffy’s praise and commended the work she’d done alongside Vega throughout his tenure at the State House. “Her and Vega complement each other so well. They’re respectful, down to Earth people that love and care about their district, they put their nose to the grindstone and get it done,” she said. Sabadosa also commended Duffy’s patience and compassion, echoing what Domb said about their districts having similar issues and her excitement to continue working with Duffy.

Comerford, who attended the gathering in between impromptu budget hearings at the State House, said she would miss Vega, but was “exceedingly grateful” for all the work he had done. “In Western Mass. we know we’re stronger when we’re together. We’re not Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin County, we’re the 413,” she said. “Pat you’re coming in with such a knowledge about issues that matter to constituents. Your depth of knowledge about issues, we’re all going to be better for it,” she said.

Next, Blais said she was “thrilled and honored to be here tonight or really honor you and the work you have done, not only in this election, but in the past decades really in service.” Blais commended Duffy’s hard work and said as a former congressional aide she knew the importance of having former staff members in the State House. Additionally, she thanked Vega for his time and commitment during his tenure.

 “It’s a difficult transition to make from staffer to elected official, I know you will do it with amazing grace and humility. I look forward to supporting you on what your vision is for this position,” she said.

Duffy then spoke directly to participants and said the women legislators in the meeting were part of the reason she decided to run. She said while it was a difficult time and there were challenges ahead, she was ready to get to work. “We’ve got a lot of challenges ahead of us, but in those challenges I see hope. We’ve got this pandemic, let’s be honest, we’ve got some worrying trends right now, [and] a winter to get through,” she said. “When we all pull together I can’t help but have hope.”

She continued and said it was important to continue those conversations about the various inequalities COVID-19 had brought to light. “We all know this pandemic has laid bare weaknesses in our system and safety net. By seeing this laid bare, I have to find hope in that, that we’re actually having these conversations,” she said.  

Duffy said one of her first priorities was being involved in the legislative committee investigating the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. Additionally, she said she wanted to make sure “they deal with both what we need here in the Pioneer Valley and Western Massachusetts,” especially in regard to gateway cities, who she said “have special challenges.”

Also in her plan, she said, was to support the growing cannabis industry that has come to the City of Holyoke, incentivizing entrepreneurship and take advantage of local agriculture to increase access to healthy, fresh food in schools and in food deserts. She went on to take questions from a few local participants that attended the town hall, including Northampton resident Jose Adastra, who said he wanted to see reform for correctional facilities and solitary confinement as a punishment in correctional institutions. “A lot of things white people have done is put a Band-aid on a wound. I want to see coordination with Massachusetts Against Solitary Confinement,” he said. “We’ve been being abused by the police since before I’ve been alive. We’d love to see real action.”

Duffy said she agreed “solitary confinement is not a practice that is productive in any way whatsoever.” She said she believed the next step forward was “working on the decriminalization of addiction behavior.”

“We have a long way to go and I have a lot to learn,” she said. The next question from Duffy was for Linda O’Conel, who asked about the potential for the creative economy found in the Valley as an economic driver. Duffy said the creative economy was seen “up and down” the Valley and pointed to the rehabilitation of Victory Theater in Holyoke as an example. She said ultimately, “entrepreneurship has to be supported and artists are yet another part of that.”

The last question asked was by Lisa Clauson, who works with carpenters’ unions. She said she felt like “there are missed opportunities in connecting more young people in Holyoke with jobs and the building trade.” Duffy said it was a challenge, but she’d be happy to partner with Clauson on the issue moving forward.

Vega closed the night with comments and thanks for those who supported him and Duffy throughout his tenure and her campaign. “Having a shared agent is important, it takes all of us. Transitions are really important, they’re important in life. To take this time, to have a two month transition, I didn’t have that,” he said. “To bring Pat, she’s always been at the table anyway, but to bring her to the table. It’s a real luxury.”

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