October 6, 2010

An open letter to the voters of the 2nd Hampden district regarding my opponent's misleading statements:

My Republican opponent for State Representative owes former State
Representative Mary Rogeness an apology. Marie Angelides claims, in a
recent campaign letter that Mary's outstanding career as a state
representative ended in 2006. She also states that she became dissatisfied
with her representative from 2008 until now. Mary's career actually ended
at the very beginning of 2009. In fact Mary Rogeness was a member of the
House of Representatives when they passed a tax increase for the 2008-2009
fiscal year budget. Perhaps Ms. Angelides would prefer to have the voters
believe that a Democrat was their state representative in 2007-2008 since
that is when the worst recession in 70-years began. While Mary Rogeness is
no more responsible for the great recession than I am, she, like most
legislators, had to struggle with declining revenues, rising costs, and
budget deficits.

I began my first term as State Representative in January 2009 and I was
part of what many consider to be one of the most productive legislative
sessions in recent history. We were confronted with revenue shortfalls,
budget deficits and the need for extensive cuts in spending. The 2009-2010
session, however, produced 514 new legislative initiatives. The
legislators worked diligently to produce a wide range of bills designed to
stimulate the economy and create jobs, improve schools and the lives of
families, as well as initiating government reform and the massive
reorganization of the State's transportation department, saving the
Commonwealth $30 Million.

Bills like anti-bullying legislation, pension reform, small business
assistance, municipal relief, and more effective financial management
controls is only a small sample of what has been achieved. The past two
years have been both active and challenging, however, much more remains to
be accomplished, but we have set the course. Massachusetts is recovering
from the recession faster than most states and its unemployment rate,
while still unacceptable, is decreasing and lower than the national
average.

I have heard from a number voters in the district about their concern
regarding Marie Angelides dismal voting record for the past ten plus
years. According to a story in the The Reminder Ms. Angelides has missed
all of the last 28 town meetings, and voted in only one of 14 local
elections since February 2000. According to records at the Secretary of
State's Office Ms. Angelides has missed major elections since 1996
including the 2010 special election to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat
now held by Senator Scott Brown. Her only reason for not voting is she:
"was content with the way things were going in our towns, our state, and
what our politicians were doing." Ms. Angelides had already admitted that
she was not very familiar with the towns of Hampden and Monson. I would be
very surprised if anyone would really be content with what all our
politicians were doing and the way things were going in our state for each
of the last ten plus years.

I believe Marie Angelides owes the voters of the 2nd Hampden District a
more credible explanation for not exercising her right to vote. They say
that decisions are not made by the majority, they are made by the majority
of those who vote. How can the voters of the 2nd Hampden District trust
Ms. Angelides to vote for their concerns in Boston if she doesn't vote
herself in Longmeadow?
 

September 17, 2010

FIRST-TERM STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN ASHE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR RE-ELECTION

On Wednesday 9/15/10, at AM and PM standouts on Rt. 5 at the
Springfield-Longmeadow line, fifty supporters with Representative Ashe
initiated his post-primary election campaign in the 2nd Hampden District.

Representative Ashe stated: The 2009-2010 legislative session was one of
the most productive sessions in the recent history of the Massachusetts
Legislature. The legislative accomplishments in the areas of Jobs and the
Economy, Improving our Schools, Major Government Reform, Pubic Safety and
Supportive Services were achieved. We have provided the necessary
incentives that has resulted in an addition of 40,000 private sector jobs
in the past six months. While we still have a long way to go Massachusetts
is recovering faster than most states from the worst recession since the
Great Depression of the 1930's. Today, it was reported that Massachusetts
unemployment is down to 8.8% as compared to the national average of 9%.

Meaningful legislative accomplishments included: the Economic Development
Reorganization Act, the Municipal Relief Act, Small Business Health Care
Containment Act, Anti-bullying Act, Ethics, Pension, and Transportation
Reforms, Silver Alert Program, and the Mortgage Foreclosure Act to name a
few.

Representative Ashe also stated: "I am committed to moving Massachusetts
forward to grow our economy and provide more jobs. We can provide a well
educated and prepared workforce with no unreasonable regulations thereby
expanding our opportunity for more economic growth. We can improve our
schools and our investment in higher education so that we remain the
center for biotech, biomedical, and alternative energy industries. We can
improve our financial management of state government thereby spending less
and supporting more programs with effective outcomes. And we can do more
to make our schools, neighborhoods and homes safe."

Additionally, Brian is very happy to accept the endorsement of Republican
Selectboard member Paul Santaniello. "We worked together on the Longmeadow
selectboard which makes Paul very aware of my qualifications and
experience. I'm proud to have his support." said Ashe.

August 27, 2010
From State Representative Brian Ashe

State Representative Brian Ashe stated: "Massachusetts and the 2nd Hampden District had a "double dose of good news" this week regarding the granting of federal funds for public school education within the state."

On Tuesday 8/24/10 it was announced that Massachusetts was the first state in the country to receive second round "Race To The Top" (RTTT) funds, in the amount of $250 million. On Thursday 8/26/10 it was announced that the State will receive $204 million from the Education Jobs Fund recently approved by Congress.

The RTTT funds were highly competitive nationally and intended for school improvement efforts including reform. The Legislature, with Governor Patrick's support, approved an extensive educational reform package in January 2010 and adopted national standards in July 2010, actions that were critical to winning a second round selection. The Jobs Fund money is expected to save approximately 1,700 school jobs across the state including many within the 2nd Hampden District. Three communities within the District will receive RTTT funds and four communities will receive Jobs Fund money.

Springfield will receive $13.7 million in RTTT and $5.2 in Jobs Fund monies, Longmeadow will receive $28,111.00 in RTTT and $248,412.00 in Jobs Fund monies, East Longmeadow will receive $112,886.00 in RTTT and $255,923.00 in Jobs Fund monies, and Monson will receive $341,965.00 in Jobs Fund money.

Representative Ashe also stated: "The awarding of these funds to Massachusetts and the 2nd Hampden District will serve to strengthen our commitment to provide a quality education within a safe environment for all of our students in the public school system."
 

June 23, 2010

FROM THE STATEHOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE

Regionalizing certain services may be just what the doctor ordered for communities like Longmeadow. In an effort to find more ways to save money and improve services communities across the Commonwealth are considering regionalization as part of their service delivery systems.

Two groups of communities have received from the State approximately $3.9 million to regionalize their emergency 911 dispatch systems. Cohasset, Hingham, Hull and Norwell are receiving $2.1 million for equipment which is in addition to $1 million the group received earlier for the construction of a regional communications center. The Hingham Police Chief, Taylor Mills stated “Regionalization creates a broad base for a more efficient public safety network”.

The second group which includes the communities of Brockton, Carver, Halifax, Kingston, Middleborough, Plympton, and Scituate will receive a total of $1.7 million from the state for the construction of a regional dispatch center. Closer to home the communities of Hampden, Monson, and Palmer are considering the regionalization of their emergency dispatch services. Thanks to a great deal of hard work from Monson Police Chief, Stephen Kozoski a grant of $50,000.00 from the Executive Office of Public Safety was awarded to the communities to study the feasibility of combining their emergency dispatch services.

Whether the three local communities decide to regionalize said services or not, they should be commended for considering a way to save money and improve services. For many communities regionalization of certain services can save money and improve services. The challenge to Longmeadow and communities like it is to determine which services and what communities. The challenge to the state is to continue to provide the resources that will encourage local communities to improve services and save money.
June 4, 2010

FROM THE STATEHOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE

Recent employment gains both nationally and in Massachusetts is good news. The bad news is approximately 15 million people in this country are unemployed. We should not underestimate the severity of this recession and the impact it is still having, particularly on local and state government. The New England Economic Partnership’s assessment of the economy is not very optimistic with their estimate that the region won’t return to pre-recession levels until 2013.

Massachusetts, however, is recovering sooner and faster than the nation as a whole and it leads the region in job recovery. The April job gain, within the state, of 19,100 new jobs is the largest over-the-month gain in 17 years and the unemployment rate remains well below the national level. According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development year-to-date jobs are up with private sector gains of 28,200 jobs and the largest gains are in Professional, Scientific and Business Services. Construction job gains from March to April were a first since 2006.

Unfortunately like most states our fortunes are connected to the national economy and we must be prepared for a long and slow recovery. If you live in Longmeadow and you are one of the 15 million unemployed individuals or have lost your home through foreclosure or your business through bankruptcy then an improving economy really doesn’t mean very much just yet. What will make a difference are the initiatives that will get more people back to work. Focusing on job growth in industries like biotech, clean energy, and information technology and expanding and supporting development across the state are priorities that are working. State government must continue to create the conditions that will encourage more business and more jobs. The old adage that the key to real estate value depends on three factors – location, location, and location could be borrowed to describe the key to our economic recovery needing three factors – jobs, jobs, jobs.

 
June 4, 2010
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE PASSES "CO-PAY ASSISTANCE" BILL

STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN ASHE ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT HOUSE BILL 4320 WILL ALLOW MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS TO ACCESS REBATES, DISCOUNTS, OR COUPONS TO HELP AFFORD THEIR PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS

Representative Ashe stated: "This bill is a long time coming in Massachusetts and it has the potential to save thousands of dollars for consumers of prescription medicine. In addition to saving money it can, by reducing costs to filling prescriptions, improve a patient's medication adherence which is a significant cause of preventable illness, hospitalization, and death."

The new bill would, in effect, overturn the Commonwealth's existing policy that forbids pharmaceutical companies from providing discount coupons or rebates to patients who have already been prescribed a particular drug by a physician. While the application of this bill would not cost state government any additional amount of money its passage in the Senate is uncertain.

Representative Ashe also stated: "Upon passage of "co-pay assistance legislation", I will communicate with the various community and elderly groups in the 2nd Hampden District to ensure they are informed of the new law and can advise their constituents on how to benefit from it. This new bill has the potential to offer much needed relief to patients struggling to pay for prescription drugs. Our residents, especially seniors, spend so much on prescriptions each year. It is a positive step for the drug companies to offer savings back to the consumer."

FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING H4320 CONTACT STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN ASHE , 2nd Hampden District

TEL (617) 722-2090
FAX (617) 722-2848
DISTRICT (413) 754-4184
EMAIL Rep.BrianAshe@hou.ma.us
 

May 13, 2010

FROM THE STATEHOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE

David Gergen in his Sunday column of 5/09/10 expressed his concern relative to the rapid growth of government both in size and spending. He cited a number of troubling trends, including the increase in spending by federal, state, and local government. According to Mr. Gergen spending by federal, state, and local government in 1950 was 24% of the gross domestic product and could hit 44% this year. Mr. Gergen ended his column by stating while we have the means to solve our problems; “our challenge is whether we can put down the daggers and once again work together in a civil, creative spirit.” Mr. Gergen, a resident of Cambridge MA, should be encouraged by the recent and unanimous votes taken by the Massachusetts House of Representative on two key legislative initiatives municipal relief and anti-bullying.

While there remains a great deal of disagreement relative to how big the federal government should be, the consensus on state government is it needs reform and downsizing. Massachusetts has already started the process while other states from Arizona to New York are just coming to terms with this reality. Pennsylvania and New York are considering a constitutional convention to remake state government and in Ohio an effort to restructure and downsize state government is gaining more attention. One New York state official may have said it best: “The truth is government can’t afford government anymore. We’ve become too expensive.”

What is clear and inevitable, is state government must change and the fundamental assumptions about how state government operates need to become more cost effective. Massachusetts has not only started the process of rethinking the role and scope of government, it has initiated the process of reform and reorganization. Communities like Longmeadow must, however, prepare for a changing state government and must also become more efficient and cost effective in its delivery of services. Longmeadow has already taken steps through the "Long Range Planning" process as well as other reforms but we need to continue to work together. Eliminating the duplication of services and exhausting all regionalization avenues is a step in the right direction. Aligning financial capacity with long term service objectives and accurately projecting revenues and expenditures will become more critical to the effectiveness of both state and local government as the great recession of the last few years slowly recedes and recovery begins to take root.


David Gergen: is an editor at large at US News and World Report, a professor of public service, and Director of the Center for Public Leadership at John F. Kennedy School for Public Leadership at Harvard University.
 

May 6, 2010

GOVERNOR PATRICK SIGNS ANTI-BULLYING LAW WHICH WAS APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE.

State Representative Brian Ashe stated: "The anti-bullying legislation
prohibits any actions that could cause emotional or physical harm to
students, including text messages and taunting over the internet. Even
with this new law in place, the focus has to remain in the schools and at
home. Laws can't prevent bullying from happening they can only make it
illegal and offer consequences after the fact."

Prior to passage of the new legislation, Massachusetts was one of only
seven states without a specific law addressing school bullying. The new
law mandates training for faculty and students as well as requiring that
parents be informed of any incidents at the school. The bill defines
bullying as repeated acts that cause physical harm, place students in
reasonable fear of harm or create an unwelcoming or hostile environment at
school for another person. The new law is considered to be one of the
toughest anti-bullying measures in the United States.

One extremely important element of the new law is the requirement that
every school employee, including custodians and cafeteria workers, report
incidents of suspected bullying and those principals investigate each
case. Both public and private schools are now required to develop detailed
bullying prevention, intervention, and notification plans and to publish
said plans in student handbooks.

Representative Ashe also stated: "Passing legislation that affects
behavior is often difficult to implement. I plan to meet with elected
officials in each community within the 2nd Hampden district to ensure they
have the resources to comply with the sweeping measures within this
legislation. We cannot tolerate stalking and harassment of our kids in the
classroom or through electronic communications."
 

May 3, 2010
MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES COMPREHENSIVE LEGISLATION HELPING LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO MANAGE THEIR BUDGETS WITHOUT WEAKENING PROPOSITION 2 1/2

State Representative Brian Ashe with his colleagues in the House passed by a unanimous vote the Municipal Relief Bill. The bill gives the towns and cities in the state a number of much needed tools to assist them in saving money and managing their budgets.

Representative Ashe stated: In these trying times it is very rewarding to be able to pass legislation that will have an immediate positive impact on our local communities".

The new legislation establishes: (1) a statewide mutual aid agreement for fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical aid during a public safety incident. And a statewide mutual aid agreement for the sharing of public works resources across jurisdictional lines. (2) local pension systems can extend their funding schedule to 2040. (3) municipalities can enter into leases of up to 30 years without a home rule petition, presently it is 10 years. (4) allowing school districts to reimburse parents of disabled children who drive their children to private day care programs outside the municipality in which they live rather than allow only the school district to provide such services. (5) allowing communities to establish an early retirement program for employees with restrictions relative to filling vacancies created by the early retirements. (6) a local option for a tax amnesty program which will waive portions of interest and penalties due on unpaid taxes, under certain conditions. And (7) allows municipalities the choice of requiring school and city officials to meet each year to review the fiscal status of the school district and identify potential cost savings through regionalization initiatives. It would also empower school committees to join with one or more school committees to elect a superintendent to represent the partnering districts.

Representative Ashe also stated: "This comprehensive bill will not permit local communities to circumvent Proposition 2 1/2 which limits any increase in property tax. It will give communities in the 2nd Hampden District, and throughout the state, the flexibility to use their own creative resources to become more efficient and cost effective."