Globe - Suburbs Push for a Bigger Share

News Article

Beacon Hill caucus draws up agenda
By Robert Preer, Globe Correspondent

A new caucus on Beacon Hill hopes to more effectively promote the suburbs' agenda in what some see as an urban-minded Legislature.

"So many of the suburbs are experiencing the same problems," said state Representative Allen J. McCarthy, an East Bridgewater Democrat and member of the non partisan Suburban Legislative Coalition. "It comes down to the concept of strength in numbers. We are trying to push a common agenda."

The top priority is state school aid -- getting more of it for the suburbs.

Under the state's complex aid formula, a few cities have as much as 90 percent of their operating budgets paid by the state, while some towns have less than 10 percent.

"Towns are not able to afford the costs of schools," said Representative James B. Eldridge, an Acton Democrat and caucus cochairman. "They are going to tax overrides, which are not passing, and then they have to cut their budgets and cut programs."

The alliance of about 40 representatives, formed in January, also wants to make it easier for towns to acquire surplus state land, give communities more control over affordable housing, and change the way bills that affect individual towns are considered on Beacon Hill.

Urban interests have long been influential in the Legislature.

For decades, every House speaker and Senate president has come from Boston or nearby urban areas.

Of the top 12 Democratic leadership positions in the House today, eight are filled by legislators from cities.

Only two members of the top leadership in the House -- Majority Leader John H. Rogers of Norwood and Assistant Majority Leader Lida E. Harkins of Needham -- represent exclusively suburban districts.

"Historically, the Boston area tends to consume more of the state's resources because the top echelon of the Legislature is from the area," said George Serra, chairman of the political science department at Bridgewater State College.

In recent years, suburban lawmakers have moved into key positions.

Senator Therese Murray of Plymouth chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee and is a leading candidate for Senate president, should Robert E. Travaglini of Boston step down.

Recent chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee were Rogers and Paul R. Haley of Weymouth.

The Suburban Legislative Coalition, which has members from across the state, is not the first attempt to organize suburban interests. In the mid-1980s, a group of suburban lawmakers joined with officials from those communities to form the Suburban Coalition. Legislators later dropped out as the organization came to be run by and for local officials.

There are regional caucuses for the western suburbs, Southeastern Massachusetts, Central Massachusetts, and others, but organizers of the Suburban Legislative Coalition want a broader alliance.

"We wanted to organize and make the point that the perspective of suburbs in the entire state needs to be taken into account," said Eldridge.

State Representative Mary E. Grant, a Democrat from the suburb-like city of Beverly, said the organizers of the coalition are from the House "Class of 2002" -- herself, Eldridge, Alice Hanlon Peisch of Wellesley, and Barbara A. L'Italien of Andover -- who were first elected as the state was cutting aid to cities and towns.

"That's what we've known as legislators, seeing local aid cut," said Grant, who said the group is driven by a desire to help their communities.

State Representative Frank M. Hynes, a Marshfield Democrat who was involved in the 1980s organizing effort, said getting more resources for the suburbs will be hard until the state economy improves. "Unless the pot of money is growing, you are not going to be very successful in redistributing the pot," he said.

The coalition's list of goals includes:

More school aid. The coalition wants the Legislature and governor to commit to funding at least 17.5 percent of the operating budget of every school district in Massachusetts.

Streamline what is now home rule: A city or town that wants to rename a bridge or change the length of term of a municipal official now must submit special legislation to Beacon Hill and wait for passage, a process than can take months. The coalition wants to speed that up.

Reconsider how affordable housing is tallied: The state now allows developers to bypass local zoning bylaws if a community, most often a suburb, has less than 10 percent affordable units in its housing stock. Suburban advocates want to change the way affordable housing is counted to make it easier for communities to reach the 10 percent threshold.

Expand health benefits: To ease the health insurance burden on communities, the coalition wants to allow municipal employees to become part of the state health insurance program.

More control over state land. The coalition wants to change the procedure for disposing of state properties to give towns more say.

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