BY JORDYN FORTE
Five newly elected state representatives gathered in the Martin Institute Auditorium yesterday, Tuesday, November 9 to reflect on their first year on Beacon Hill.
“I’m so happy to see all your faces, and I’m excited to welcome some folks from Beacon Hill here today,” Kathleen Currul-Dykeman, the director of the Martin Institute said, before turning the microphone over to the panelists, who were first asked to briefly touch upon their political origin stories.
The event, organized by The Martin Institute for Law and Society, began at 1 p.m. and was open to all interested in attending.
The panel featured Rep. Jessica Ann Giannino (16th Suffolk), Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne (12th Worcester), Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley (12th Suffolk), Rep. Edward Philips (8th Norfolk), and Rep. Adam Scanlon (14th Bristol). Each briefly touched upon their political origin stories.
Philips, a lifelong resident of Sharon, Mass. and a University of Massachusetts, Amherst graduate said he began his political career as a freshman in high school after he became a homeroom representative for his class.
“I caught the bug for politics in high school, and I’ve had it ever since,” Philips said.
Like Philips, Giannino said that she was also involved in politics while in high school. Giannino, however, found her political calling while at Salem State University, where she became involved with the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Commuter Council.
“I commuted, worked full-time, and I took seven classes, so I got involved on campus through clubs,” she said.
Giannino began her political career outside of school as a City Councilor At-Large for the City of Revere in 2012 at 20-years-old, she said.
Kilcoyne, who graduated from Stonehill College with a degree in History, said she began her political career a bit differently than the other panelists.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my degree; I knew what I didn’t want to do,” Kilcoyne said.
The summer after graduating from Stonehill, Kilcoyne began an internship in State Representative Harold Naughton’s office, and at the end of the summer, she said her internship became a full-time job.
Fluker Oakley, a Boston, Massachusetts native and a graduate of Syracuse University, has been in touch with her political voice since a young age.
“I organized my first protest in third grade and my second protest in fifth grade,” she said.
Fluker Oakley is drawn to urban education issues, and she became a third-grade teacher in Baltimore, Maryland to gain a firsthand understanding of how the law impacts education systems. This, Fluker Oakley said, eventually led her to enroll in law school at Emory University to learn how to become a better advocate.
Scanlon is a resident of North Attleboro, and at age 25, he is currently the youngest representative in Massachusetts.
“It’s a big honor to hold the same seat that Speaker Martin once held,” Scanlon said.
Scanlon became involved in politics as a community advocate at 17-years-old, when the North Attleboro education budget came into question, he said.
In 2017, Scanlon ran for School Committee against two incumbents, and won. He also attended Framingham State University, where he graduated with a degree in Political Science.
Once all of the representatives introduced themselves, Currul-Dykeman asked them each to answer one more, two-part question: What is one thing you accomplished in the past year that you are proud of, and what challenges have you faced because of COVID-19?
The panelists’ answers ranged widely.
“I’m most proud of the level of constituent services that we’ve provided to people in the past year,” Philips said.
Giannino said she is proud of the single-use plastic bag ban that went into effect in Saugus in March 2020, while Kilcoyne is proud of maintaining a promise that she made to the residents of her community thus far.
“I’m passionate about a promise that I made – that I will be able to be an effective advocate for my region,” Kilcoyne said.
Fluker Oakley said that she is pleased to have gotten an allocation for critical funding for Smart From the Start, an organization, “promoting the healthy development of children and families.”
Scanlon is most proud of developing a placeholder bill to develop the workforce and to increase the number of labor and workforce programs available to students, as well as exposure to them.
“I got over 35 people to sign onto the bill. It’s not the final product, but a tool to get people to talk about these issues,” Scanlon said.
The five panelists shared similar answers when it came to challenges that they faced on Beacon Hill as a result of the pandemic; all identified a lack of in-person connection as a key difficulty that they experienced.
“We haven’t had much in-person time,” Fluker Oakley said.
“It was challenging having to do a lot of this work without face-to-face interaction,” Kilcoyne added, “and, I look forward to the day where we can all be in the chamber together.”
While Philips echoed the concerns and sentiments of his fellow representatives, he also acknowledged some positive aspects of the pandemic, such as the way that is has fostered creativity, as well as how it has resulted in the development of unique bonds and connections.
“This freshman class has actually become closer because of the challenges we have faced,” Philips said. “We had to work harder to form relationships.