VIDEO: Senator Moore discusses importance of the Commonwealth Conversations Tour.
Senators Harriette L. Chandler (D- Worcester), Ryan C. Fattman (R- Webster), Anne M. Gobi (D- Spencer), Michael O. Moore (D- Millbury) announced today that the "Commonwealth Conversations Tour,” established by the State Senate, will be returning to Central Massachusetts on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.
Commonwealth Conversations, co-sponsored by Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D- Amherst), Senator Michael Rodrigues (D- Westport), and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R- Gloucester), is a statewide listening tour of various geographic regions. The overall goal of Commonwealth Conversations is to foster more civic engagement in the community and help each Senator learn more about issues outside of his or her own district while visiting with local residents, businesses, and interest groups to listen directly to their needs and concerns.
Senators Chandler, Fattman, Gobi, and Moore will be hosting a town hall-style public forum at the Seven Hills Foundation (81 Hope Avenue, Worcester, MA 01603) from 6:30-8:30PM on Tuesday, April 25th. All residents of the Central MA region are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion, and sign-up sheets will be available at the forum for attendees. In an effort to accommodate all speakers, comments will be limited to no more than 2 minutes per person.
“Commonwealth Conversations provides a unique opportunity for the Senate to bring Beacon Hill to local communities across the state,” said Chandler. “Central MA is home to the second largest city in New England and I hope that constituents will come to join members of the State Senate at the public forum.”
“I am honored and excited to be a part of this year’s Commonwealth Conversations,” said Fattman. “I hope that this tour will serve as a positive arena for open conversation and discussion to improve the well-being and overall success of the Commonwealth.”
“We are excited to build on the success of last session’s Commonwealth Conversations tour,” said Gobi. “There is a lot we can do to help our communities and it goes a long way to have our colleagues visit our communities to learn what needs to be done in areas that they don’t typically see.”
“This tour is a tremendous opportunity for area residents to connect with Senators from across the region and to share their perspectives about matters involving the Legislature,” said Moore. “It also fosters a productive learning experience that helps inform policy initiatives undertaken by the Senate. I hope that many local residents will join us at the evening forum and participate in the conversation.”
This is the second round of Commonwealth Conversations since its inaugural tour in 2015, where the Senate spent 8 days visiting different regions of the Commonwealth and heard from thousands of citizens who expressed their concerns on issues ranging from housing to education and the environment.
This year, one of the four stops in each region will be a public transportation-focused session led by the Barr Foundation. These sessions, known as MassMoves, are designed specifically around transportation issues in each region in effort to build a vision for sustainable mobility across the entire Commonwealth.
Commonwealth Conversations 2017 Tour Stop Schedule
Metro Boston– Tuesday, January 31
South Coast – Tuesday, February 7
South Shore – Tuesday, February 28
Southeast – Tuesday, March 7
Central Mass – Tuesday, April 25
Northeast – Tuesday, March 21
Western Mass – Tuesday, March 28
MetroWest – Tuesday, April 4
North Shore – Tuesday, April 11