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In a race between progressives, approach matters; voters deserve transparency
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By Kathleen Hornby, Candidate for Somerville State Representative, 27th Middlesex District

Transparency is a key progressive value, and one I take very seriously. It should be easy to see what your elected official achieved during their term — what they proposed, with whom they partnered, and what they successfully passed into law or into the state budget. But it isn’t easy. In fact, it’s virtually impossible. Unless, like me, you’ve spent years learning how to decipher state websites, state budgets and the legislative process as a staffer in the State House.

With the benefit of that skill set, I would like to take Mr. Berman’s examples of the incumbent’s effectiveness one by one:

Claim 1: “Rep. Uyterhoeven ‘joined the Republican Caucus in voting AGAINST emergency shelter funding in 2024.; Ms. Hornby neglected to mention that the bill that Rep. Uyterhoeven and other progressives voted against substantially undermined the Commonwealth’s 40-year Right-to-Shelter commitment.”

Fact: Rep. Uyterhoeven and the entire Republican caucus (along with just two other Democrats) voted against this supplemental funding for the shelter system, which was necessary in order to continue providing services with a system strained beyond capacity. She also did not propose or cosponsor any amendments to revise or remove elements of the bill with which she did not agree. 

Furthermore: The Legislature approved supplemental funding for the shelter system in an effort to keep the system afloat during a terrible crisis. I worked closely with advocates from the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute not only in my most recent position at the State House, but also while I was a staffer for Rep. Alice Wolf from 2007-2012. That policy work, along with my years of experience directly helping constituents find shelter placements, drives my commitment to fight for every penny for the emergency shelter system. That’s why I would have voted for this bill. I’m also committed to expanding programs like RAFT, which help prevent homelessness, and HomeBASE, which helps families in the shelter system find stable housing. We have to address the crisis from all sides.

Claim 2: “Rep. Uyterhoeven ‘voted AGAINST child and family tax credits.’… Once the legislation was thusly [sic] amended [to remove some of the worst provisions of the originally proposed tax cut legislation], Rep. Uyterhoeven voted for this less regressive tax cut bill, which included the very same child and family tax credits that Ms. Hornby claimed that Rep. Uyterhoeven voted against.”

Fact: Child and family tax credits are an evidence-based tool to reduce poverty, and Rep. Uyterhoeven did vote against the House bill that included a child and family tax credit of $600 per child, indexed to inflation, a measure strongly recommended by MassBudget. That’s why I would have voted for this bill, imperfect as it was. The final version of the bill, the one Rep. Uyterhoeven supported, included only $440 per child without future increases – not the “very same child and family tax credits” at all for those families struggling to make ends meet in Somerville and across the state. 

Claim 3: “Rep. Uyterhoeven played a leading role (along with Sen. Jehlen) in sponsoring and winning support for amendments that removed some of the worst provisions of the originally proposed tax cut legislation.”

Fact: Rep. Uyterhoeven did not file any amendments to the House tax reform bill, which is what would have been required to remove any provisions from the bill. She did co-sponsor an amendment filed by Rep. Connolly, but that amendment was withdrawn. Sen. Jehlen, on the other hand, is on the Senate Ways and Means Committee that wrote the Senate version of the bill, which was debated separately from the House version. That those provisions were absent from the final bill is thanks to Sen. Jehlen, not Rep. Uyterhoeven. 

Claim 4 (quoting my mailer): “Rep. Uyterhoeven ‘filed ZERO budget amendments to bring money to Somerville in this year’s State budget.’”

Fact: Rep. Uyterhoeven filed no budget amendments to bring money to Somerville in this year’s House budget (for Fiscal Year 2025), which passed in April 2024. You can see her FY25 funding requests here. Just as each year the House proposes, debates, and approves a state budget every year, it is a legislator’s job to ask for funds for their district every year. 

Claim 5: “Rep. Uyterhoeven [played a] role in 2024 in leveraging $54M for Somerville Public Schools, $1.2M for road repairs, $150K for the Somerville Homeless Coalition and $100K for a City of Somerville pilot to provide interim housing subsidies for limited income seniors waiting to get into elderly public housing, $30K for Groundwork Somerville, $1M for Greentown Labs, $1M to expand SCALE’s adult education and English literacy programming, and $5M to improve pedestrian access to the East Somerville MBTA station.”

Facts: 

• Like all public school funding in the Commonwealth, funding for the Somerville Public Schools is determined by statewide formula.The current formula was set by the Student Opportunity Act, which was passed in 2019. As noted by the Somerville Democrats here, this was one of Rep Uyterhoeven’s successes as an organizer – before she became a legislator.

• $150k for the Somerville Homeless Coalition is thanks to an FY25 budget amendment filed by Rep. Barber, which Rep Uyterhoeven cosponsored – adding her name after it was filed.

• $30k for Groundwork Somerville is thanks to an FY25 budget amendment filed by Rep. Connolly, which Rep Uyterhoeven cosponsored – adding her name after it was filed.

• $100K for a City of Somerville pilot to provide interim housing subsidies for limited income seniors waiting to get into elderly public housing is thanks to an FY25 budget amendment filed by Sen. Jehlen. 

• The rest of the funding Mr. Berman credits Rep. Uyterhoeven for is not through the state budget, but rather through bond bills. As MassBudget explains, “A bond bill simply authorizes spending – it does not guarantee that the capital projects identified in the legislation will come to light. That decision reverts to the Administration when the Governor determines what will be funded in the detailed list of projects included in the first fiscal year of the five-year capital investment plan.” For bond bills that have not yet been enacted, the funding is even less secure.

  • $1.2M for road repairs in Somerville

    • This was in the Legislature’s transportation bond bill. Municipalities receive funding based on local road mileage, population, and employment. Details are available here. All Rep. Uyterhoven did was vote for the overall bill.

  • $1M for Greentown Labs

    • Rep. Uyterhoeven’s amendment for Greentown Labs was included in the House version of the economic development bill. However, there is no funding for Greentown Labs in the Senate version, and the legislation is still in the hands of a conference committee.  There is no way to know whether the funding will be approved, but for now, it is purely theoretical.

  • $1M to expand SCALE’s adult education and English literacy programming

    • Rep. Barber’s amendment for SCALE’s adult education and English literacy programming, which Rep. Uyterhoeven did not cosponsor, was included in the House version of the economic development bill. There is no funding for SCALE in the Senate version, and the legislation is still in the hands of a conference committee. Again, this funding is still purely theoretical. 

  • $5M to improve pedestrian access to the East Somerville MBTA station

    • Rep. Barber’s amendment for improving pedestrian access to the East Somerville MBTA station, which Rep. Uyterhoeven did not cosponsor, was also included in the House version of the economic development bill. There is no funding for these improvements in the Senate version, and the legislation is still in the hands of a conference committee. As with the rest, this funding is still purely theoretical.

Mr. Berman is correct that taking a principled position may require voting against a piece of legislation. However, acting on a principled position cannot begin and end with a vote, or with interviews and public appearances. The work is in “the slog,” as a voter recently put it during a conversation with me. I spent years as a staffer in the slog, writing and rewriting, spending hours on calls and in meetings because my principles demanded that I use the tools of government to make people’s lives better. I didn’t have a soapbox, so I just showed up and did the work, knowing that it wouldn’t have my name on it. 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share sources with you for my review of the incumbent’s record – sources that have been on my website for months, but which would not fit on our mailers. I believe that Somerville deserves a State Rep. who is forthright about their wins and their setbacks, who prioritizes the needs of our community, and who does more than the bare minimum. 

Building the support required to pass bills and amendments is a long, involved process requiring persistence, cooperation, and yes, sometimes compromise. In contrast, voting on a bill or amendment in the MA House of Representatives requires only that the Rep. be physically present for the vote, and that they push a button to cast their vote. Cosponsoring bills and amendments is even more basic, requiring only the click of a button online. 

The hard, detailed work that we do as policy makers can mean the difference between healthy meals and a bare cabinet for a struggling family, a safe home and an untenable situation for someone in an abusive relationship, and even a second chance at life for those struggling with substance use disorder and other chronic medical conditions. As your State Representative, you can count on me not to miss any opportunity to amend, legislate, and fund the most progressive policies to meet our district’s needs.  I humbly ask for your vote.