Representative John Keenan Offers Testimony
BOSTON – Representative John Keenan (D-Salem) joined dozens of his colleagues from both the Massachusetts House and Senate this afternoon in offering testimony in support of a redistricting reform measure being debated by the legislature’s Joint Committee on Election Laws. The proposal would take the power to redraw political districts after each census away from the legislature and instead invest it in a new, nonpartisan redistricting commission. Representative Keenan, a cosponsor of the bill, had campaigned for the initiative in last fall’s elections, when Common Cause Massachusetts had placed a ballot question about the measure on the Salem ballot. The question passed overwhelmingly in the city with 63% of the vote. “Although I am only a freshman representative,” said Keenan at today’s hearing, “I am not naïve enough to believe you can take all of the politics out of redistricting. However, this independent commission will help insulate or even potentially depoliticize this process. I am not here like many of my colleagues who represent gerrymandered districts. I, in fact, represent a model district: one city, one representative. I am here to support this simply because it is the right thing to do.” Following this afternoon’s public hearing on the bill, the committee will meet in executive session to vote on whether or not to send the measure to the full legislature with a favorable recommendation.
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