Lipper-Garabedian Has Been Hard At Work Without Ever Being There

MELROSE, MA — State Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian's first year in office has been, in a word, weird. Mostly because she's never been in the actual office.

The Melrose lawmaker won her Democratic primary the same night the Red Sox traded away Mookie Betts. She won the special election March 3 — eight days before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic.

She was sworn in March 25 in a socially distanced ceremony. "I thought I saw everything," then-House Speaker Bob DeLeo remarked, "but this is the first time I ever experienced anything like this."

Since then Beacon Hill has been busy but different. It's business as usual, except that it's completely unprecedented.

And through it all, Lipper-Garabedian has been working for her constituents in the 32d Middlesex District — even though she's never worked one day in the State House.

"A lot of the work has been around constituent services because this is an unparalleled time for people and people are facing really significant challenges," Lipper-Garabedian said in a phone interview.

Those challenges include unemployment, food insecurity and small business uncertainty. Lipper-Garabedian has been able to build relationships and provide resources, which is what she aimed to do even before the pandemic. Part of the reason she ran, she said, was to be part of the process that provides government services to the people.

Now the freshman lawmaker, who was sent to Beacon Hill shortly after winning her second term on the City Council, has added responsibilities. New House Speaker Ron Mariano named her the House Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs.

That puts her at the table for conversations impacting all aspects of senior living, including for the 8,400 age 65 and over in the 32d Middlesex District. It comes at a crucial moment for seniors.

"COVID-19 has just ravaged the senior community in our state," Lipper-Garabedian said.

Lipper-Garabedian's already been able to help some seniors sign up for vaccinations. While the state was scrambling to stand up the call center, some legislators were helping book appointments for those 75 and older as a bit of a test run.

"As someone who has parents in those age brackets, it was so personally rewarding to me to share in the joy in that," she said.

She was also named to the Joint Committee on Financial Services, Joint Committee on Public Service and Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. Lipper-Garabedian plans on working to address some of the inequities the all-consuming pandemic has exposed.

"COVID is not over, there's going to continue to be real challenges over the next few months and we're going to have to grapple with them," she said.

Her appointment to Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy will give her an opportunity to work on climate issues, which she heard a lot about while campaigning.

Now she's hearing concerns of residents over the coronavirus vaccination rollout. Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to testify this week at an oversight hearing of the Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness amid widespread criticism.

"I think a good way to describe the whole situation is it's just intrinsically frustrating," Lipper-Garabedian said. "The issue is supply just cannot meet demand right now."

In hindsight, Lipper-Garabedian said, some more foresight would have helped.

"In large part, there's probably nothing any state leader can do to address this. There are however some things that could have been different at the start of the process," she said, noting the need for a call center from the beginning.

Clear, consistent communication — something Lipper-Garabedian has prioritized since knocking on thousands of doors before being elected for her first City Council term — is still at the core of the issue.

"Trying to meet as many people where they are," she said.

You can contact Lipper-Garabedian at kate.lipper-garabedian@mahouse.gov or 617 722-2020 and follow her on Twitter at KateForRep.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook