Due to COVID restrictions, Massachusetts legislators are sworn into office in distanced ceremony or virtually — a first for Beacon Hill – masslive.com
Adam Gomez’s family waived a Puerto Rican flag as the Springfield Democrat took his oath of office as an incoming state senator.
His group was small — he brought his wife, children and father — but it was a rare sight outside the Massachusetts State House where lawmakers showed up without the busloads of supporters and friends who normally showed up to their swearing in ceremonies. Instead, Gomez and nearly two dozen other senators stood 6 feet apart and wore masks as they recited the oath.
“Them being able to be here and see this momentous occasion, it really warms my heart,” Gomez said. “I really appreciate them letting me bring my family, understanding that with COVID restrictions it’s very serious and want to make sure we’re still socially distant.”
Gomez is among a handful of incoming lawmakers starting their terms during a raging pandemic. The global public health crisis has killed more than 12,000 people in Massachusetts alone and nearly 30 times as many people across the United States.
Sen. Adam Gomez, center, is surrounded by family members at his swearing in ceremony. They were one of the few guests allowed for the COVID-era ceremony.
For Beacon Hill, that means the Legislature is swearing in lawmakers 6 feet apart or virtually — a first in the General Court’s four-century history.
“Just as last week, today’s swearing-in looks very different from the House’s traditional ceremony, a small consequence of the current public health crisis,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said addressing both state representatives in the room and those whose heads popped up on the flat screen monitors at the back of the House chamber. “But we’ve made every effort to ensure that the incoming class can be physically present for this milestone moment.”
Swearing in ceremonies at the State House are typically packed as legislators bring families, friends and sometimes bus loads of their most devoted supporters. That wasn’t an option for Wednesday’s ceremony, which moved ahead as the state faces a second surge of COVID-19 cases.
In the Senate, lawmakers took their oath outside the State House, also masked and 6 feet apart, in a ceremony led by Sen. Marc Pacheco, or remotely in a separate ceremony afterward.
The House spaced out lawmakers throughout the chamber, but state representatives who took their oath remotely appeared on flat screen monitors in the back.
Returning lawmakers got little sleep before the swearing in ceremonies. The House and Senate stayed in session well past midnight to get major bills on transportation and economic development passed before the end of the legislative session.
“I’d thank you for being here, but I think you only left 20 minutes ago,” Gov. Charlie Baker told House lawmakers before swearing them in Wednesday afternoon.
Senators are sworn in Wednesday morning in a socially distanced ceremony outside the Massachusetts State House. Senators are masks and the event was closed to the public to prevent spread of COVID-19.
New lawmakers, such as Gomez, have to navigate the lay of the land during remote sessions.
A Springfield city councilor, Gomez says he brings a fresh perspective on what communities are facing as a result the racial and geographic disparities that only became more apparent during the pandemic and recession. He’s spent recent weeks meeting with his colleagues, including Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow, Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz of Boston and Sen. Jamie Eldridge of Acton.
Eldridge said he didn’t want to focus on his own issues during the pandemic, as a lawmaker, but he said it was the first swearing in ceremony that his mother couldn’t attend.
“That’s sort of disappointing,” the Acton Democrat said. ” I think, more importantly, it’s just a recognition that everyone’s saying 2021 will be better. Well, I certainly hope so, but I think there’s a lot of work we have to do.”
Chang-Diaz, a key negotiator on the policing bill that was signed into law, said she hopes to take a breath after the overnight session before laying out her priorities for the new session.
The Senate ended its final session around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, passing a bill that would take steps toward changing the state seal and motto in the final minutes of session. But Chang-Diaz noted lawmakers still have work to do on COVID-19, racial justice and other issues affecting Massachusetts residents.
“We’re going to be jumping into a new sprint,” she said.