Published March 20, 2020
MELROSE — As we continue to make our way through the time of coronavirus, there are inconveniences everywhere. One of them, for the time being, is that the city still doesn’t officially have a voice in the state House of Representatives.
Kate Lipper-Garabedian was elected earlier this month to take over for Paul Brodeur as representative of the 32nd Middlesex District. Because of the restrictions created by the highly-contagious coronavirus, her swearing in has been delayed.
She issued the following earlier this week:
I am not sure when I will be sworn in as the State Representative for the 32nd Middlesex District. It will not be this week. For now, I continue to be the Chief Legal Counsel at the Executive Office of Education.
Even though I am not yet a member of the General Court, I am available to field your questions and concerns. I have responded to outreach from local realtors and business owners, doing my best to hunt down information and share their perspectives with relevant stakeholders. You can reach me at Kate@KateforRep.com. I will continue to provide updates and information via Facebook and Twitter (@KateforRep). For example, this week, I’ve flagged information about increased flexibility for public meetings including remote participation; food assistance resources including the grab-and-go meals that Malden, Melrose, and Wakefield Public Schools are providing to students; a national domestic violence hotline; and a small business relief loan program.
These are incredible and frightening times in which we are living. I hope your family is weathering the remarkable changes to our daily life, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands. As Mark, Harrison, Oscar, Baryn, and I prepare for our fourth day (of many to come) physically separating from our neighbors, friends, and family, I recognize how fortunate we are to have a safe place to live, food in the kitchen, and two paychecks. Like you, I also am incredibly grateful for the front line workers (like my sister-in-law, an ER nurse at MGH, and my cousins, police officers in Boston and Belmont) who are striving and will strive to care for us in the weeks to come. And I am comforted to see state and local policy developing that is focused on protecting public health, mitigating economic impacts, and reinforcing community supports.
Here are COVID-19 links to bookmark and consult:
• CDC: https://buff.ly/2vkGDvb
• MA DPH: https://buff.ly/2QbqY90
• Malden: https://buff.ly/2Q8MACU
• Melrose: https://buff.ly/2TJQSCP
• Wakefield: https://buff.ly/2wQSvFS
Again, please socially distance from all outside your household. Wash your hands. Take care of yourself and, in the process, take care of all of us.
