The People's Blog

Dearest friends and neighbors, The intensity of this moment makes me wish I had more than the written word to pack into this email. We are in the midst of a storm we cannot see, but it’s raging [...]

My team is continuing our series of community conference calls on COVID-19 every Wednesday and Saturday through the first weekend of May.  These are open to the public and are opportunities to [...]

Friends, We are living through a defining moment. You know this: These are profoundly challenging times. The enormity of what we’re experiencing will be analyzed and written about for decades to [...]

Greetings, friends, Below is what I hope to be timely and useful information on the Governor’s initial executive orders, COVID-19 prevention, information on small business loans, a request to [...]

My team has scheduled a series of community conference calls on COVID-19 for me to speak with constituents. These are open to the public and will be an opportunity to ask me questions directly [...]

Greetings, all, Thanks to the many of you who replied to yesterday’s newsletter with questions and feedback. I want to respond to some of the most frequently asked questions and concerns [...]

Greetings Friends, I write to you today as our state grapples with the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a very hard time and we’re going to get through it, together. First, thank you to all [...]

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a trio of energy and climate bills under the banner: Next Generation Climate Policy. Together, the bills aim to bring the [...]

It was a packed house last night at Greenfield Community College, host to the annual Franklin County 4-H celebration and awards ceremony. I wanted to share the following remarks I offered in [...]

Amid increasing reports of environmental devastation worldwide, the Massachusetts State Senate has taken major new steps to advance the state’s approach to combating global warming. The Senate’s [...]

The Massachusetts Health Policy Forum held their annual student forum today in the State House. Public health graduate students from across the state gathered to hear from legislators, advocates, [...]

Hello hello! This is looooong. You can jump to the sections that interest you by clicking the links below: Education Flavored Tobacco Road Safety Campaign Finance Children’s Health and Wellness [...]

This blog is written by Elena Cohen, who’s the District Director on our state Senate team and a Northampton native. This is an excerpt from the Water and Sewer Forum Report Elena wrote [...]

Remarks prepared for the Sojourner Truth Election Day event Jo Comerford, 5 November 2019, Northampton, MA   Heartfelt thanks to all who have shared your thoughts and gifts today. Thank you [...]

This blog is written by Jared Freedman, who’s the Chief of Staff on our state Senate team and a Leverett native. His story begins with a constituent question which led us to finding an [...]

I am thrilled to welcome a number of interns to my team for the fall semester! Working in both the State House and the district offices, interns will work on a variety of different issues like [...]

This blog is written by Adia Bennett, an amazing intern in the district. This fall I began a semester-long internship with Senator Jo Comerford. Working with Jo and her team has been much more [...]

There has been a great deal of real and serious concern raised about a bill I cosponsored, S. 826, titled, An Act to reduce mass incarceration. The bill would direct that: The court shall fix a [...]

Two weeks ago, the Senate released S.2350 with an eye toward equitably increasing funding for public education because a child’s zip code should not determine the quality of their education. As [...]

On Tuesday, I testified at the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture hearing about H.897, S.485, and H.736. Below is my testimony. Esteemed Chairs and Committee: I am [...]

I gave the following remarks on Friday, September 20 at the Annual COSA breakfast. It’s such an honor to be here with you today — now eight months into my first State Senate term. As I reflected [...]

Next Tuesday, September 24 will be a 5-ring Olympics marathon day for hearings at the Massachusetts State House. Most weeks, the House meets on Wednesdays, and the Senate on Thursdays. That [...]

Hi! I’m Sam Hopper, Director of Constituent Engagement for Senator Comerford. In addition to my work engaging with the incredible constituents of the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester [...]

On Friday, September 6, Governor Baker filed what’s called a ‘supplemental budget” or a “close out supp.” Here it is: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H4067. You [...]

Remarks given at The Future of Public Service School of Public Policy, UMass Amherst, August 29, 2019 Thank you to the School of Public Policy for inviting me to speak with you today. I’m [...]

I spent Thursday morning touring three affordable housing properties in Northampton: Sergeant House, Live 155, and The Lumber Yard. All of these would not have been possible without strong [...]

Individual websites are a valuable tool for politicians to reach many constituents as possible, offering the most accurate and updated information on their work in office in a way that’s quick [...]

Here’s a personal story which comes full circle to yesterday and three pieces of legislation focused on homelessness and housing as a right. My Aunt Joan was my mom’s beloved twin [...]

June is Dairy Month in Massachusetts. That’s why I joined constituents and Denise Barstow for a tour of her family’s diary farm in Hadley. Denise is an 8th generation farmer. That [...]

It’s been easy to offer strong support for An Act relative to limits on insurers’ retroactive clawbacks for mental health and substance use disorder services (S.589 and H.1078), filed by Senator [...]

Here’s an open letter from me to the good people of Bernardston who are gathering tomorrow night to vote on whether to endorse a piece of legislation to change the state seal: Thank you to [...]

I am thrilled to welcome a number of interns to my team this summer! Working in both the State House and the district offices, interns will work on a variety of different issues like public [...]

This morning, I was deeply honored to be the speaker at the Collaborative for Educational Services’ HEC Academy graduation ceremony. I shared six life lessons I’ve learned along the [...]

Greetings from your State House! This post is packed with important updates and a call to action. On May 23, after four days of deliberations, the Massachusetts Senate passed a $42.8 billion [...]

I wanted to share an excerpt from a press release that just went out announcing something I’m tremendously excited about: Senator Jo Comerford announces today that she is sponsoring a [...]

We must CHERISH the Commonwealth’s public higher education (I delivered the following remarks on the floor of the Senate last night after withdrawing my amendment, #302.) Increasing investment in [...]

Today on Mother’s Day, I want to take a minute today to tell you about an endangered animal. The North Atlantic right whale, pictured above, is on the verge of extinction with about 400 [...]

First off, heartfelt congratulations to all of the UMass students who are graduating today. Your achievement is worthy of huge cheers from us all. I ran for the Senate to fight for public [...]

Want to hear a state-specific word that’s more profane than any in your mind at this very second? Surplus. Yes. Surplus, the word that’s currently being used to define the uptick in revenue [...]

Here are four inside truths about legislation making its way through the Massachusetts Legislature: The minute Massachusetts lawmakers file legislation, the real work begins to build momentum for [...]

Tonight, I gathered in a large crowd of House members and advocates for a community bill signing to celebrate the successful passage of the conversion therapy ban. Rep. Kay Khan was the House [...]

I’m thrilled that the first piece of legislation I filed—the Cherish Act—will have an early hearing on April 30. (I’m pictured, above, a the State House kick off of the legislation.) [...]

Thirty-one thousand Stop and Shop workers from over 240 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island decided to strike on Thursday April 11. This massive worker protest comes in [...]

Today marks my 100th day in the Senate and it has been such an honor to represent the 24 cities and towns of the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district. I’m delighted to share some of our [...]

On Tuesday, April 9, I testified to the Joint Committee on Education about rural school funding. My testimony is below. Senator Jo Comerford Testimony Supporting S.248/H.409 and S.2185 I support [...]

Today I was delighted to speak at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Physical Sciences Building and the West Experiment Station at UMass Amherst. There’s a great deal to [...]

Today, was a SIX TOWN DAY! Between Jared being in the district, Elena, and myself, we spent time in Erving, Orange, Greenfield, Royalston, Northfield, and South Hadley and partnered with Rep. [...]

Today was a productive, exhilarating (and a bit exhausting) day where I was privileged again and again to be your voice in the state legislature. In the morning, I testified at a hearing on my [...]

Last summer the legislature directed the establishment of a task force to look at Regional Transit Authority (RTA) performance and funding. Here is the report from the RTA Task Force. Last week, [...]

This Thursday, March 28 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, the Joint Committee on Transportation will hold a hearing on S.2055: An Act relative to gender identity on Massachusetts identification. I filed [...]