Press Room "Why I Consistently Voted for Interim Representation - Letter to Editor" "MBTA Garage Project Will Benefit Beverly - Letter to Editor from Rep. Grant and Sen. Berry" "Trust, Betrayal and Character" "House took difficult, but responsible, action on budget" "My View, Good Transportation System Necessary for Public Safety, Healthy Economy" "A Good transportation System is Necessary for Public Safety and a Healthy Economy" Chairman Naughton is a veteran, having joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2001, serving as a Captain with the Judge Advocate General Corps in Kuwait and Iraq in 2005-2006. Also invited is Vice Chair of the committee, Representative Linda Dean Campbell who is a veteran as well. “The presentation will include a discussion of Veterans’ Benefits and the Welcome Home Bonus. Veterans’ benefits offered here in Massachusetts are said to among the best in the nation,” according to Rep. Grant. There are many types of benefits available, including assistance under Chapter 115, annuities, tax exemptions, pensions, dependent benefits, financial assistance for education, employment and training, housing, as well as outreach and counseling. In addition, new legislation passed this month expands the Welcome Home Bonus for up to five deployments, creates a Medal of Liberty for families of soldiers killed in action, allows for non-profits to development soldiers’ homes, and reforms the process for voting while overseas. “During my first run for office I regularly spoke of the need for health care system changes before it became the issue of the day. At the doors I knocked, people knew the problems they were confronting but it was not yet a broad political conversation. Now it is a national conversation.” “It has been a pleasure to serve this city with such broad based support for all of these years.” She has never lost a ward or precinct in her four runs for office. “Every neighborhood has its own unique character and those that live in each, love where they live.” During her time in office, Grant has put citizens on the Salem-Beverly water board, has Rte. 127 designated as a scenic by-way in order to get access to resources to help define it as a tourist attraction which it currently is and help our downtown and small businesses along the way. She procured funding for the rebuilding of the McPherson Youth Center, helped to get funding for the high school project and to prevent the loss of accreditation. She secured resources to help rebuild the now closed North Shore Music Theater after the fire. Grant was responsible for successfully pushing for the parking garage in downtown Beverly for rail riders and others, which will help support economic development in our downtown area. This past year she helped secure over $2M for infrastructure to support waterfront development. Currently, Grant serves as the regional chairperson of the North Shore Housing Action Group Council, charged with organizing housing resources and defining needs in the region from Lynn to Rockport as part of the statewide initiative to end homelessness. She also serves on the Governor’s Long Term Care Financing Advisory Committee. A psychiatric nurse, clinical specialist, she has supported legislation to provide for mental health parity, to improve child mental health services, to protect domestic violence victims – currently serving as the co-chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force of the Caucus of Women Legislators - and supported legislation to allow for the expansion of the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims. With a master’s degree in community health nursing, she has been a leading supporter of proper funding for core services of the MA Department of Public Health. This term Grant has served as the Vice-Chair of Health Care Financing and has had the opportunity to work on the second part of health care reform-cost containment. She has been a strong proponent of clinicians, specifically physicians and nurses, taking an active role in insisting they are part of the decision-making on public policy. “Without this clinical voice, business decisions alone have not been able to stand the test of time,” states Grant. “I have announced my intentions at this time because local elections are completed, and I wanted people to have time over the holidays to consider a run next year. It is a time when people see their family and friends and talk things over. We have so many talented people in this city who have given much of themselves during their lives to improve the quality of life for us all. I am sure we will have some of that kind of talent step forward to run for office.” Grant has over half of her current term to serve and looks forward to continuing her work. In the future she hopes to work in a focused way in some aspect of health care or policy at this unprecedented time of change in our health care system both in the Commonwealth and in our country.
Press Release - July 1, 2009: National Grid Request for Distribution Rate Increase
Invites citizens to continue conversation about reform and revenue with the Administration and each other
Previous Articles
"No on Question 1 – It is a Matter of Self Respect"
"The Time is Now to Reform Children's Mental health Care System"
The Casino Proposal: "Take the Money and Run?"
March 25, 2008
"Marriage Petition is no wine-in-the-grocery-store vote"
June 12, 2007
"Our Attention to Youth is Vital"
March 14, 2007
Text of Final Bill
BEVERLY - Thursday, November 19, 2009 - State Representative Mary E. Grant (D-Beverly) and Jerry Guilebbe, Veterans Agent for the City of Beverly have announced a special event for our military veterans. They will be hosting a presentation by Representative Harold P. Naughton, Jr., Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs on Thursday, December 3, 2009. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Beverly Senior Center, 90 Colon Street.
“You are cordially invited to come learn more about all these things and bring your questions,” said Grant. Staff will be available to answer individual questions after the presentation. Light refreshments will be served. “The event is open to the public and I encourage you to let others know of this opportunity to speak with state officials about how to access the many benefits that may be of help to you”, added Veterans Agent Guilebbe.
BEVERLY - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - State Representative Mary Grant will not run for re-election to the MA House of Representatives next fall. Grant was first elected to the seat in the fall of 2002 and has served since that time. A health care professional for almost 30 years before taking office, she has served during the passage of landmark health care legislation in MA.
BOSTON – Thursday, May 28, 2009 – Governor Deval Patrick today launched an online community forum, inviting citizens to continue the conversation started during the administration’s series of statewide community forums about the choices and priorities facing the Commonwealth in the current economic climate.
Available at www.mass.gov/forum, the forum presents the public with a unique opportunity to share their ideas about the state’s budget challenges as well as the transportation, pension and ethics reform proposals currently being debated on Beacon Hill.
Over the next two weeks, Governor Patrick, Lieutenant Governor Murray and senior administration officials will be online at various times, reading suggestions, answering questions and contributing to the dialogue.
“We need the collective wisdom of all the people in the Commonwealth to tackle the budget challenges and reform opportunities facing us at this critical moment,” said Governor Patrick. “This online forum allows us to continue the conversation we started during the community forums and capture those great ideas – your ideas – that will help get us through to a better tomorrow.”
Governor Patrick has selected UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack to serve as the forum’s “Citizen Moderator.” Chancellor MacCormack will work with the Governor’s Office to help facilitate the online conversation and ensure all ideas are heard. At the conclusion of the discussion, Chancellor MacCormack will select from forum participants to assemble a Citizen Task Force. The Task Force will be responsible for compiling ideas, insights and recommendations shared throughout the forum and presenting a report to the Governor.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for citizens to participate in a meaningful dialogue about the future of our Commonwealth,’’ Chancellor MacCormack said. “My primary responsibility as moderator will be to ensure that everyone with a big idea has a voice, and that we work together to help solve some of the major challenges facing the Commonwealth. I look forward to hearing everyone’s ideas.”
In addition to the more than 30 community forums the Governor and members of his administration held throughout the month of May, he kicked off a series of summer town hall meetings in Dennis on Tuesday. The meetings are open to the public, giving residents a chance to talk directly to Governor Patrick about issues they care about most, including the economy, the state’s budget challenges, and the Governor’s efforts to push for reforms on Beacon Hill. For a full schedule and more information, visit www.mass.gov/governor/townhall.
North Shore – Spring 2009 – State Representative Mary Grant (D-Beverly) has been named chair of the Leadership Council of the North Shore Housing Action Group (NSHAG). Rep. Grant also currently serves as a board member of the Beverly Affordable Housing Coalition and the newly re-organized Harborlight Community Partners.
NSHAG establishes a Regional Network and Innovations to End Homelessness on behalf of 25 communities on the North Shore including those located on Cape Ann and in the Southern Essex and Greater Lynn region. It is one of eight regional pilot networks around the state. They are the result of a Special Commission Relative to Ending Homelessness in the Commonwealth whose report was released in December 2007. In an effort to restructure support systems that serve the homeless, the Patrick-Murray administration has awarded $8 million to the pilot networks. The goal is to help better coordinate, integrate and implement innovative services focused on securing permanent housing options for homeless individuals and families, and ultimately lessen the need for emergency assistance shelters.
“Here on the North Shore, a co-convener model represented by Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND) and North Shore Community Action Programs Inc. (NSCAP) in partnership will oversee the regional approach” said Rep. Grant. Building on research which shows that the use of prevention services as part of a comprehensive effort, the approach includes uniform assessment, triage, prevention of homelessness and when possible, rapid re-housing of individuals and families. One goal is the establishment of a region-wide Network Early Warning System (NEWS) that creates both a map and a method, bringing together all homelessness prevention activities and related providers.
NSHAG will embark upon an intensive information campaign across the region and work to clarify roles, capabilities and protocols among providers, establishing uniform assessment processes and thus enable the collection of data in a uniform way.
NSHAG will increase the achievement of greater housing placements as it expands its work with developers and subsidized housing providers, landlords, community groups, municipal leaders, faith-based groups and business leaders. Intensive work and developing strong relationships with all of these stakeholders will help to leverage and build resources to insure sustainability beyond the 18 month scope of the pilot project.
BOSTON - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - Representative Mary Grant (D-Beverly) brought attention to new proven methods to prevent domestic violence last week at a special presentation of the recent report issued by Governor Patrick’s Council to Address Domestic Assault and Violence.
As a co-chair of the Task Force on Domestic Violence in the Caucus of Women Legislators, Representative Grant invited the Governor’s Council to present their findings on domestic violence prevention to the legislature last Wednesday at the State House.
“Domestic violence is a grave concern on all fronts. As the economy weakens, domestic violence incidence typically increases. Anything we can do to draw attention to fundamental prevention through legislation, services and community involvement benefits us all,” remarked Rep. Grant.
The Council’s findings were compiled in a report entitled Promising Practices to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, and an outline of the report was offered by Council members and domestic violence experts Aimee Thompson, David Adams, Suzanne DuBus and Ginger Navickas. Details of the report included the value of community education, effort coordination between diverse service agencies, and the formation of regional response teams in significantly decreasing domestic violence by recognizing and acting upon known domestic violence predictors.
BOSTON - Monday, April 6, 2009 - “Beverly will receive $781,386 of local transportation aid funding in FY10 through the Chapter 90 program,” announced State Representative Mary E. Grant (D-Beverly). “These funds are used for local roadway projects such as resurfacing and are part of Governor Deval Patrick’s transportation bond bill passed in 2008.” The apportionment for each city or town is based on a formula that uses 3 factors: road miles, population and employment within the city’s borders. This year a total of $150,000,000 will be available and Beverly will be reimbursed as it uses its allotment. “Despite the tough economic times, this is good news as we enter the season for roadwork,” added Rep. Grant. More detailed information on Chapter 90 funding can be found at http://www.eot.state.ma.us/ under What’s New: FY10 Chapter 90 Apportionments.
Full text: http://www.salemnews.com/archivesearch/local_story_049001510.html
