By Seth Daniel
State Rep. Dan Ryan returned to Beacon Hill last Wednesday, Jan. 4, after the Winter Break to take the Oath of Office with his colleagues at a swearing-in ceremony on the floor of the House of Representatives, and to get to work on the issues facing his district.
“I want thank the voters of the Second Suffolk for electing me to be just a small part of the great future we are building together,” he said.
Shortly after the ceremony, Ryan reported that the work had already begun on Beacon Hill, with the MBTA Fiscal Control Oversight Board reporting to a House committee on its work to stabilize the T’s finances and operations.
That, Ryan said, represented one of the local priorities for his coming term.
He said his local priority in the coming session will be on transportation – and planning intelligently so that Charlestown and Chelsea can benefit from the growth that is taking place in Greater Boston.
“Besides these big picture issues, this session I want focus on specific Transportation issues that will greatly effect the future of the Second Suffolk District,” he said. “Chelsea and Charlestown are in a great position to benefit from the growth of the Greater Boston economy. Our communities will only get stronger with a mix of adequate, affordable public means to move people to and from the jobs that are minutes from our neighborhoods. Utilizing sound transportation planning to strengthen our local economies will help to offset any funding shortfalls from the federal government and other sources in the future. We are faced with a lot of pressing issues in the next two years. Chelsea and Charlestown are poised to tackle these these issues as transformative opportunities.”
At the same time, he said 2017 could bring a lot of questions nationally with a new president and administration coming into office. He said state government will be poised to protect residents and to offer a model for “government that works.”
“Nationally, 2017 brings a lot questions that remain unanswered,” he said. “Locally, that means we must remain vigilant to ensure that we protect the rights all of the residents of the Commonwealth. We must continue our traditional role as a national model for government that works. This is evidenced by our national leadership in community policing, veterans services, education and other vital programs that only government can adequately provide.”