Senator Barry Finegold was elected in 2018 to represent the Second Essex and Middlesex District which includes Andover, Dracut, Lawrence and Tewksbury, a seat he previously held from 2010 to 2015. He currently serves as the Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws and Chair of the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity.
Working closely with Mayor Dan Rivera and Lawrence Police Department, Barry supported the hiring of more officers who identify as minorities, making LPD a majority minority police department that is more representative of the community’s population.
Lawrence has seen plummeting crime rates in recent years, due in part to the work Barry has done to secure funding for key programs in the community. In 2000, Lawrence saw over 1800 cars stolen. After years of work with community groups and the Lawrence Police Department, that number has been reduced 12-fold to just over 140 cars in 2020.
Barry secured $25k in state budget funds for Lawrence Dream Network, a nonprofit organization that works to reduce recidivism, improving the community and increasing public safety overall.
When the Tewksbury Fire Department was in need of a new ambulance, Barry worked with the legislative delegation to secure the necessary $75k in the state budget.
Additionally, Barry secured $100,000 in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding to build a retreat for first responders and veterans with PTSD.
As Chair of the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity, Barry’s commitment to bolstering public safety extends online as well. In 2022, Barry secured $1.5M in seed funding for a new cybersecurity consortium, which will strengthen workforce training programs and provide real-time monitoring of cyber threats.
Barry is currently spearheading comprehensive, bipartisan legislation that establishes core standards for how companies can collect, use, and sell personal information, with heightened protections for children under 16. As a father of teenagers, he believes strongly in the need to ensure their online privacy is protected.
In response to the educational challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Barry secured $100,000 in targeted COVID-related aid for local school districts.
Barry worked with Dracut residents to make the new high school project a reality. He helped secure funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for the new Dracut High School. With his efforts, the town received $37 million from the state for the renovation and addition project.
Barry was also an early supporter of the new Tewksbury high school project and pushed for the construction of a new, energy efficient and technologically-advanced facility. He also helped secure funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which funded 60 percent of the project.
In response to a meeting with the Tewksbury School Committee who were upset by the fiscal abuse happening at the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative, Barry passed legislation to end mismanagement and financial abuses at Special Education Collaboratives. Barry filed an amendment that requires the executive director of each education collaborative to go before the school committee every year, present its budget, and answer questions.
Andover received its highest allocation of education money ever from the state budget for fiscal year 2013, thanks to Senator Finegold’s budget negotiations. Andover received a $1 million increase over the previous year’s funding.
Barry was the chief architect of the biggest updates to Massachusetts’ election laws in decades.
In 2014, Senator Finegold advanced a reform bill that brought early voting to Massachusetts, as well as online voter registration, post election audits, and preregistration of 16- and 17-year-olds.
In response to COVID-19, as Senate Chair of Election Laws, Senator Finegold garnered bipartisan support for a bill that, for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth, created a secure vote-by-mail system and allowed voters to vote early in both the state primary and general elections in 2020. This legislation contributed significantly to the record breaking turnout in Massachusetts for the 2020 general election, which saw a majority of voters casting their ballots by mail or during the early voting windows.
In October of 2021, the Senate passed a major election reform bill known as the VOTES Act. Senator Finegold led the work on this landmark election reform bill, which would make vote-by-mail, early voting, and same-day registration permanent in Massachusetts.
As a leading voice on electoral reform in Massachusetts, Senator Finegold hopes to continue modernizing our election system going forward.
Across the District:
In response to the class action settlement against Columbia Gas, Barry has helped over 430 constituents with their claims.
After COVID, Barry has helped nearly 400 constituents access unemployment benefits and RMV services, and remedied immigration issues alongside the federal delegation.
Barry guided over 30 small local businesses through the economic impacts of COVID-19. He connected businesses to emergency loans and assisted in navigating the reopening process. Small businesses make our community vibrant and Barry is committed to helping them keep their doors open.
Andover:
Barry came out early in support of the new youth center in Andover, and worked with the group to garner support leading up to the town meeting vote.
He worked to save the town money through promoting the use of green energy. In 2012, six town buildings in Andover received energy efficiency upgrades thanks to a new state grant for Green Communities that will save Andover an estimated $163,000 annually.
Barry relentlessly pushed for dollars from the state until the Department of Transportation finally apportioned funds for a sound barrier along I-93 in 2011.
Tewksbury:
Helped Tewksbury become a “Green Community” in 2011, making the town eligible for $207,725 in grants for local renewable power and energy efficiency projects that will save the town in energy costs.
Barry pushed for the passage of the land conveyance bill that allowed Tewksbury to sell the lot at 918 Main St. (location of old police station) and keep half of the proceeds.
Barry ushered home rule petitions from Tewksbury through the legislative process, including the sewer debt shift and appointment of the town clerk.
He successfully advocated for $10 million dedicated to the design and reconstruction of Route 38 in Tewksbury.
At Barry’s request, the lines and crosswalks on Route 38 in Tewksbury were repainted in August of 2012 to ensure safety for drivers and pedestrians.
Dracut:
Barry helped facilitate the construction of new senior housing in Dracut at Allard’s Grove.
Barry helped Dracut secure $11.1 million in funding for a collections sewer project as part of the state’s low-cost State Revolving Fund (SRF) financing.
Barry fought to preserve and fund the community preservation trust fund to ensure CPA communities, like Dracut, would receive sufficient state funding for open space preservation projects.
Lawrence:
New businesses have been growing in Lawrence; Barry personally recruited Eastern Bank to locate in Lawrence on Essex Street in the heart of the city. Eastern Bank was the city’s first new retail banking office to open in 23 years.
Barry has actively supported local development that is revitalizing sections of the city, including the Riverwalk, Union Crossing and new homes in the Arlington and North Common neighborhoods.
Barry was involved with the Lawrence Public Schools Turnaround Plan. He wants to ensure that Lawrence students have the best possible education and has advocated for giving the superintendent the tools necessary to make sweeping and lasting changes to improve the education system.
He advocated on behalf of the Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program and ensure the passage of his bill that requires the Division of Capital Asset Management to enter into a long-term lease with GLCBP to increase stability to the program and to the youth and families it serves.
Barry has successfully brought thousands of dollars into the city, including money for water infrastructure improvements, the Lawrence History Center and improvements for Campagnone (North) Common Park.
Secure and accessible elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. We need to make it as easy as possible for residents of the Commonwealth to exercise their fundamental right to vote. Their voices deserve to be heard.” - Barry
Senator Finegold currently serves as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, a role he previously held from 2010-2014. Elections are what make our democracy work, and Senator Finegold is committed to making elections work for the people of Massachusetts. As COVID-19 presented new challenges to our fall elections, Senator Finegold garnered bipartisan support to implement crucial and historic changes for fall 2020 elections. Under his leadership, a secure vote-by-mail system and early voting for the both the primary and general elections were available to voters for the first time in Massachusetts’ history. Realizing these new changes would increase our clerks’ workload during election season, Senator Finegold advocated for changes to poll worker requirements to make it easier for elections offices to recruit and hire help.
Key fall election reforms include:
Vote by mail
One week of early voting prior to the primary election
Two weeks of early voting prior to the general election
In-person voting on Election Day with physical distancing and PPE
Online portal to apply for early voting with ease
Adjustments to poll staffing requirements
Tools for town clerks to maintain election integrity
As an experienced leader on this issue, Senator Finegold will remain at the forefront of election reform in the months ahead.
Raising awareness around mental health and suicide prevention is essential to the health and wellbeing of our community, and especially our young people.” - Barry
Senator Finegold has filed the SAVE Students Act (S.285), which would help train teachers and students to detect signs of isolation and interpersonal violence among students in order to stop the current epidemic of suicide and school violence. If passed, the bill would require that all Massachusetts middle and high school students have access to evidence-based programming to combat social isolation, build inclusive community, identify signs of interpersonal violence and suicide and learn how to reach out for help. It would also establish a statewide anonymous reporting system to collect tips and information about potential threats to the safety of Massachusetts students.
Senator Finegold is also the author of “Conrad’s Law,” named in honor of Conrad Roy, who died by suicide in 2014 after being coerced by his girlfriend, Michelle Carter. Conrad’s Law seeks to hold malicious actors criminally liable for inducing suicide through the coercion or encouragement of those vulnerable to suicidal ideation, while protecting potential victims at high risk of suicide. The bill imposes criminal liability on a person who has actual knowledge of another person’s suicidal ideation, who also coerces or encourages the other person to commit suicide, or provides the physical means, or knowledge of such means, to commit suicide. Conrad’s Law would allow Massachusetts to join the ranks of the 42 other states in punishing people who induce others who they know to be prone to suicidal thoughts into acting on those impulses.
Residents and businesses in Andover and Lawrence were traumatized, and a young man lost his life in September 2018 due to the negligence of Columbia Gas. Holding utility companies accountable and prioritizing safety is essential to ensuring a tragedy like this never happens again.” -Barry
After listening to those affected by the Columbia Gas explosions in his district, Senator Finegold filed a bill to make sure a disaster like that never happens again. The legislation, if passed, would make public utility companies more accountable to ratepayers, prioritizing safety and cost recovery to better prevent and respond to any such emergencies.
Highlights of the bill include:
gas companies could be fined up to $5M per day that service is not restored past the "reasonable date" set by DPU
a more aggressive timeline for repairing level 1 and 2 leaks and creating a timeline to repair level 3 leaks in school zones
required mutual aid between public utility companies in the event of an emergency
customers who lose service for more than 24 hours would be credited for that month of service by the public utility company
insurance policies that cover "business interruptions" would need to include declared public utility emergencies in their definition of business interruption
The bill has bipartisan support from legislators across the Merrimack Valley, including Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr and Representatives Marcos Devers, Christina Minicucci, Frank Moran & Tram Nguyen.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our community. They bolster our local economy and they support the families who have worked so hard to grow them.” -Barry
As a small business owner himself, Senator Finegold understands the challenges faced by those who run their own businesses. He knows that every major successful company started as a small business and has vowed to eliminate red tape preventing people from pursuing their dreams.
Businesses in his district were just beginning to recover from the 2018 gas crisis when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Senator Finegold is committed to helping local businesses access the resources they need to keep their doors open and support their families through these challenging economic times. Small and family-owned businesses are fixtures in the community and their recovery is a top priority for Senator Finegold.
Our climate is in crisis and we need to act boldly and creatively to reduce human impact on the environment. We need to think outside the box to reverse damage done and preserve our planet for future generations.” -Barry
As a former member of the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee and a NewDEAL leader, Senator Finegold is committed to enacting creative solutions to climate change. He supports a legislative commitment to transition MA to 100% renewable energy by 2045. He is also interested in increasing the use of electric vehicles and making sustainable improvements to our infrastructure. Senator Finegold is committed to making solar energy more equitably accessible and incentivizing wind energy development in Massachusetts.