State Rep. Garlick Gives Community Report to Dover

13th Norfolk District State Representative Denise Garlick spoke to a small crowd of people at the Dover Town House Tuesday night, highlighting her accomplishments last year and previewing what lies ahead for her district, which includes Needham, Dover, and parts of Medfield.

Garlick touched on several topics including the recent redistricting, the casinos bill and education.

She led off her presentation letting the people in attendance know that she feels very strongly about the people of Dover and everyone in her district.

“I am the representative for everyone in Dover, people who voted for me, people who chose not to vote for me, people who didn’t vote and people who are too young to vote, and I feel that responsibility very strongly that I represent each and every one of you,” said Garlick.

On Redistricting

Garlick spoke about how she fought hard to keep her district from being changed during the redistricting that took place late last year.

“I wanted to let you know that I was very involved advocating and keeping our representative district together. I wanted very much to have the same district that I was elected with in 2010 because I had met many people in Dover and in Medfield and established a relationship with them and thought that that was a very powerful thing for the people in that area,” Garlick said. “I knew that it was important that we keep this district together so that you would have one representative.”

On Casinos in Mass.

Garlick said that she was against having casinos in the state and that it was a topic of discussion when she was running in 2010.

“All of my research and work led me to believe that the cost outweighed the benefits of this bill. Having said that, the bill has passed and I want it to be successful and I want it to work for the Commonwealth,” she said.

“When the time for this bill vote came, as you can imagine, there was tremendous, tremendous pressure about this bill and I want you to know more than anything else that I kept my word to all of you and that I will always keep my word to you. What I say in public you can count on and I want you to have confidence in that,” Garlick said.

On Education

Garlick spoke about how Massachusetts is leading the nation in the quality of public schools and said that the Dover-Sherborn school district is a shining example of the state's excellence in education.

“Our Commonwealth leads the nation in public education. Our children are the best students in the nation in math and science. And I must say, hats off to the people of Dover. Dover-Sherborn is the number one rated school system in the Commonwealth and I know that that is deeply important to everyone,” said Garlick.

On Healthcare

“This healthcare reform bill is talking about how we are actually going to try and contain cost. I told you that I was pleased that 98% of the people in the Commonwealth who are now insured, that hasn’t in any way begun to control the cost of what’s happening in health care and from individuals and for families and for seniors and for our municipalities. Those costs are spinning out of control,” Garlick said.

 “What I want to know is if you are a patient in Dover or if you are a patient in the Berkshires that you’re going to have the same access, that you’re going to have affordable care and it’s going to be quality care. That every citizen in our Commonwealth is going to afford the same kind of care and it’s not going to depend on your geographical locality," she said.

On the Budget Process

Garlick talked about how she gathered the town officials and police and fire officials, from Needham, Dover and Medfield to get their input on the funding that they need from the state and what issues they see that need to be addressed.

“We hear from people based on their individual needs, on their community needs and on their district needs. I will share with you that here I received 503 phone calls last year from people who live in Needham, Dover and Medfield on issues that are of concern to them. The majority of calls that I get from Dover pertain to issues, people watching the news, they’re concerned about what they’re hearing coming forward. But I also hear from individuals and one of the things that I am able to do with my position is that I am able to get information for people, let them know where, how they can access the help that they need and we can help them deal with the agencies,” she said.

Garlick finished her presentation by asking the people of Dover to contact her office with any concerns or issues that they may have.

“The way that I can best serve you is when I know you best. So that’s why I tried so hard to be in Dover,” she said. “You give me strength when you contact me and when you tell me what your concerns are and when you tell me that you have a different viewpoint than I might. So I’m hoping that this is the beginning of a strong conversation that will continue to help me to make good decisions that reflect well on the people in this state.”