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Originally published at: http://www.leominsterchamp.com/articles/end-of-year-reflections-and-lessons-learned/
I was warned that my first session in the House of Representatives would speed on by, but somehow I thought my years working in and around the building would help slow down the pace. Boy, was I wrong! This first year passed in a flash, and I am so thankful for my monthly column in the Leominster Champion to give me a moment to reflect on the accomplishments and challenges and share my experience with you all. My first priority was establishing as many points of contact in Leominster that I could. That started with opening my district office in the Gallagher Building (24 Church St., Room 29), and setting up my weekly office hours. As promised, I hold twice weekly office hours outside of the normal 9-5 workday. Monday evenings from 5:30-7 I can be found in Room 204 at the Leominster Public Library. Our Friday morning hours from 7-8 are in Leominster High School’s Media Center. I also host three special “Senior Hours” a month at the Leominster Senior Center with the Golden Agers, Sunset Towers and LaPierre East. I also want to give a special shout out to the teams at theLeominster Champion, Leominster Access Television (Comcast 99/Verizon 33), and WPKZ Radio 105.3FM for my monthly segments. Then, this summer, we went back to meeting you at your doors, to spread the word about a series of Community Conversations we organized around some highly-requested topics: Education, the Economy, the Environment and Health Care. Thank you to everyone who attended in person and watched online. If you’re interested in checking them out, they are still available on my Facebook page and website, RepNatalieHiggins.com. This spring, we are working on organizing two more conversations on issues you’ve requested: Veterans and Transportation. And, of course, there is all of the work at the State House with my legislation, committee work, and the state budget. I originally filed eight bills, all focused on increased access and affordability for public higher education and protections for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. And if that wasn’t enough to keep track of, I have filed five more bills at the request of Leominster residents and co-sponsored more than 350 additional pieces of legislation. But the real “bread and butter” of any state rep’s office is constituent services. This is why I decided to run for state representative — to help Leominster residents better navigate state systems and advocate for solutions to the problems they face. I know many of you have gotten a chance to meet my legislative aide, Taylor Landry, who’s also a Leominster native. Between Taylor and I, we’ve worked on more than 100 constituent cases already this year, from housing and homelessness to health care access, unemployment to the RMV, and so many more in between. Please call my office if you think we could help. While we cannot assist with every issue, we usually can connect you with the right resources. You can reach my office at (978) 227-5278 and [email protected]. I look forward to getting to know you all better in 2018. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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