State Representative-elect Dylan Fernandes is off to a good start.
When the freshman Falmouth Democrat is sworn in on Jan. 4, 2017, he will have a clear idea of his constituents’ opinions and concerns. Mr. Fernandes completed a four-stop “listening tour” of his Cape and Islands district Tuesday afternoon with two dozen constituents at the Oak Bluffs library.
While audience members in Oak Bluffs were clear that affordable housing, civil rights, immigrant protection, opioid abuse, water quality, and medical care were tops on their list of concerns, they also voiced uneasiness about the state of the country following the presidential elections.
“Those are the concerns I hear about generally, and in these meetings,” Mr. Fernandes, 26, told The Times following the 90-minute Q and A. “Those are the big ones. And I think do there will be a response to the elections in our district, in the state, and countrywide. I’m predicting a big increase in [citizen] volunteerism, and my job is to direct people to the right resources and organizations,” he said.
Mr. Fernandes’ outreach meetings included stops in Falmouth, Nantucket, and two on the Island on Tuesday, in Chilmark and Oak Bluffs. Mr. Fernandes said his visit drew more than 40 people to the Chilmark library.
Mr. Fernandes doubled down on his campaign promise of accessibility and transparency. “This rep district gets two aides normally. One of them will be permanently based on the Island. We will send you a weekly newsletter on upcoming votes, so you can call your reps with your opinion. We’re going to use social media a lot,” the social media director for two statewide candidates said. “Go where the people are,” he said, chuckling with the audience when a wit remarked, “Some politicians tweet too much,” a reference to President-elect Donald Trump’s penchant for 140-character messaging.
Before the meeting, The Times asked several people in the audience why they came to the session. Most said they had met the self-described progressive on the campaign trail and were impressed. Abe and Rachel Seiman of Oak Bluffs were fans of Island candidate Ewell Hopkins in the primary election, but were happy to vote for Mr. Fernandes in the general election. “We like him. We had good candidates to vote for,” he said.
Mr. Seiman had concerns about rumblings that Medicare and Medicaid would be replaced by a cash voucher system: “There you go. You’re on your own, they say.”
Mr. Fernandes does not have a draconian future view of federally underwritten Medicare or state and federally underwritten Medicaid, but said, “In a worst-case scenario, Massachusetts has a statewide health program. We were the first, and have infrastructure in place.”
Mr. Fernandes told Allyson Malik, Oak Bluffs library director and mother of a newborn, that he was all-in on paid family leave, and said the issue is particularly difficult in this district. “Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to provide paid leave. You can count the companies with 50 employees on one hand in our district,” he said.
Mr. Fernandes, who worked on civil rights compliance for the state attorney general, was breathing fire on the issue of discrimination. “If you feel abused, call me or the AG. You better believe [the state] is going to be all over that stuff. There is a great opportunity for communities to stand up and make their voices heard,” said Mr. Fernandes, who is also a supporter of “sanctuary cities” (communities sheltering undocumented aliens).
In that regard, Leon Braithwaite, longtime state Democratic Party official, said that all six Island towns will have a warrant article on the sanctuary issue at annual town meeting next year.
Mr. Fernandes, an experienced Beacon Hill battler, displayed a gritty stance on the housing crisis. “It’s not just young people, it is across the board,” he told a young audience member, noting that a 0.5 percent seller’s fee on home sales above $2 million is a good plan to provide a housing bank similar to the Land Bank now in place.
“The realtor lobby is very strong, and opposes the idea. Perhaps a coalition with builders and construction trades would be a strategy. They would benefit from a housing bank,” he said. Mr. Fernandes said he is meeting with the Cape realtors association next week to discuss the issue.
Mr. Fernandes appeared well-informed and articulate on the issues presented. For example, he was pointedly confounded that no detox beds are available on-Island “when Dukes County has the highest [substance abuse] death rate in the state.”
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