SOMERVILLE SOMEBODIES

Somerville Alderman Denise Provost gets a close look at the Red Sox World Series trophy, at the MMA Annual Meeting in January.

Provost joins municipal leaders

Alderman at Large Denise Provost recently joined the largest gathering of local officials ever to attend the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) Annual Meeting and Convention, held in January 2005, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The MMA is a private, non-profit, nonpartisan association of cities and towns that provides its member communities with a broad range of services, including lobbying and advocacy, training and education, publications, policy research, insurance programs and management assistance.

More than 1,000 attendees from MMA-member communities heard the latest information on issues such as state aid and municipal finance, public safety, environmental protection, and implementation of the commonwealth's new "Smart Growth" laws. Both Governor Mitt Romney and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi spoke about the state's fiscal situation and the prospects for state aid. Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole addressed the lunch meeting of the Women Elected Municipal Officials, speaking about the challenges of Homeland Security, and of battling a growing drug problem in a city where heroin now costs, "$4 a pop - less than a six-pack of beer."

Provost moderated a session on "Getting to the Root of Gang-Related Violence." This workshop featured a panel discussion with Senator Jarrett Barrios, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety, Professor Elizabeth Englander, Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State College, and Lieutenant Kelly McCormack, head of the Boston Police Department's Gang Unit. Workshop participants from cities large and small, and from the suburbs, spoke candidly about their gang problems, and received advice from the panelists.

Provost was elected Vice President of the MMA Municipal Councilors' Association, MMA's member organization for city council members; this vote also puts Provost on the MMA Board for 2005. Provost also serves on the Local Government Advisory Commission, which meets monthly with the Governor's Office to advocate for the needs and concerns of local government.