Legislative Seminar brings the people to the State House

Vidya Rao

State Rep. Byron Rushing chose his words carefully.

“Democracy does not mean voting,” he said. “Democracy does not mean certain people have rights. It’s the ‘everybody’ in democracy that makes it a democracy.”

Rushing’s words were part of his keynote address last week at the graduation ceremony of the Commonwealth Legislative Seminar’s eighth class.

“We want to create a democracy that is active, vibrant and involves people in our community,” says Joel Barerra, who co-founded the seminar program with state Representative Jarret Barrios.

With 40 new graduates, and 300 graduates in all, the seminar is well on its way to fulfilling its mission.

The six-week program serves as a “how to” guide for participants to get a foot in the door of local and state politics. The core seminar, which meets once a week, includes topics such as how the legislature works, what a lobbyist does, the role of the media and other behind-the-scenes information about the political process.

The program has also had numerous guest speakers, including Senate President Robert Travaglini and his aide David Morales, state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson and state Rep. Marie St. Fleur.

While Barerra worked as a senior policy aide at the State House, he recognized the need for more diverse leadership in Massachusetts.

“In an orientation for new employees,” he says, “there were only two minorities in a group of 50 or 60 people. Being from Texas, I was shocked and realized that things needed to change.”

Barrera found a kindred spirit in Barrios, and with the support of the Boston Foundation, they decided to create an organization that would not only provide legislative training to women, people of color and anyone else who is looking to access the political realm, but also to provide a space for networking and community building.

“The networking opportunity was as important for me as the information in the trainings,” explains Lynson Beaulieu, the director of programs and strategic leadership for the Schott Foundation and a recent graduate from the seminar. “To do my job, I needed a sense of how policy works. This was a very informational program, and I learned a great deal about the workings of state government.”

Another graduate, 20-year-old Joceline DePina, agrees.

“The seminar helped me understand how Massachusetts’ politics works and gave me ideas on who to contact if I wanted the state to take up an issue that affected my community,” says DePina, who currently interns in City Councilor Chuck Turner’s office. “But what I valued most was the contacts I was able to set up from the other graduates of the class.”

Over the last few sessions, word has spread about the seminar and the program has gained a solid reputation within the community. Beaulieu heard about the seminar from her boss and says that she will tell others about it as well.

Barerra is not surprised.

“We have tapped into a hunger for knowledge, involvement and power,” says Barerra. “The seminar fills up very quickly and people send their employees, friends and family to us.”

It also serves as a testament to the organization that some of the first graduates include City Councilor Sam Yoon and Quincy Mayor Diana Ong. Barrera expects to have many more success stories.

“Over the course of the next six to seven years, we want to have trained a whole generation of leaders, weaving across gender, ethnic and municipal boundaries,” says Barerra.