[broadstreet zone=”59984″]
Dhruba Sen
Pronouns: He/His/Him
Age: 67
Occupation: Computer Software Engineer / Data Scientist
Education: Masters in Applied Statistics & Computer Science
Years lived in Framingham: 25+
Which (new) City Precinct do you live in: 8
What languages do you speak: English, Hindi
Municipal experience: Town Meeting Member; Member of Standing Committee on Education, Community Services, Ways & Means and Rules. Fair Housing.
Volunteerism in the 6th District or Framingham: Founder Member of Welcoming Framingham – formed in 2005 and FB group in 2011. Organized forums on ByStander Intervention, Know Your Rights, Drivers’ License, Safe Communities Act Organized events on Puerto Rico Day, Black History Month, Fundraising for Children Separated from family, Juneteenth, Weekly standouts for social justice, Prevention of Gun Violence / Gun Buyback programs Founder – Massachusetts Standing Up for Racial Justice.
Website or Facebook page link: www.ElectDhrubaSen.com
Facebook: Sen4StateRep
[broadstreet zone=”59947″]
1. What is your favorite place in the 6th District? (just one): Downtown
2. Massachusetts taxes are too high, too low, or just right? (pick one) Just right
3. Do you support the proposed Fair Share amendment for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? Yes
4. Do you support a new Framingham elementary school in the 6th Middlesex District? Yes
5. Should passing the MCAS tests be a requirement for graduation? No
6. Does the Commonwealth need a stronger ethics law for elected leaders? Yes
[broadstreet zone=”59983″]
7. Would you support extending the Freedom of Information Act to State Representatives and State Senators, which would allow emails by them to be made public? Yes
8. Do you support a women’s right to choose when it comes to reproductive rights? Yes
9. Do you support same day voting registration? Yes
10. Describe the 6th Middlesex district in one word: Neglected
11. Should Framingham become a Gateway City? Yes
12. If elected, what House Committee do you most want to serve on? Ethics
[broadstreet zone=”59982″]
***
Question #1: Why should someone pull a Democratic ballot and vote for you on September 6?
I have been a Dem activist for several decades. I have been going to battleground states to canvas for Dem candidates, chased by gun wielding Republicans asking me to get off their private property, their dogs unleashed on my car window – scratching and howling. This I have been doing without being part of the local anti-people Framingham Dem clique. The clique doesn’t represent the Dem party. My run for office is part of a bigger movement to clean Framingham from the evil influences of the clique.
The Framingham Dem chair, elected twice to this position, has been convicted by the MA Supreme Judicial Court of cheating his siblings and disbarred from the MA court system. He once told me that he won’t allow me to speak because I am not a member of anything. That was a lie – as I am a member of 3 sub-committees – Communication, Legislative, Environmental. At that time I was an Associate member – but got deleted the next day from the website. I was removed from the Dem mailing list. This is just a fascist technique to browbeat & bully someone who doesn’t ditto him or the clique. He recently confronted me at the concert parking lot – yelling his support for a woman who forged my email and published it to a third party. This is related to the black voice I had uplifted – the one who was running for State Rep. I am told this character confronted another 6th middlesex candidate at the memorial building parking lot – yelling. So much for the unbiased nature of the Fram Dem Committee – it has the temerity to hold a candidate forum. This clique does not represent the Dem party – and needs to be politically gotten rid of.
Now if you look at the ruling from the MA Supreme Judicial Court, you will find this character’s wife held a joint account where the “cheat fund” was deposited. This woman was found to be slandering me based on hearsay – while under the Dem Committee tent at the concert. Those who heard the slander told me they found it extremely malicious. So both slander and malicious intent can be established. I am considering legal action.
She had access to the questions for the Dem forum and for the Progressive Framingham forum. So much for the unbiased nature of these forums.
This clique doesn’t represent the Dem party.
It is not rocket science to politically get rid of this clique. Come the presidential primary in 2024, we can put up a slate of say 20 good Dems and voters can elect the slate to form the Framingham Dem Committee.
My run is part of a movement to politically clean Framingham.
I will also not gerrymander precincts and districts for the purpose of me remaining “incumbent”. I will not rename the north-side district to 7th so it sounds OK to be the incumbent of this district. What happens to voter confusion ? Who cares? A judicial intervention may be interesting.
This clique does not represent the Dem party. My run is part of a bigger movement to politically clean Framingham.
Vote for me on Sep 6.
[broadstreet zone=”53820″]
Question #2: What would be the first bill you would file if elected? Why?
I will write a bill to extend FOIA to the Legislature and the Executive. The bill will cover amendment to house rules which will disclose how legislatures voted in committees – not just the Y and N but also abstains – which may lead to a good bill getting killed in the committees.
As for extension of FOIA, any record pertaining to work for the public and tax payer funded, the public has the right to know the contents of that record, with some rare exceptions relating to National Security and so certified by a competent court of law.
I will also file an amendment to the current FOIA law which may be a part of the extension bill. The current law does not require “creation of a new record “ to respond to a FOIA request. It is very outdated given the current technology. One just needs to “Join Records” and utilize other SQL features to create a “New Record” or use the “Diff function” to create new records. My amendment will require this to happen.
[broadstreet zone=”53130″]
Question #3: This new district was created with the goal of a diverse individual winning the seat. There are 3 Democratic candidates and all of you fit the description that the state hoped for. So, what does racial equality mean to you? Equal opportunity or equal results? How will you make sure the diverse district of Framingham is heard and represented at the State House, if elected?
Equal opportunity definitely. I would expect equal result – once the playing field is leveled and the racial minority adjusts to the new reality of equal opportunity – which may take a while.
One mistake that some supporters of Black Lives Matter (BLM) make is to assume one has to rubber stamp anything and everything said and done by a Black individual. If I were to do so, I will need to do so of Ben Carson – Trump’s HUD Secretary, Celebrity Black Woman Candace Owens or the Black Pastor of Framingham who is a Trump supporter. In each such case, I will end-up supporting Trump.
We also need to be careful about black and brown people who pal around with known racist white people ( because they are in positions of power and influence) just to get some personal benefits like membership of committees, boards etc. I wondered why and how some white racist people were holding BLM signs – a Black friend of mine told me that it is so “because now it is COOL to say Black Lives Matter”.
Should we uplift black and brown voices? Absolutely. It doesn’t imply one has to agree with the uplifted voice. You will recall when I uplifted a Black voice running for State Rep from 6th middlesex. Even though politically we were poles apart – that didn’t stop me from standing for what is the right thing to do.
BLM is a criminal justice issue – that the law enforcement cannot be the Judge, Jury and Executioner when it comes to Black people. Any civilized country will agree with this.
I will join the Black & Latino Caucus of the State Legislator and work with it to bring Framingham on the table. I will work with legislators not in the caucus to bring Framingham issues to them so that any related bill will be voted favorably out of any relevant committee(s) and ultimately pass the floor voting.
[broadstreet zone=”61075″]
QUESTION #4: Come November there will be a new Governor. How will you work with that new administration to make sure Framingham is getting grants and other opportunities? What is your relationship with the City of Framingham Mayor? What can you do as a legislator to support the Sisitsky administration and its goals?
I am known to be able to work across the aisle. I have even worked with Trump supporters to find a common goal and work together. I know what it takes to work with administrations and get grants and other opportunities for Framingham.
I will get funding for the city of Framingham to help the Mayor – e.g. traffic is a major issue in Framingham. There are overlapping jurisdictions of City and State governments when it comes to State Rt 135 / 126 and surrounding streets.
I will advocate for passing any Home Rule petition that the Sisitsky administration may need to pass in the house.
QUESTION #5: Due to the census, the City of Framingham now has 4 representatives not three, but the 6th Middlesex district is the only district that represents ONLY Framingham. How will you advocate for Framingham so its needs are not lost at the State House? How will you collaborate with the 3 other representatives who will represent a part of Framingham? And how will you work with veteran legislators at the State House to get things accomplished for your district?
I will reach out as I mentioned before.
QUESTION #6: Describe how you will handle questions and requests from the public and the media, if elected. Be specific.
My official website will be very user friendly. It will be very easy to submit queries and get output with a very fast response time. It will have an alert system – which will alert me and my staff whenever a query is submitted. It will be as transparent as technology permits. The metric to be used is Minimum # of FOIA requests – which I will entertain even if a law in this regard for the legislature is yet to be enacted. The website will be designed so that users can submit Use Cases / User Stories to meet their needs.
Apart from this, I will have biweekly office hours – not just at my physical office address in the district but will have a mobile office – so that constituents can reach me at their convenience – I will be going to them rather than they chasing me to get an “appointment”.
If I do not have an answer to a question – I will say that I need to do some research and “get back to you”. There will be an unofficial “Service Level Agreement [SLA] “ to provide the answer. There will be an official SLA in case of a FOIA request.
QUESTION #7: If elected, what do you realistically think you can accomplish in your first year? Be specific.
Form a core group of legislators who will support transparency in all its forms.
[broadstreet zone=”58893″]
Town of Ashland