HYANNIS – Newly elected Massachusetts State Senator for the Plymouth and Barnstable districts Susan Moran said she has hit the ground running in her transition into the seat during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
By the day that Moran was sworn in, she had already put together a letter with bipartisan support addressing the closing of Falmouth Hospital’s maternity and newborn beds amid the pandemic.
“We’ve been able to get to work right away, but there is a lot that is challenging when you’re dealing with COVID on top of everything else,” said Moran.
Moran has been appointed to three different Senate committees, including the Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing, the Joint Committee on Transportation and the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies committees.
During Senator Moran’s inaugural speech in the Senate chamber, she discussed funding for the roadways leading to the Cape Cod Canal bridges, which garnered unanimous support.
Moran said that the show of support for the roads and bridges was “awe-striking” and that she was pleased that the Senate recognized how important the bridges were to the livelihood of Cape Cod and the state, tourism, and public safety with the transport of both first responders and supplies on and off the Cape.
Construction on replacement bridges is expected to begin in 2025.
Moran said that her relationships with State Senator Julian Cyr and other Cape and Islands delegation since gaining the position has been positive.
“We have really put together a good team. The entire Cape delegation is focused on reopening issues and really helping small businesses with particular concerns,” said Moran.
She said that her office has been on weekly calls with Governor Charlie Baker’s staff focused on businesses’ questions on how they can reopen safely and what sort of funding might be available to assist.
Alongside reopening businesses, Moran has also been working on reopening schools.
She said that she had been in communication with former State Senator Vinny deMacedo about different options for reopening, which Moran said would include educational professionals and legislatures creating a three-pronged approach to handling the fall semester depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moran emphasized the importance of a unified message from community leaders and legislatures during the pandemic, as well as the need to listen to the residents.
The Senator said that her next topics of focus will include expanding testing, contact tracing and helping healthcare professionals acquire the supplies they need as reopening continues.
“If we can stick it out, as hard as it is, we’ll come out economically successful again,” said Moran.
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