Sunshine week is an annual event that celebrates the importance of transparency and accessibility at all levels of government. This year, we’re marking the occasion by highlighting the benefits of remote and hybrid access to public meetings in Massachusetts.
Born of necessity during the pandemic, hybrid public meetings have made greater civic participation possible for Bay Staters of all backgrounds, leading to a stronger and more vibrant democracy.
On this page, you can hear and read about just a handful of those stories, all demonstrating the need to make hybrid access permanent. You’ll also find links to submit your own story and urge lawmakers to act on this issue.
“I’m blind, and because of that, I obviously don’t drive, and getting places can be tricky. Over the past two years, it’s been great to be able to access public meetings remotely. I’ve been able to listen to my city council meetings. I’ve been able to listen to and participate in school committee meetings, and also listen to hearings at the State House — and I gave testimony at one State House hearing.
I’m really hoping Massachusetts will maintain this practice of having remote meetings available to the community so that we can continue to participate —
because the more that people participate, the more information there is, and the stronger our democracy will be."
– Barbara, Northampton
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“I am a 74-year-old man who has survived two cancers that have left me with a weakened immune system. Since 2016, I have been a Burlington, MA Town Meeting member and currently serve on two town committees. Once the pandemic hit, going to in-person meetings would have been too risky for me. I also have Parkinson's Disease which has made it physically difficult to attend meetings.
Near the beginning of the pandemic, Burlington shifted to hybrid/remote town meetings and committee meetings, which allowed me to fully and productively participate in my local government. During my tenure, including the "hybrid/remote" timeframe, I have, amongst other things, served as a recording secretary, chaired subcommittees, and wrote two general bylaws. Our last two town meetings were in-person only, so I was not able to safely attend. I continue to participate in remote committee meetings."
– Dave, Burlington
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“I work full time and have a busy life, as does my husband. My son is in high school; he’s 17 but not driving yet, so I take him to his extracurricular activities. So, it's not always easy to attend city council meetings or to participate in any of the subcommittee meetings. In the past, pre-COVID, you would have to show up to a city council meeting — they start around 6:30; it’s right around dinner time — and attend the meeting in person. They often go until 9 or 10 o’clock at night, and so if your item doesn’t come up until 9, you’re stuck there listening to everything else. [Remote access] has allowed me to be more engaged in city government and attend more city council meetings. I think it’s not just me; we have members in our community that would like to be involved, but they’re older, they have health issues, and even pre-COVID, I think that they may have had concerns about always being in a crowded space. When I attend a Zoom meeting for city council, I see more people attending than when I used to go in person.
[It’s] hard to want to go to a meeting if you don’t know when your issue might come up, and it might be a five-hour meeting. But if you can be on Zoom and do your dishes and watch city council or school committee, fold your laundry, and then, when your issue comes up, you can be engaged. It just makes it much easier for working parents, older people, disabled people, people who have health issues, to be more involved.”
– Jean, Medford
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“[Remote access] inspired me to launch a town newsletter and report on multiple meetings — even ones I could not attend.
Beyond the convenience of being able to join one or more meetings virtually (even simultaneously on occasion), the ability to obtain Zoom recordings of meetings has been invaluable. I'm not sure my newsletter, Medfield Insider, would have become so successful without virtual or hybrid access.”
– Christine, Medfield
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