By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Hometown Weekly Reporter Madison Butkus had the pleasure to talk with Denise Garlick, Massachusetts House of Representative 13th Norfolk District. Garlick, who is about to end her seventh term in office, detailed some of the highlights throughout her career as well as her great hopes for the future as she enters retirement. On behalf of the Hometown Weekly Newspaper, we would like to congratulate Garlick on her impressive 14 years in office and wish her a happy retirement.
1. Can you reflect on your time as State Rep. over the past seven terms? Are there any highlights you would like to share?
“First, I would like to say it has been an incredible experience to be the State Representative. There are many jobs in one. The most important is serving the 43,000 people of Needham, Dover and Medfield and broadening that kind of voice and focus to the more than 7 million people within the Commonwealth. The commitment to the towns that I represent and their needs is embedded in the work that I have done and been able to do in legislation, in budget, and in understanding the many processes of the Statehouse. I think as we talk about legislation, I would love to highlight the work that I was able to do around public health. There have been three separate bills related to public health that I have been the chief sponsor of and working in a bipartisan fashion. The first was set on a commission to look at public health across the Commonwealth. The second was to set out the principles of what the quality of public health should be in our Commonwealth and then realizing post-covid we were right to set out the guidelines. But we needed to set out criteria to operationalize it and that has been accomplished. With my background as a registered nurse, I was able to bring that experience and passed the first safe staffing law in intensive care units in the country. I was also the Chair of Mental Health Substance Recovery and I was the House Author of the 2018 bill on the opioid issue that dealt with prevention care and treatment. On the issues of budget, I had the opportunity to serve as the Vice Chair of Ways and Means and see the entire state budget. As the Representative, I was able to focus and meet some of the unique needs of the towns of Needham, Dover and Medfield. So those are some of the great highlights I have had during my time in office.”
2. After being in office for the past 14 years, what made you decide you were ready to step down?
“So I must admit, I have had such a wonderful life. And within this life, I have had several very unique chapters. Certainly, being a mother, I now have four adult children and have been blessed with four grandchildren. I had been a registered nurse for four decades and was the President of the Mass Nurses Association which comprised 23,000 nurses statewide. And I had a chapter in which I did considerable work in the town of Needham as an elected person on our Board of Health and our Select-board. I had led a community coalition on suicide prevention at a time of crisis in our town that became a national model. I further helped to finally build the senior center, which we call the Center at the Heights, for our seniors in the town who were most deserving of an appropriate place to meet their physical, emotional, and social needs. And that was a wonderful chapter as well. I then became the State Rep. which included the issues we previously talked about. While I did a lot within that chapter of my life, perhaps the most important was being able to travel around the Commonwealth and see it in its entirety. We have seven million people in this Commonwealth and we have seven million needs, I will tell you. That chapter has been so impactful and I have been deeply committed and responsible to that. But I met another point in my life where I had a chance to embrace a very exciting and personal chapter as my life has changed and my family’s life has changed. And I approach that new chapter with the same sense of wonder, awe and excitement. I would love to use this personal chapter to be fully engaged with my family, to deepen my friendships, and continue to learn, grow and always be an active citizen.”
3. You have stated before that you plan on remaining actively involved within the community. How do you plan on achieving this goal? Are there any plans you are most excited about?
“Yes, absolutely I still plan on being very involved. So there’s several things I would tell you that when I talk about the wonderful things about being a State Rep., I must share with you that the hardest thing is the schedule. And a State Rep. is always on somebody else’s schedule and having people making decisions about where I should be and when I should be there to make sure I am making the most effective use of everybody’s time. When I look forward I will always stay engaged in issues, it’s just quite frankly in my DNA. I am a bit of a nerd, I love meetings, I love reading reports, so as it stands I will always be engaged in some way or another. I think what I will be able to do now is choose my own time and how to be engaged. I am deeply committed to the Needham Housing Authority and have worked on these issues for our most vulnerable residents for close to 20 years. I also have a strong relationship, both personal and professional, with the Charles River Center that deals with individuals with disabilities and has a large catchment area of all three of the towns I represent and beyond. I would always want to continue to be helpful there and I believe that there will be other issues in our town which I certainly want to continue to learn about. Like I have told people before, I am not moving away from Needham, I am still only just a text or phone call away.”
4. While you still plan on being active within the community, is there anything else you are looking forward to in retirement?
“I have cautioned myself not to say yes to many interesting offers that I’m hearing presently until I have time to really complete this job as State Rep., but I have played in my mind about a few things. And one of those is that in the Commonwealth of MA, when you are over the age of 65, you can edit college courses for free. And I have thought in our state college system, I have a nursing background, a strong science background, and have continued my studies around labor and industrial relations. But I have never had the chance to sit in on a strong Philosophy class or an English Literature class. I would love to use some of this time to just feed my mind and learn new things. And I am sure to use my time around deepening friendships. I have so many good people who have been great friends to me. On a busy schedule, it seems that those most precious relationships mean so much more to me and I look forward to having more time with them now.”
5. In this past general election for MA House of Representative 13th Norfolk District, candidate Joshua Tarsky won the race. What can you say about him and his future commitment to Needham, Dover and Medfield?
“First and foremost, I want to say, like every resident of Needham, Dover and Medfield, we want Josh to be an effective legislator, and we are wishing him, and I personally am wishing him, every success. I have met with Josh not only several times during his campaign, but since he has become the representative elect, and met with him at length about discussing elements of the responsibilities and commitment of being a State Representative. I have pledged to him my support, and in any way that I can be helpful to him that he asks. I also am very pleased that his Legislative Aide that he has chosen to hire is a gentleman named Kyle who was a very dynamic and committed intern in my office. Not only do I have a relationship with Josh, but also the people within my office have relationships with Kyle so I think it’s going to be very positive moving forward.”
6. Lastly, what would you like to say to our readers as you end your final term in office?
“The most important thing I want to say to people is how deeply I appreciate all the work that we have done together. There are many active systems in the towns of Needham, Dover and Medfield. There are many people who are leaders, both elected staff and the volunteer leadership. Through them and active citizens alike, I have learned about major issues that needed my attention. I also want to say I’m grateful. I’m grateful to the voters for the incredible opportunity to serve and I have approached that opportunity to serve with a sense of commitment, responsibility and accountability. We often hear elected officials say it is an honor and a privilege, and from the bottom of my heart and most sincerely, it has been an honor and privilege to be the State Rep. of Needham, Dover and Medfield these past seven terms.”
