In politics, they’ll tell you your hometown voters will let most anything slide, but if you forget about local needs, you’re a goner.
Need a bridge fixed? Problems with the taxman? Want your kid nominated for one of the service academies? There’s only one person to call: Your local member of Congress.
Executing on those fundamentals means the difference between a long career on Capitol Hill and a one-way ticket back to the private sector.
And now one Massachusetts lawmaker has been honored for doing that better than anyone else in D.C.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, took home honors for “Constituent Accountability and Accessibility” as part of the nonprofit Congressional Management Foundation’s annual “Democracy Awards.”
“This award is a testament to my outstanding staff in Boston and D.C. who care deeply about our district and our constituents who call the Massachusetts 7th [District] home,” Pressley said in a statement shared exclusively with MassLive.
“As a former Congressional staffer, I know how critical accessibility and accountability are. We humbly aim to restore folks’ faith in government daily — and I am so fortunate to work with a team committed to doing just that and dedicated to challenging ourselves to do more and do better each day,” Pressley, a former staffer for ex-U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, D-8th District, said.
“Together, we look forward to continuing to build meaningful relationships with folks from every corner of our district and work hard to deliver for our communities,” she said.
In May, Pressley was named a finalist for the award. In 2023, she was selected as a finalist for the foundation’s “Life in Congress: Workplace Environment” award.
“Winning a Democracy Award means that Rep. Ayanna Pressley is setting the highest standard in public service,” the foundation’s president and CEO, Bradford Fitch, said in a statement.
“Being accessible and accountable to constituents is a fundamental requirement for rebuilding trust in our system of government,” Fitch continued. “Rep. Pressley is to be commended for excelling in this category and has clearly created a culture in her office that fosters this kind of trust-building with constituents.”
One of Pressley’s constituents, Manya Chylinski, a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing, said Pressley’s office stepped up when she and other survivors “[felt] invisible due to the lack of resources to address the mental health wounds that myself and so many others were experiencing.”
Ultimately, that intervention from Pressley’s office resulted in legislation, the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act, which expanded services for people who survive natural disasters, terrorist attacks and “other tragedies,” according to Pressley’s office.
U.S. House and Senate lawmakers are nominated for the awards, which span four categories, with an online questionnaire.
That’s followed up with interviews with House and Senate offices and a review of any relevant documents, Pressley’s office said. A selection committee, made up of former lawmakers and Capitol Hill staffers picked the eventual winners
The finalists and winners for all the foundation’s awards will be honored at a ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26.
