(Reminder- 11/5/2024) At the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce’s Oct. 25 legislative luncheon, hosted at Tekoa Country Club, state Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield) told an audience of businesspeople that data shows 20- to 40-year-olds are leaving Massachusetts, and people who graduate from college are not moving to Massachusetts.
“If we don’t remain a destination place, where people like to come to — and that covers things like taxes, that covers things like transportation, that covers things like housing — we have a real, real problem … people are not going to come here, and they’re going to leave here,” he said.
A related issue, Velis said, was that he can’t find an industry in the state where people aren’t telling him they can’t find people to work. He said part of the reason people are leaving or not moving to the state is its affordability.
Velis said the housing bond bill was part of the solution, as well as the economic development bond bill. For the latter, he said that, while there are some sticking points between the state House of Representatives and Senate, both are “close” to coming to a deal.
“I fully anticipate us getting something to the governor ASAP,” he said.
The legislative luncheon panel was composed of Velis, state Rep. Kelly Pease (R-Westfield) and state Rep. Michael Finn (D-West Springfield); Kristen Elechko, Western Massachusetts director at the office of the Gov. Maura Healey; and Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe.