It was very exciting to see over 55 municipalities across the state hold local elections on Tuesday - including a dramatic increase in voter turnout in communities of color compared to other years.

Unfortunately, last week's democratic activity was overshadowed by a series of downturns as diverse sectors of the state experienced the effects of the recent 9C cuts.

Another of our public structures that had already been suffering from lack of funding is our transportation system. A recent MBTA Review highlighted the safety concerns that the MBTA is currently facing due to a lack of financial resources. The independent report calls for new, secure revenue sources that help repair and maintain this important service.

More than $543 million in "safety-critical" projects at the MBTA are going unfunded this fiscal year, roughly 92 percent of the state's most pressing sites, according to an independent review of the T... In 2007, an outside commission identified a maintenance funding gap for the state's entire transportation system, including non-transit modes, at up to $20 billion. The state earlier this year imposed a 25-percent boost to the sales tax, with $275 million dedicated to transportation, but policymakers said the T would scarcely benefit from the revenues. [State House News Service]

Patrick's plan to raise money for transportation through an increased gas tax failed earlier this year, and he repeated [Wednesday] that he had no immediate plans to revisit that debate. A sales tax increase passed over the summer will help defray some of the T's short-term operating deficit but will not be enough to balance the agency's books for more than another year or so -- a conclusion reinforced in the independent review. [Boston Globe]

Now is the time to come together as a community to propose new adequate, stable, and balanced revenue sources - to not only repair our broken transportation system, but also to maintain all of our public structures that help build our communities and keep us all safe and secure.

[Skip Ahead: Civic Engagement | Revenue | Government Reform]

• Minorities, women win big on ballot. William Lantigua, the first Latino elected mayor in Massachusetts, headlined a groundbreaking election that propelled a host of female and minority candidates to political office across the state. As of Tuesday's election, 57 percent of Lawrence's registered voters were Latino, the first time the ethnic group had attained majority status in a Massachusetts city. The fastest growing ethnic group, Latinos are gaining political clout in other Massachusetts cities, notably Springfield, which on Tuesday elected several representatives of Hispanic descent.
  
  Women will lead 14 cities, the highest figure to date and nearly one-third of the state's total. Women candidates won mayoral elections from Fitchburg to Brockton. In Boston, Ayanna S. Pressley became the first African-American woman elected as an at-large city councilor, and Felix G. Arroyo became the second Latino to serve on the council, after his father. Newton elected its first African-American mayor, a military veteran and former aide to US Senator John F. Kerry. [Boston Globe]

• ABCs of Immigrant and Immigrant Access to Benefits. MIRA Coalition is offering a free 2-part training to provide a basic introduction to immigration law, including obtaining an immigrant visa, a green card, and citizenship; and to discuss the intersection of immigration and state & federal benefits with an in-depth examination of the new MA healthcare plan for special immigrant categories.  
   
  Lowell:          11/9,  1-4 pm, Pollard Memorial Library
  Boston:        11/16, 1-4 pm, One Ashburton
  Springfield:   11/20, 1-4 pm, Marshall Center
   
  To register for any of these sessions contact Sarang Sekhavat

• Tax Receipts: Up in October. State tax collections climbed last month 6.3 percent from a year ago, and beat the freshly lowered benchmark by $22 million. The $1.223 billion haul included a 17-percent drop in income taxes from a year ago, while state officials said the November receipts would likely be lowered because of payments that came in last month. Revenue officials attributed much of the $72 million gain from a year ago to "one-time events," timing issues, and the 25-percent sales tax boost passed last summer. [SHNS]
  
  
• 9C Cuts: Clubhouses Spared. Governor Patrick announced that he plans to reduce Health and Human Services by less than 2 percent and will specifically spare clubhouses from cuts. The 32 clubhouse rehabilitation and recovery centers receive $20 million dollars from the state annually to operate their centers, which serve over 8,000 Massachusetts residents each year who have serious and persistent mental illness. [Wicked Local]
  
  
• 9C Cuts: Regional School Transportation Cut. 64 state lawmakers have asked Governor Patrick to reconsider his 50% cut to Regional School Transportation Reimbursement. [Full Letter] Regional schools are required by law to provide transportation and students must travel longer distances than those who attend schools in municipal districts... Cyndi Roy, spokeswoman for Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez, gave no indication in an email that Patrick would revisit the cut. "Faced with a $600 million revenue gap, the Governor had to make some very difficult choices," Roy wrote. Everyone must share in the sacrifice as we work to emerge from this national economic downturn. [SHNS]