by Rick Winterson
Tuesday morning, David Biele, the Representative-elect for the Fourth Suffolk District, which includes South Boston, stopped by our office at South Boston Online. He will be replacing Nick Collins, who moved on to the Massachusetts State Senate seat that had been held by Linda Dorcena-Forry. Nick then won that seat in his own right. David will be sworn in on Wednesday morning, January 2, 2019, just seven weeks from now. Congratulations in advance, David.
His visit was a combination of an informal interview and a conversation. Currently, David is doing his homework on local issues and preparing for his duties in 2019. And fortunately, he has some years of direct experience that he will bring to his responsibilities as our new state Representative. For four years, he worked for Nick Collins, while Nick was our state Rep. David drafted legislation and assisted with the budgeting process. He started as an Aide and then served as Legislative Director for one and a half years.
David is a lifelong resident of South Boston. His educational background is quite solid. He attended St. Peter’s School, and then went on to graduate from Boston Latin. Because of the A/P classes available at Latin, he was able to obtain his Bachelor’s degree at Boston College in three years, majoring in History with a concentration in American Foreign Policy. After that, he went on to B.C. Law School, taking part in public service work that included L.A.B. (Legal Assistance Bureau) assignments on indigent family and housing issues, as well as a trip to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In his personal life, David is an avid long-distance runner, having successfully completed four Marathons in Boston and Chicago. He has continued his community work by serving as a mentor at the Laboure Center in their T.E.A.M. Program – “Together Engaging Adolescents by Mentoring”.
We talked about a number of issues and problems David will face; many of these can be quickly described as “quality of life” issues that affect South Boston directly. David pointed out that he’ll receive his legislative assignments only after his swearing-in on January 2. He won’t know exactly what these assignments will be until some point in the first quarter of 2019, but he has requested being considered for several issues.
During our conversation, David mentioned that his interests as South Boston’s state Rep. include public transport – especially buses – and affordable housing, or perhaps more accurately, how to develop and incentivize more affordable housing in and around South Boston. We also talked about education, the ongoing opioid crisis here, and because of South Boston’s lengthy shoreline, about energy supplies that don’t release carbon dioxide, which increases global warming and causes rising sea levels (think about Morrissey Boulevard and Fort Point flooding last winter). David has served on the Committee of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
We’ll repeat that David won’t receive his assignments as our state Representative until early next year, after he’s sworn in. He closed our conversation by saying, “Thanks to my family, friends, and supporters for their help and guidance; and the 4th Suffolk voters for entrusting me.”
