Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston
Globe
November 7, 1999, Sunday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: NORTHWEST WEEKLY; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 951 words
HEADLINE:
NORTHWEST WEEKLY / THE POLITICAL TRAIL JOHN LAIDLER;
LOWELL VOTERS ADD
DIVERSITY TO COUNCIL
BYLINE: BY JOHN LAIDLER, GLOBE
CORRESPONDENT
BODY:
Last week's municipal elections
in the region offered two fresh advances for those interested in bringing
diversity to the ranks of elected officials.
In Lowell, Chanrithy
"Rithy" Uong, a Cambodian-American, became the first person of Southeast Asian
descent to win a city council seat in Massachusetts. Uong, a guidance counselor
and president of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, took sixth place
in the race for nine councilor seats. In Methuen, Sharon M.
Pollard became the fifth woman in recent years to claim a mayoral seat in the
Merrimack Valley. Pollard, a former state senator and former state energy
secretary, defeated Town Councilor Larry F. Giordano in the race to succeed
departing Mayor Dennis DiZoglio. Other women elected mayors in recent years in
the valley are Lawrence Mayor Patricia A. Dowling, who is in the midst of a
four-year term; Mary Claire Kennedy, whom Dowling unseated in 1997; Newburyport
Mayor Mary M. Carrier; and former Newburyport mayor Lisa L. Mead, who will
return to her seat in January after defeating Carrier last week.
Last
week was a good one for other incumbent mayors. Both Woburn Mayor Robert M.
Dever and Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn won reelection. And though DiZoglio
was not on the ballot last week - he was barred from running this year due to
term limits - Pollard's strong victory was at least a partial reflection of
voter confidence in DiZoglio's regime. DiZoglio and Pollard are close political
allies. DiZoglio enthusiastically endorsed Pollard and Pollard lavished praise
on the mayor. By contrast, DiZoglio and Giordano have frequently been at odds.
Pollard received 6,798 votes to 4,656 for Giordano, a former state
representative and state public safety commissioner. McGlynn trounced challenger
Patrick J. Fiorello by 7,130 votes to 2,515. And Dever outpaced former alderman
Thomas M. "Tucker" Gouthro by 5,008 votes to 4,682.
Insurance bill aims for gender equity State Senator
Susan C. Fargo is trying to give a strong push to legislation to bar gender
discrimination in insurance policies.
The Lincoln
Democrat is helping lead the fight for the antidiscrimination bill as Senate
chairwoman of the Women's Legislative Caucus, which has made passage of the
measures its top priority for the year.
The legislation, filed by
Democratic state Senator Dianne Wilkerson of Boston, prohibits discrimination in
insurance "on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, marital
status, pregnancy or national origin for policies sold in the commonwealth."
Current law prohibits discrimination in insurance based on race
or religion. But there is no ban on discrimination in insurance
based on sex, except in the case of auto insurance. The intent
of the Wilkerson bill is to expand the ban against gender-based discrimination
in insurance to include all forms of
insurance.
"It's long overdue," Fargo said of the
legislaton, which passed the Senate last year but died in the House. It received
a favorable report last month from the Joint Committee on
Insurance, and is now before the Senate Ways and Means
Committee.
Fargo noted that when the state adopted the Equal Rights
Amendment in 1976, a commission was established to bring Massachusetts laws into
conformity with it. A number of statutes were changed as a result. But
discrimination against women in insurance policies remained
unaddressed, with the exception of auto insurance.
In
1988, the state Insurance Commissioner issued regulations
prohibiting gender discrimination in insurance. But the
industry sued, and in 1991, the Supreme Judicial Court overturned the
regulations, ruling that the commissioner lacked the authority to issue them.
Fargo said the proposed law would restore the discrimination ban.
Noting
the many years that proponents have fought for the legislation against strong
opposition from the insurance industry, Fargo said, "It's
simply time for this . . . discriminatory practice to end. Other states have
been doing it."
Proponents of the bill say that women pay the same
premium levels for health insurance but get fewer benefits,
noting that coverage of female-specific conditions are often omitted, but male
conditions are covered. They say women pay higher premiums for disability
insurance, but receive less coverage - policies often come with
riders omitting or limiting coverage for pregnancy-related disbilities.
Fargo said the caucus is also promoting a companion bill that would
require health insurance plans to cover
contraceptives.
On another subject, Fargo expressed
confidence that the Supreme Judicial Court will rule that the legislation she
filed to establish a 25-foot buffer zone around the entrances of reproductive
health care clinics is constitutional.
On Oct. 27, Fargo, in a joint
decision with Planned Parenthood, a key supporter of the bill, and with Senate
President Thomas F. Birmingham, asked the SJC to rule on the constitutionality
of the legislation. The Senate voted to defer action on the bill pending the
court's ruling.
Around the district State Representative Barry R.
Finegold (D-Andover) was one of two winners of this year's Fenn Award for
Political Leadership. Cosponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library's New Frontier
Society and the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the award is given annually
to a Massachusetts elected official age 35 years or younger who has demonstrated
outstanding political leadership. Finegold was selected in part for his
leadership in bringing together legislators and officials from New Hampshire and
Massachusetts to address the traffic congestion on Interstate 93. Also receiving
the award was state Representative Rachel Kaprelian (D-Watertown).
LOAD-DATE: December 19, 1999 
