# Marjorie Decker

Marjorie C. Decker is an American politician serving as the State Representative for the 25th Middlesex district in the Massachusetts General Court. She is also House chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health. Since 2016, she has also been employed by the class action law firm Berman Tabacco.
In 2024, she faced a primary challenge from Evan MacKay, a labor leader and graduate student at Harvard University. Hand recount results indicated that Decker narrowly defeated MacKay.

## Early life and education

Decker was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is a third generation Cantabrigian. Her father was a disabled Vietnam war veteran who worked as a security guard, while her mother was a nursing assistant. She grew up in public housing in Cambridgeport, and graduated from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Decker received her Bachelor of Arts in social thought and political economy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, an MPA from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and a Master of Science from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 2007.

## Political career

She served seven consecutive terms on the Cambridge City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1999 to 2013 and was the youngest woman ever to be elected to the Cambridge City Council, and served as Vice Mayor from 2004-2006.
In 2012, she was elected as a state representative to the Massachusetts legislature, succeeding her former employer Alice Wolf. She is the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health. Decker has written legislation to ban toxic chemicals in firefighter protective gear, which was signed into law. She has also sponsored a bill which has not yet passed for the transition the commonwealth to 100 per cent clean energy for electricity by 2035.

### H. 4773 Maternal Health Bill

As lead House negotiator, Decker developed legislation to create resources on maternal health, which was signed by the Governor in August 2024. The maternal health bill expands access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital births, and bill mandates insurance coverage for midwifery services while expanding MassHealth coverage to services for pregnancy and post-partum care including doula services. The bill also regulates freestanding birth centers, and mandates postpartum depression screenings and data collection on pregnancy loss.

### Police Accountability Legislation

In 2018, Decker co-authored legislation aimed at closing a loophole in Massachusetts law to ensure that police officers cannot claim consensual sexual conduct with individuals in their custody. The proposal seeks to eliminate ambiguity regarding consent in such situations, which would align state law with zero-tolerance federal policies. This initiative followed high-profile cases where officers were accused of sexual misconduct.

### 2024 Democratic Primary Challenge

In 2024, she faced a primary challenge from Evan MacKay, a graduate student in Sociology at Harvard University. Official recount results from the Cambridge Election Commission indicated that Decker defeated MacKay by 41 votes.

#### Endorsements

She has received the endorsement of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, SEIU, the Teamsters, and more than a dozen other labor unions., as well as the Massachusetts Black and Latino Caucus. A majority of Cambridge City Council members have signed an opinion letter endorsing her, describing her as a "trusted partner".
She received the endorsements of Governor Maura Healey, Senator Ed Markey, and local Congressional Representatives Katherine Clark and Ayanna Pressley.
In August 27, she received the endorsement of The Boston Globe.

## Notable criticisms and disputes
### Opposition to committee roll call amendment

House rules currently require committee votes to be kept at the State House in the committees' respective offices and available for public inspection during regular office hours. An amendment to make committee roll call votes available on the Legislature's website has been proposed and voted down along party lines since 2011. Decker voted against such amendments in 2018, 2019 Roll call vote, and 2021 Roll call vote in the annual Massachusetts House rules bill. All amendments failed to pass a large majority, with the 2021 vote failing by a vote of 41-117.
In 2022, a non-binding ballot question organized by her later political opponent was presented to voters in her district, asking whether their representative should support changes to House rules to make each legislator's committee vote available on the Legislature's website. 94.2% of voters in Decker's district supported the measure.
In 2024, Decker said that committee votes "should be online".

### Memorial Drive closure controversy

In 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) expanded Riverbend Park along Memorial Drive in Cambridge to include Saturdays. After considerable public debate and a Cambridge City Council vote in support of expanded hours, the DCR limited the park space to Sundays only in April 2023. In June 2023, Decker emailed constituents, stating, "I have not ever publicly or privately advocated against Saturday closings."
However, emails released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request in July 2023 appeared to contradict this account. In a March 25 email, Rebecca Tepper, Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, noted a "falling out" between Decker and fellow Representative Mike Connolly, who supported the extended closures. Tepper twice described Decker as "staunchly opposed" to the Saturday closures and indicated that Decker had "reiterated her position that she was opposed to the park and hoped that none of her colleagues would attempt to force this on her district."
This incident was covered in multiple episodes of a Cambridge Community Television program 'What's that about?'. Following these revelations, Decker publicly denied the claims, stating on X (formerly Twitter): "The email from Secretary Tepper does not, and never has, reflect my current position or any position I have articulated in the past. The fact is that I have never stated any personal opposition to the closure of Memorial Drive on Saturdays."

### Berman Tabacco

Since 2016, Decker has worked for the class action law firm Berman Tabacco, which paid her over $100,000 annually. Decker has not commented on the nature of the employment since it was revealed through a public records request in 2024, brushing off criticism about the second job and explaining that she is producing sufficiently for her constituents. Decker's opponents have cited the employment as a potential conflict of interest.

## Personal life

Decker lives with her husband and two children in Cambridge.