Salaries for Massachusetts legislators are already under scrutiny after a Boston Globe report this month revealed the vast majority earn bonus “leadership pay” in addition to their base salary and travel stipends.
But public records reveal that one Cambridge lawmaker has regularly supplemented their taxpayer-funded salary – which totaled $114,447 in 2023 – with a significant additional income stream.
Rep. Marjorie Decker, chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, reported an annual salary of more than $100,001 – the highest income bracket the form allows to be reported – from class-action law firm Berman Tabacco from 2016 to 2023. The data from 2023 was the most recent available.
Decker listed herself as an employee of the firm on an annual Statement of Financial Interest required of elected officials. Harvard graduate student Ian Hunt-Isaak requested the documents for Somerville, Cambridge and Watertown representatives. The documents were shared with Cambridge Day similarly to fundraising data in May around Decker’s primary race with challenger Evan MacKay for the 25th Middlesex district seat.
Hunt-Isaak said then that he is not officially part of MacKay’s campaign team but has volunteered for the campaign and is “in support of MacKay’s candidacy.”
It’s unclear what position Decker serves at Berman Tobacco, and the legislator’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment, though a staff member said the request was “elevated” to the representative. Decker does not list the position on her public LinkedIn page, nor on her campaign website.
An emailed request for information was made late Sunday to Berman Tabacco, but there was no reply by the end of the business day Monday. A voicemail was left then to confirm that was the firm’s intent.
Decker also reported income from Northeast Strategy & Communications, which she listed as self-employment, in 2015 and 2018 in ranges of $40,000 to $60,000 and $10,000 to $20,000, respectively.
Smaller range of income
Two of Decker’s local colleagues on Beacon Hill have also reported extra income, but their work has been less consecutive and far less lucrative.
Rep. Christine Barber of Somerville reported $1,000 to $5,000 from 2017 to 2019 as an employee of Boston University’s School of Public Health. Barber earned the same legislative salary as Decker in 2023.
Rep. Michael Connolly of Cambridge and Somerville reported his position as a “director” of the Cambridge Residents Alliance, with no income attached, but explained that this indicates just that he is on the board with many other volunteers. Connolly earned more than $93,000 in the State House last year, with no leadership pay.
Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven in Somerville reported $20,000 to $40,000 in 2019, before she was elected to the State House, as a consultant for the nonprofit Reimagining Democracy Fund. Uyterhoeven earned more than $93,000 in the State House last year, with no leadership pay.
Prefers transparency
To some critics of Decker, the lack of transparency around extra income is suspicious. Cambridge resident Pete Septoff, who hosts a recurring interview show on Cambridge Community Television, said Decker’s lack of candor about her second job is part of “a pattern of not being open about her work in the public sphere.”
“There might be nothing to it, but this is the first I’ve seen of it,” Septoff said. “The fact that it’s not public knowledge is not great.”
In particular, Septoff criticized Decker’s lack of support for the 2022 referendum to make legislative committee votes public, as well as inconsistencies about her support of Riverbend Park Saturdays, as seen in publicly revealed emails in 2023.
Candidate’s reaction
Labor activist MacKay said it’s concerning that there’s no way for residents to know what Decker’s job entails and how much time she’s spending there.
“My hunch is, if this were great work that she was doing there and work that was aligned with Cambridge’s values, then I think she would be talking about it,” MacKay said. “Why is she not talking about this?”
MacKay is in a doctoral program at Harvard, which they said they would leave behind if elected.
“The challenges of the Legislature are enormous,” MacKay said. “It’s going to take a lot of time.”
Hunt-Isaak said he requested the documents on a whim after discovering that it was possible. He found it curious that Decker has not discussed the Berman Tobacco job in her campaigns: “A lot of state reps have jobs they talk about as part of their story,” Hunt-Isaak said. “Why is there this air of secrecy around this thing you get a tremendous amount of money from?”
Ultimately, the documents left Hunt-Isaak with more questions than answers – such as why the state allows representatives to list salaries only up to $100,001 or more, serving to obscure higher outside pay, or how much time the job requires of Decker’s busy schedule.
One hundred thousand dollars or more is “a full-time salary,” Hunt-Isaak said. “How does that relate to us being one of the least effective State Houses in the country?”
This post was updated Aug. 20, 2024, to change the headline to specify that state Rep. Marjorie Decker is getting pay from a law firm.
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How does Representative Decker not have a response on this, after repeated requests? This is either above board, or it isn’t. I think she owes the public some basic answers:
* Who are the clients and are there potential conflicts of interest?
* What is the job title and type of work?
* When did she start this work, was it after joining the state house?
* Where are the conflict of interest disclosures for this, and are there any perceived conflicts?
* Why didn’t anyone know about this job?
* How much actual compensation was there in 2021, 2022, and 2023? “Greater than $100K” is a very big window
Unbelievable. A state representative can keep a side hustle that pays a lot of money?!!! Nope. Time for a change, voting for a challenger on September 3rd
There is a wonderful candidate Evan Mackay, who is mentioned in the article, running against Rep. Decker. Aside from being one of the nicest, most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met, Evan’s positions totally align with mine. Climate, housing, progressive taxation, healthcare, government transparency are a few of the issues that Evan is passionate about. The primary is on September 3rd; you can vote early at the Main Cambridge Public Library this week. For more information on Evan, go to evanforcambridge.com.
Even if the Berman Tabacco position has zero conflicts of interest (which remains to be seen, the secrecy certainly doesn’t make me optimistic):
If Decker is really putting in the work to earn that considerable 2nd salary, then that means she’s not giving her full time/attention to her responsibilities as a state representative.
And if she’s getting that extra pay *without* much work, then that’s pretty much a kickback.
Either way, it’s not a good look.