Editor's note: this story was updated at 12:30 p.m. Thursday to include results from the most recent ballot counts.
After her opponent declared victory by a slim margin based on preliminary results on election night, a more complete hand-count of ballots conducted on Wednesday indicates that Cambridge state Representative Marjorie Decker, familiar to StreetsblogMASS readers for her machinations to curtail park access in favor of highway traffic on the city's riverfront, will in fact keep her seat in the Massachusetts State House.
Yesterday, challenger Evan MacKay led Decker by 40 votes, according to preliminary results, in Tuesday's primary election for the 25th Middlesex district.
On Wednesday, a hand count of 7,037 ballots, including about 262 additional absentee, provisional, and overseas ballots that had not been included in the Election Night tally, gave 3,472 votes to Decker – 41 more than the 3,431 MacKay received.
Accountability, transparency were key campaign issues
MacKay made government accountability and transparency key issues in their campaign, focusing in particular on Rep. Decker's efforts to keep State House committee votes hidden from the public.
For voters focused on safer streets, Rep. Decker's opposition to more transparency on Beacon Hill recalled her murky role in the state's decision to cancel popular car-free Saturdays on Memorial Drive in Cambridge last year.
Decker told a number of her park-supporting constituents that she was not lobbying against the Saturday park events.
But after a February meeting between the Cambridge State House delegation and officials in the Healey administration, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper wrote to her boss that "Rep. Decker... was opposed to the park and she hoped none of her colleagues would attempt to force this on her district."
In the runup to Tuesday's primary, other constituents came forward with similar stories.
In a letter distributed by the Cambridge Bicycle Safety organization, Cambridge resident Gleb Bahmutov recalled a public meeting where Rep. Decker opposed a 2022 safety project that installed a protected bikeway on Garden Street west of Harvard Square.
"I live close to Garden Street and was really happy to see it converted to a one-way street with safe separated bike lanes," wrote Bahmutov. "Cambridge’s transportation department held at least four meetings, posted signs, and mailed flyers to engage the community... However, at a follow-up meeting, Rep. Decker’s aggressive and disrespectful behavior was shocking. She angrily denounced the Garden Street conversion and dismissed the city staff and residents who supported it."
Separate plans to rebuild a segment of Memorial Drive in a smaller footprint through the the 25th Middlesex district, with fewer car lanes and more space for parkland, have also been delayed for several years without explanation from DCR officials.
Decker's former Chief of Staff loses primary challenge
In neighboring Somerville, Decker's former Chief of Staff, Kathleen Hornby, attempted to challenge incumbent Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, but lost by a wide margin with only 31 percent of the vote.
Hornby served as Decker's Chief of Staff during last year's Riverbend Park fiasco. In that role, Hornby helped coordinate last year's in-person meetings between Decker and officials with the Healey administration.
That race, too, was a sort of proxy battle between the state's Democratic establishment and reformers, like Uyterhoeven, who have been agitating for more daylight in the shadowy back rooms of the State House.
