| Marjorie Decker | |
| Occupation: | Legislator |
| Residence: | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Party: | Democrat |
| Spouse: | Bahij Bandar |
| Children: | 2 |
| Office: | Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 25th Middlesex district |
| Term Start: | January 7, 2013 |
| Predecessor: | Alice Wolf |
| Parents: | Catherine Curley Decker Tim Decker [1] |
Marjorie C. Decker is an American politician serving as the State Representative for the 25th Middlesex district in the Massachusetts General Court.[2]
Decker was born and raised in North Cambridge, Massachusetts. She grew up in public housing in Cambridgeport, and she graduated from high school at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. She 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.[3]
She served seven consecutive terms on the Cambridge City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts[4] from 1999 to 2013 and was the youngest woman ever to be elected to the Cambridge City Council.
In 2012, she was elected state representative to the Massachusetts legislature with her term starting in 2013.[5]
She lives with her husband, and two children in Cambridge.
As of 2024, she is facing a primary challenge from Evan MacKay, a graduate student at Harvard University.
Decker has opposed making the committee roll call votes of Massachusetts legislators publicly accessible. She voted against bills in 2018[6], 2019[7], and 2021[8] that aimed to amend the Massachusetts House rules to allow public access to the outcomes of committee votes.
In 2022, a non-binding ballot question 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.[9]
In 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) expanded Riverbend Park along Memorial Drive in Cambridge to include Saturdays.[10] After considerable public debate and a Cambridge City Council vote in support of expanded hours[11], the DCR limited the park space to Sundays only in April 2023, prompting disappointment from some residents.[12] In June 2023, Decker emailed constituents, stating, "I have not ever publicly or privately advocated against Saturday closings."[13]
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."[14]
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 closure of Memorial Drive on Saturdays."[15]
In 1998, while serving as an aide to City Councillor Alice Wolf, Decker punched a congratulatory cake intended for City Councillor Katherine Triantafillou, after the latter’s anticipated election as mayor was derailed by two councillors switching their votes to Councillor Frank Duehay. This disruption led to Cambridge Police officers being called to the scene.[16]