Salem News: New 6th District Office Offers Plenty of Transparency

SALEM, MA — Seth Moulton's new storefront office at 21 Front St. makes you think you've stumbled into a high-tech startup rather than the new location for the 6th Congressional District office.

It's not a typical government office. Instead, it's the workspace of a 37-year-old Harvard-educated freshman congressman who served four tours of duty in Iraq in the Marines. It's also indicative of someone familiar with today's young entrepreneurs — Moulton earned an MBA at Harvard after his military service.

The Front Street spot is spartan, open and uncluttered. Apple iMac computers sit on communal high top tables made of reclaimed wood. Instead of chairs, there are stools, and the tables are designed to allow you to stand while working. There are no cubicles or separate offices within the larger space, except for one conference room.

"It's typical of new companies that want to be creative and share ideas," explained Moulton. "[As opposed to] stodgy old companies that are siloed and secluded."\

The 6th district office, which had been in downtown Peabody for many years under former Congressman John Tierney, moved back to Salem on Dec. 18, and Moulton held a grand opening on Thursday.

Moulton does not even have his own office within this space, since, he said, he spends most of his time out in the district when he is home.

A back conference room, separated from the rest of the office by a clear plate glass partition and door, has a video conference system, which lets the staff both in D.C. and Salem stay in touch daily.

Moulton envisions this room as largely for community use, however, and plans to offer it to groups to use for free as a meeting space.

Transparency is key\

On Wednesday, Moulton — in his Washington, D.C. office — actually logged in to the interview for this story using his new video conference system.

"I want to make it feel like an innovative place," Moulton said of his Salem office. "I think that's a key word. ... We are not trying to hide from the people that we represent."\

Other key qualities Moulton mentions: open, collaborative, light, transparent. "Transparency is a big thing, if you think about people's frustrations with government, a huge problem is people don't understand what government does," he said.

"When we made the decision to open our new district office," said District Director Rick Jakious, "we really thought deliberately of how would this space reflect the values of the Congressman ... So as you can see, it's very open and transparent and collaborative, that was very important to us."\

Jakious, a Swampscott resident, oversaw the renovations, but Moulton picked the decor.

"I love this kind of stuff," Moulton said. "Rick did the lion's share of the work, but I was very involved in the details, from the desktops, the feel; I was a big advocate for standing desks. I know the district was a little skeptical of those at first, but we've had them down in D.C., and everyone seems to enjoy them now."\

A key feature of the Salem office is a vertical video screen called the "dashboard," which is visible through the front windows. The D.C. office has a similar screen.

The dashboard, which is a work in progress, shows how Moulton voted or describes his positions on issues. There are real-time feeds for Tweets or Instagram photos.

While Moulton did purchase the widescreen TV and Logitech conference camera setup, he noted the video conference feed was conducted over a free app called Google Hangouts.

"The trade-off is we are in a smaller space than we were in Peabody, so, I think that in the long run we will be saving money overall," Moulton said.

The reason for the move\

Moulton, who lives in Salem, decided to move the district office back to Salem because that's where it was traditionally located. Tierney, who spent 18 years in office until he was defeated by Moulton in the 2014 Democratic primary, had moved the office from Salem to Peabody during his tenure.

The office at 17 Peabody Square or 11 Main St., which Moulton used for about a year, was located in a former bank building. Tierney had also maintained a district office in Lynn.

Moulton's new spot on Front Street sits in a corner storefront, the former home of a yarn store. The location is also close to Salem State University and is easily accessible to the nearby commuter rail, Moulton noted.

"It's a great location in terms of what is happening downtown," said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who planned to attend Thursday's grand opening. "He was definitely looking for space that could relate to people who might be going to the Front Street Coffeehouse."\

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