Pat Jehlen Second Middlesex electpatjehlen.org Mass Alliance congratulates Pat Jehlen on her re-election win to the Senate from the Second Middlesex District. With over a decade of experience, during which she has authored and advocated for numerous progressive bills, Jehlen is a proven progressive champion. We know she will continue her legacy of enacting meaningful, progressive legislation in the 2017-2018 session. Jehlen, a former history teacher and VISTA volunteer, graduated from Swarthmore College, received a master’s degree in teaching from Harvard University, and completed master’s coursework in history at University of Massachusetts Boston. From 1976 to 1991, she served on the Somerville School Committee, chairing the committee in 1980 and 1988. She was among the founders of the CHOICE program, a public school alternative elementary program, which has continued and expanded for almost 30 years. On the state level, she helped found the Council for Fair School Finance, which brought the successful lawsuit that led to the education reform of 1993, bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in new state aid to communities. Jehlen served from 1991 to 2005 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where she served as Co-Chair of the Women’s Caucus, Co-Chair of the Progressive Legislator’s Group, Co-Chair of the Elder Caucus, and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Elder Affairs. Among her successful legislation were bills to increase literacy for blind people, ensure the rights of people living with mental illness, and provide compensation for the wrongfully convicted. She helped lead the fight to increase the minimum wage, to target tax cuts to working families by increasing the earned income tax credit and child care credit, and to increase the senior circuit breaker. Pat Jehlen has proven herself to be a consistently progressive lawmaker and a great candidate to continue serving the Second Middlesex District. Year Endorsed: 2016
Year Endorsed: 2016