Patricia D. Jehlen

Patricia D. Jehlen
Jehlen speaking at the opening of Assembly station in September 2014
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
from the 2nd Middlesex district
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 12, 2005
Preceded by Charles E. Shannon, Jr.
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 27th Middlesex District
In office
2003–2005
Preceded by Alice Wolf
Succeeded by Denise Provost
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 30th Middlesex District
In office
1991–2003
Preceded by Joseph Mackey
Personal details
Born October 14, 1943
Austin, Texas
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Residence Somerville, Massachusetts
Alma mater Swarthmore College
Harvard University
University of Massachusetts Boston

Patricia D. Jehlen (born October 14, 1943 in Austin, Texas)[1] is a member of the Massachusetts Senate representing the 2nd Middlesex district, which includes the communities of Medford, Somerville, Winchester, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a Democrat who has served since October 2005. In her first year she served as Chairman of the Public Service Committee. Since January 2015, she serves as the Assistant Vice Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Chair of Joint Committee on Elder Services, Chair of the Special Senate Committee on Innovative Education and Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. She also serves on the committees on Housing and Judiciary.

Career

She serves as the Assistant Vice Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Chair of Joint Committee on Elder Services, Chair of the Special Senate Committee on Innovative Education and Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. She also serves on the committees on Housing and Judiciary.

Jehlen, as chair of Elder Affairs, increased the Personal Needs Allowance for people in rest homes and nursing homes for the first time since it was cut in 1990. She also got $6.2 million in additional funding for homecare, allowing 260 nursing home-eligible seniors to stay in their communities. Jehlen also successfully succeeded in bringing overdue adjustments to the needs of senior citizens, including an increase in their personal needs allowance, and to increase homemaker wages and the salary reserve for those who provide for the care of elders.

Her top legislative priorities are equitable and excellent education, universal and affordable health care, jobs with decent wages and benefits, and paid family leave.

In the Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014, Jehlen endorsed Don Berwick for Governor of Massachusetts[2]

Education and Experience

Jehlen, a former history teacher and VISTA volunteer, graduated from Swarthmore College, received a Masters degree in teaching from Harvard University, and completed Master's course work in history at University of Massachusetts Boston. She currently teaches a course in Health Politics and Public Policy at the Boston University School of Public Health.

From 1976 to 1991, she served on the Somerville School Committee, as chairman in 1980 and 1988. She was among the founders of the CHOICE program, a public school alternative elementary program. On the state level, she helped found the Council for Fair School Finance, which brought the successful lawsuit which led to the education reform of 1993, and brought 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-Chairman of the Progressive Legislator's Group (PLG), Co-Chairman of the Elder Caucus, and Vice-Chairman 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.

As chair of the Progressive Legislators Group and member of the Working Families Agenda in the House, Jehlen helped raise the minimum wage and won tax cuts for working families like increasing the earned income tax credit and adopting the senior circuit breaker

2005 Election

On April 5, 2004, State Senator Charlie Shannon died, and a special election was soon declared to fill his seat. Jehlen, whose state house district lay within the senate district vacated by Shannon, entered the race. She faced three other candidates in the Democratic primary: State Representative Paul Casey of Winchester, Governor's Councilor Michael Callahan of Medford, and former State Representative Joseph Mackey, who had represented the same district Jehlen now did.[3][4]

Jehlen staked out her position early as "the progressive", with the support of a plethora of unions and statewide and national progressive organizations, including MassEquality, SEIU, and Democracy for America. Although the race was considered wide open, with expectations that any of the four candidates could win, Jehlen won a substantial victory in the August 30th primary:[5][6]

She went on to defeat Somerville Alderman-at-large William White, the Republican Candidate, in the September 27th general election. She was sworn in October 12, 2005.[7]

Awards

Awards in 2007

Awards in 2008

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patricia D. Jehlen.

References

  1. ↑ 2007–2008 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  2. ↑ Shira Schoenberg (June 10, 2014). "Massachusetts House Majority Leader Ronald Mariano endorses Juliette Kayyem for governor". MassLive Politics. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ http://www.wickedlocal.com/woburn/news/x700314045
  4. ↑ Ebbert, Stephanie (August 27, 2005). "Four Democrats vie for open Senate seat". The Boston Globe.
  5. ↑ http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=664
  6. ↑ "Jehlen tops Democratic state Senate primary". The Boston Globe. August 31, 2005.
  7. ↑ "A new senator." The Boston Globe. October 13, 2005.