It seems hard to believe that just a few years ago I introduced myself to the Blue Mass Group community when I launched my very first campaign for State Representative. Today, I’m here to announce that I am running for State Senate in the 5th Middlesex District to replace Katherine Clark.
First, I just want to Congratulate Congresswoman-Elect Katherine Clark (it feels great to type that out!) on her victory. I have enjoyed working with her in the Legislature and I know that we can expect great things from her in Washington. Katherine Clark was an excellent Representative, an excellent Senator, and will be a great leader in Congress. She leaves big shoes to fill, but I know that I can bring the same commitment and hard work to the office that I’ve shown as a State Representative.
Working with her, and in my years in the legislature, I’ve learned that hard work, independent leadership, and a commitment to the concerns of local families can produce great results, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.
For example, I have long been committed to making our communities healthier and reducing the cost of health care. I serve as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, co-founded and serve as the House Chair for the legislature’s Prevention for Health Caucus, and last year, led efforts to create a first-in-the-nation Prevention and Wellness Trust, which allots $60 million to community-based public health and wellness programs across the Commonwealth.
And I’ve relished delivering results that will help grow Stoneham and my home town of Winchester — as well as the region as a whole. For example, I helped recently secure $2.5 million in state funding for flood mitigation projects in Winchester and $5 million in federal and state funding to construct a Tri-Community Bikeway. I have worked hard not just for my own communities but also the region, and was recognized this past spring by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council as “Legislator of the Year” for my focus on smart growth and fostering regional collaboration.
We’ve had great success in Stoneham and Winchester and I’m looking forward to getting to know the families of Malden, Melrose, Reading, and Wakefield as we kick off this campaign for State Senate.
The special election to fill the 5th Middlesex Senate seat is expected to be called for early 2014. This is going to be a quick race, and I would be honored by your advice, your support and your help.
The campaign will officially be having a kickoff in January and I look forward to speaking with you about my positions, my legislative work, and my campaign at that time. In the meantime, you can learn a bit more about me and sign up to volunteer or donate to my campaign at www.electjasonlewis.com.
Thanks so much, and I look forward to earning your support and your vote.
Jason
I interned for Jason Lewis the summer after my freshman year of college and it changed my life. I came out of that campaign with an unshakable faith in our democracy, because Jason proved by example that all it takes for the right candidate to win is to work harder than anybody else. Jason has all of the qualities you want in a politician: he’s unfailingly approachable, always backs his arguments up with well communicated facts, and has a holistic approach to serving his community that ensures that no issue is too small to warrant his attention. More importantly, Jason doesn’t rest. No matter how many doors we knocked on as volunteers, Jason knocked on more. No matter how many fundraising calls we made, Jason made more. No matter how likely victory seemed, Jason never gave his campaigns any less than 100%, partially because he’s not satisfied until he knows he’s given it his all, but also because he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to engage with his constituents as much as possible.
Jason is a really nice guy and he has a great sense of humor. When I was going through a rough patch and needed some career, as well as just life, advice I didn’t think twice about reaching out to Jason. Seeing a politician who was in politics for all the right reasons also have the drive to work 100 times harder than than their opponent, so that their victory was achieved with a substantive and positive campaign, was a defining experience for me. I can’t wait to help out with this new chapter.
Massachusetts politics is always in a Domino effect. The Neverending Story
Jason,
you are a chooch.
No time here but I will be reminding me people of your chooch-like ways.
How about the most recent where you set up some colleagues to make it appear they were harming marathon bombing victims.
I’ll explain that one later.
Also other smarmy acts and methods that make me say that people like you are causing the gridlock in Washington. Doesn’t matter what your positions are.
With Jason it is all about the headlines and working only to help himself, not the people.
Thanks for running Jason. It gives me the chance to remind people what a dickweed you are.
I’m fairly new here so may have missed what may be common knowledge. But:
I don’t know Rep. Lewis beyond a few things that I’ve read about him. But, it seems to me that your post, EB3, is not civil and not in keeping with BMG. “Chooch”? Haven’t heard that one in a while.
As someone who has known and worked closely with Jason during his time representing the town of Stoneham I can’t even begin to reconcile Ernie’s description with the man I know. We’re talking about someone who walked away from a successful, lucrative career in technology because he wanted to give back to his community. Since he was first elected he’s come up with creative solutions to save the Stone Zoo from closing, kept the DCR pool in town from closing, and passed legislation that has helped address the inequities in the Chapter 70 formula that disadvantaged towns like Stoneham. Kokoty’s comment above is just one of the many examples of young adults to whom Jason has provided a positive example of what public service should be all about.
I will be proud to support Jason in this new campaign. I appreciate Ernie’s many contributions to this site but in this case he could not be more wrong.
My parents, brother and sister in law just moved to Wakefield and I believe are in the portion of it covered by outgoing state senator and incoming Congresswoman Clark. I will have to see what other candidates emerge but I like the background and passion Lewis seems to bring to the table. My rather apolitical brother will appreciate his techie background as well.
I am neither for or against the op, but you can’t leave a post like that without backing it up.
Ten downrates?
“dickweed”?
Time to take this comment down.
Because nearly everyone of his posts or comments are insult laden, they’ve become some-what desensitized by his regular violations of the rules of the road.
Oh ya, sure they’ve slapped him on the wrist everyone in a while and made his take a timeout or two. But if the editors were going to apply a consistent enforcements of the rules of the road, we’d only be reading about 1/3 of EB3’s posts and comments.
Full disclosure, the editors have deleted comments I’ve made aimed at EB3. Apparently they are sensitive to his delicate disposition.
My own speculation is that the author is an anonymous celebrity author. I think “some-what desensitized” is very gracious. The editors collectively own the site, and I respect their choices.
Since the editors do, in fact, maintain a much firm discipline for virtually everyone else, I can only assume that they have a very good reason for excluding EB3 from that policy.
If they want the prestige of having celebrity participation, it doesn’t do them much good if nobody else knows who that is.
Apologies to Tom for the sports analogy.
Fake Ernie, I have had a few contacts with Rep. Jason Lewis and have found him to be professional, progressive and sincere. These are qualities to admire in our elected officials. Your crude public commentary seems lacking in all of those regards.
If Lewis or another Rep. wins will there be a special election for the House seat or will it be too close to the regular election by that point to bother?
The primary is March 4th, general April 1st.
160 days after April 1st is sometime in early September.
Although it’s probably almost necessary for you to praise Katherine Clark, I’m rather disappointed. For some examples of why, take a look at this BMG post. Your praise of her makes me worry that you want to act similarly in the Senate. Is that the case, or do you differ? How?
One of the key issues in our state legislature is, IMO, revenue. We’re constantly fighting over scraps for underfunded but necessary things like education, public transit, housing support, legal defense for the indigent, public libraries, etc., and all he while cities and towns are raising property taxes because they get too little state support. While this has gotten somewhat better since the Romney years, when it was a constant dire crisis, it’s still pretty bad. And the state of our infrastructure and public transit funding is utterly pathetic.
We really need a state income tax around 6% to fund a high quality state on an ongoing basis, yet when some state legislators tried to raise the income tax not very long ago, they could barely get 10 Senators out of 40 in support. More recently, Governor Patrick’s plan to really put the state on a solid footing was torn to shreds by the state legislature.
Our state legislature is the main thing holding Massachusetts back, and we need more than people who will be questionable but mostly okay voters and work on a few local issues in their district. What we need are people who will take a lead in fighting *for* things like Governor Patrick’s recent proposal, and for shifting our tax burden off property taxes and onto a sufficient income tax.
What kind of Senator do you plan to be?
I am happy to see that Representative Jason Lewis has decided to acknowledge newly-sworn Congresswoman Katherine Clark, now that she is a known winner. Especially since after Katherine Clark went out on a limb to endorse Lewis when he was a complete unknown,
JASON LEWIS CHOSE NOT TO SHOW KATHERINE CLARK THAT SAME RESPECT.
As many men do to women candidates behind the scenes, when Jason Lewis had the opportunity to support this progressive woman candidate as she ran for State Senate and sought his support in 2010, instead Lewis rewarded Clark’s support by endorsing her OPPONENT in the race, Mike Day. Then very recently when Clark faced long odds in the congressional primary, Lewis refused to endorse Katherine Clark, despite being from the same region of the district and instead Jason Lewis remained neutral.
In sum, Jason Lewis has GIANT GONADS to shiftily slide into a supposedly graceful recognition of Clark at the very top of a statement here on Blue Mass Group. I am sure that Katherine Clark will show more grace toward Lewis than he has shown toward her. I do not know Jason Lewis, and if any of this is in any way inaccurate, I invite him to please tell me.
As we already covered in your other thread about this: Jason did not endorse Mike Day in 2010. Not sure what your issue is.