The full text of the speech that former state rep. Lori Ehrlich presided over on the floor of the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Monday, Dec. 12. Ehrlich was the 8th Essex District representative for 14 years until she joined the Biden Administration as the Federal Emergency Management Administrations Region 1 administrator on Jan. 31. Marblehead resident Jenny Armini will succeed her when state lawmakers are sworn into office on Jan. 4, 2023.
Thank you Mr. Speaker, and through you to the members. It is a distinct honor and delight to be able to say that one…..last…..time.
Deep appreciation to you Mr. Speaker, for yielding the floor to me for a proper farewell after I had little time for goodbyes before joining FEMA in January. FEMA is a great federal agency, guided by a noble mission, and chock full of devoted compassionate public servants. President Biden and Administrator Deanne Criswell have made resilience in the face of climate a major strategic direction at FEMA so I am working under many of the same principles as I did during my time here in the House.
Today, I am filled with nostalgia so thank you, dear colleagues, for the warm reception today.
It truly seems like just yesterday, but nearly 15 years ago I stood with the Gentleman from Arlington and now Congresswoman Katherine Clark, to be sworn in after a special election. Katherine, one of our chamber’s great exports, will soon be the Minority Whip in the US House. Sean, once the youngest rep ever elected, will always be a friend and fellow traveler. Now that I too have made the leap to the federal government, do all you can to keep Sean here!
My parents used to remind me to stay humble and never forget where I came from. That sentiment applies to my Ukrainian ancestry as well as my birthplace of Lynn, MA. As a proud member of the Lynn delegation that advice served me well. Lynn has a formidable team here with Danny Cahill, Pete Capano, and Don Wong, joined by our Senate partner, Brendan Crighton, and for most of my tenure, Tom McGee. I name them here, all Gentlemen from Lynn.
Representing Marblehead, Swampscott, and Lynn, I’ve seen five new schools built and ground is now broken for a sixth. After decades of activism, nothing was more personally satisfying than witnessing the demolition of the site of the old coal plant in Salem, except maybe seeing Wenham Lake, drinking water for 80,000 North Shore residents finally cleaned up. For the health and education of my district and the North Shore, I could not be more proud.
I was fortunate that my time in office spanned the entirety of former Speaker Robert DeLeo’s tenure as Speaker and was honored to serve as the first Chair of the Export Development Committee for 4 years. MassPort oversight during a time of unprecedented growth at both the Connolly Terminal in South Boston and the International terminal at Logan Airport gave me an appreciation of our state’s place on the world stage.
I will forever be grateful that both the current and former Speakers had faith in my abilities. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your friendship from before you were Speaker. I will not forget that we first got to know each other while inauspiciously touring that dump in Worcester! Needless to say, it was uphill from there!
Your warmth and steady hand are just what this chamber needed to guide us through a global pandemic and to counter the current rash of hate and extremism. And though my session as House Chair of the Municipalities Committee was not completed, I enjoyed hearing every-single-bill filed in this busy committee before I moved on.
One thing I already miss is bill filing. The Mass General Laws are a moral document of the code of ethics that bind us together as a Commonwealth. What an indescribable honor to be able to draft a change; or several.
- I’m proud to have seen through non-compete reform, a good samaritan protection law, and several animal welfare laws including most recently the anti-poaching law.
- Over the course of 12 years, I led passage of several laws dealing with explosive and climate warming gas leaks in our aging infrastructure. I was joined by the gentleladies from Somerville and North Andover before and after massive gas explosions rocked the Merrimack Valley.
- At a time when we both had daughters on college campuses, the gentlelady from Pittsfield and I saw through “An Act regarding sexual assault on college campuses” which now requires campus-wide surveys and makes the adjudicatory process more fair.
- With so many local news outlets closing their doors, for the sake of our democracy, I passed a bill creating a press commission to study and make recommendations to avoid so-called news deserts. My district has since become an incubator of ideas as three news outlets with 3 different models are competing for the town of Marblehead’s readers. **This seems like a good time to give a well-deserved shout out to the hard working journalists of the State House News Service. I already miss your daily barrage of words.
I have so much respect for the legislative process which often begins with our own lived experience. What an honor it was to be invited to the Obama White House three times because of my filings. Working with our esteemed US Senators Markey and Warren on related national bills was a thrill for the greater potential of each issue.
I loved traveling the world with so many of you, and glad we narrowly avoided causing international incidents in Israel, Turkey, South Korea, and Japan. We expanded our cultural horizons while bonding through shared experience.
Not enough is said about the hundreds of wonderful people in this building who support the work we do. As for my own talented staff over the years, Preyel and Tina were my latest superstars among an incredibly dedicated crew. That’s where the magic happens.
The indefatigable Clerk’s office with my friend and constituent Steve James at the helm, are all shockingly cheerful when midnight rolls around. Steve, I will miss the honor of nominating you next session.
The hardworking Gentleman from the North End and his staff in HWM, the Speaker’s phenomenal staff, JK and the rest of House Counsel, Court officers, DCR rangers, Chip and Michael, engrossing, and the business office, thank you, thank you and thank you! What a stellar group of people!
Also a tip of the hat to Governor Charlie Baker: It was fun being each other’s constituents from rival towns! Senate President Karen Spilka, you are a friend and talented leader of a great chamber of friends and former colleagues. To both, your compassionate service and partnership are why good things happen in our State House.
And lastly, nobody runs for office by themselves. Our families unwitingly come along for the ride. My daughters, now 27 and 30, grew up holding mom’s signs and rallying their friends and teachers to join in. When I had a bad day, they felt it so much worse.
But through my public service, they found their voices at a young age which guided their career choices in meaningful ways. My eldest daughter Casey is now a geneticist at Embark Veterinary in Boston and my youngest daughter, Jamie, is a 3L at BC Law spending her clinical year with the Innocence Project. With Bruce by my side, I had someone who always believed in me, even when I didn’t.
It has been the honor of my professional life to represent my constituents on Beacon Hill, an honor that I’m sure will be felt by my successor, Jenny Armini, when she is sworn in next month. As the first woman in this seat and mother of daughters, being a trailblazer and role model was important. I am relieved to see our ranks have mostly been filled back in after two very close House races, but we’re not yet close to parity. How exciting though that by next month, 5 of the 6 Constitutional officers in our state will all be women! Massachusetts will have our first elected woman and openly gay Governor. Progress is happening here.
Public service is a calling. We grow through this work as we open ourselves up to the pain of others, and celebrate, for them, when we succeed.
At the same time, life is a journey, and sometimes a wild ride. As I have come to appreciate this past year, it is also breathtakingly precious and way too short. To be able to spend it with a loving family doing meaningful work with compassionate colleagues is a life well lived.
This is not goodbye. Maybe you’ll even see me again in these hallowed halls as I have a few more bills in mind. As for now, for your friendship and the positive change you send out into the world, from the bottom of my heart, thank you and farewell.
Mr. Speaker, for my last time, I yield the floor back to you.
