Marblehead’s newly elected congressman, Dan Koh of Andover, hit the ground running Wednesday morning — literally.
Koh, who defeated Republican Micah Jones, an attorney and military veteran, in Tuesday’s election, began his day at 5:15 a.m. meeting with Teamsters at a garbage truck yard in Peabody. He then ran 15 miles to highlight his legislative priorities.
“The democracy that we have can’t take any days off, and neither can I,” Koh told WBUR early Wednesday morning. “So at 5:15 this morning, I was at a garbage truck yard in Peabody with the Teamsters, and then I’m 15 miles from the office from Andover to Peabody, so I’m going to be running and shooting a little video of the 15 things that I’m going to get done hopefully, my first 100 days in office here. So wish me luck. “
Koh will succeed U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who did not seek reelection after six terms representing Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District.
Koh, who is of Lebanese and Korean descent, will become the first Asian American to serve in Massachusetts’ congressional delegation.
He previously served as a policy adviser in the Biden White House and as chief of staff to then-Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
Koh said his top priority in Congress will be fighting what he described as corruption in the Trump administration. He also plans to introduce legislation aimed at lowering household expenses, including utility bills and rent.
“I believe that all of the things that we are seeing right now, that people are suffering with, when it comes to higher costs and the war in Iran, when we see the lack of faith in our institutions, is because of a president who has corrupted our government to an extent that so many people don’t even recognize it anymore,” Koh said. “So that’s my first thing. And the second thing is introducing legislation that will actually lower costs for people, like capping people’s utility bills and rent, the things that are really causing people a lot of pain right now, and that we actually need good, thoughtful policy to address.”
