Cindy F. Friedman is an American politician currently serving as a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

representing the 4th Middlesex District in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

. Friedman's district comprises

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

, Billerica, Burlington, Lexington (precincts 1 and 2 and 4 to 7), and Woburn. She has been serving since 2017. Prior to becoming a state senator, Friedman worked as a public school teacher and as a senior manager in the high-tech industry and later served for nearly a decade as chief of staff to the late state senator

Ken Donnelly Kenneth J. Donnelly (July 15, 1950 – April 2, 2017) was a Massachusetts state senator for the Fourth Middlesex district, which included his hometown of Arlington and several other cities. He was a Democrat who served from 2009 to 2017. D ...

. During her first term, Friedman served as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. For the 191st General Court, Friedman serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and is vice chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

Political career

Early in her career, Friedman served as a community organizer for groups such as

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

, advocating for reproductive rights for women. When her children entered Arlington Public Schools, Friedman was a founding member of the Arlington Education Foundation and Schools are a Priority in our Town (SPOT) to support high-equality and equitable educational opportunities in Arlington. Later, Friedman was elected as an Arlington Town Meeting member, and helped manage the gubernatorial campaigns of

Don Berwick Donald M. Berwick (born September 9, 1946) is a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to his work in the administration, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare Im ...

and

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

, as well as the state Senate campaigns of

Committees and caucuses

Friedman serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and is vice chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Additionally, she is a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, the Senate Committee on Ethics and the Senate Committee on Rules Additionally, Friedman is the co-chair of the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators, the MBTA Legislative Caucus and the Library Legislative Caucus.

Policy

Friedman is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, and a member of the General Court's Progressive Caucus. During her first term in office, Friedman helped successfully champion several major pieces of legislation, including bills to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour and implement paid family medical leave, reform the criminal justice system, increase funding for workforce training and development and combat the opioid crisis in Massachusetts. Education, housing, transportation and civil rights are also important legislative priorities for Friedman.

Electoral history

Personal life

Friedman holds a bachelor's degree from

Roger Williams University Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams. The school enrolled approximately 4,400 undergraduate and ...

and a master's degree in special education from

Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1909 to educate teachers. Originally founded as a women's college, male students were admitted beginning in 2005. History 1909–1998 Th ...

. She currently lives in Arlington Center with her husband of 35 years, John Page, and has three adult children .

References