Lori A. Ehrlich (born June 9, 1963) is the State Representative for the

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

8th

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

District. Ehrlich won her seat on a March 4, 2008, special election after her predecessor, Doug Petersen, resigned. Peterson was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture by Governor

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 ...

. After completing Petersen's term, Ehrlich went on to win re-election in November 2008. She is Chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Export Development.

Early life and education

The Ehrlich family has lived in the 8th Essex District for three generations. Lori (Litman) Ehrlich was born in Lynn, raised in Marblehead, and schooled in

Swampscott Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts ...

. After graduating from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

in 1985 with a B.S. in accounting, Ehrlich moved back to the 8th Essex District with her husband Bruce and her two daughters, currently 25 and 28. In 2005 she earned a master's degree in Public Administration from

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. While at Harvard, Ehrlich served as president of the Kennedy School's Energy Caucus. She managed her own CPA practice for over 20 years.

Career

Lori Ehrlich worked for Stavisky, Shapiro and White, an accounting firm in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, from 1985 to 1988 as a staff accountant and tax specialist. From 1988 to 2008, Ehrlich was self-employed as a certified public accountant, focusing on business consulting and tax planning and preparation. From 2005-2009, she served as President of The Environmental Integrity Project, a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based project of Rockefeller Family Fund. Ehrlich also co-founded two non-profit environmental and energy organizations, Healthlink, Inc. and Wenham Lake Watershed Association. Until her election in 2008, Ehrlich served as HealthLink president, media liaison, political strategist, and spokesperson. As a co-founder of Wenham Lake Watershed Association, she brokered the successful corporate cleanup of a major drinking water source for 80,000 residents on the North Shore of Boston. Beginning January 31, 2022, she became the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

's Region 1 Director. Ehrlich will oversee emergency management operations for

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Politics

In 2006, Ehrlich became involved in the Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign. She served on the Patrick/Murray Finance Committee as a fund raiser and on the policy team as an energy policy adviser. Ehrlich also served as a delegate for Patrick and Murray at the 2006 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention. Ehrlich has been a vocal opponent of a new power plant being constructed in Sale

after decades of successful advocacy for closure of the old coal plant.

Election

In February 2008, Ehrlich competed for the seat vacated by Doug Petersen. Ehrlich beat Cesar Achilla of Swampscott in the Democratic Primary by 6214 votes to 2899. Ehrlich went on to compete in the March 4 Special Election against Republican John Blaisdell and Independent Mark Barry, both from Marblehead. Ehrlich won the Special Election with 56% of the vote, winning all precincts but one. Blaisdell finished second with 35% of the vote, and Barry in third with 9%. Ehrlich was re-elected in November 2008 with 56.6% of the vote. Republican John Blaisdell came in 2nd with 34.6% and Independent Mark Barry finished 3rd with 8% of the vote. Ehrlich triumphed in all but one of the district's 15 precincts, the exception being Marblehead's 7th precinct where Blaisdell won by five votes. For her third term, Ehrlich faced off with a Republican opponent Katherine Kozitza on November 2, 2010. Ehrlich won every precinct in the district to an overall 65% return. She was sworn in on January 5, 2011, to begin her third term..

References

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