1. Eric Philip Lesser was born on February 27,1985 and is an American lawyer and politician who served in the Massachusetts State Senate.
50 Facts About Eric Lesser
1. 2.
Eric Lesser proposed and passed the Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights as well as provisions for job training, tourism and the arts, substance abuse treatment, and environmental issues, among others.
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Eric Lesser grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and graduated from Longmeadow High School.
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Eric Lesser worked for Congressman Richard Neal and Senator Ted Kennedy.
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Eric Lesser was an active member of Sinai Temple, coordinating volunteer activities for high school students, and an active volunteer with the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee.
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Eric Lesser's father, Martin, is a family doctor in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
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Eric Lesser's father is a member of the Massachusetts National Guard and in 2010, served a tour of duty in Iraq.
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Eric Lesser led the Harvard College Democrats and a policy group on Congressional Redistricting Reform.
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Eric Lesser returned to Harvard after his work on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and in the Obama White House.
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Eric Lesser created a luggage-management system that earned him the trust of the campaign team, the traveling press, and his future boss, Obama advisor David Axelrod.
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For two years, Eric Lesser shared a wall with the Oval Office.
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On February 18,2014, Eric Lesser announced his candidacy for Massachusetts State Senate.
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Eric Lesser launched his reelection bid in September 2016 after an uncontested Democratic primary.
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On November 8,2016, Eric Lesser defeated James "Chip" Harrington, earning 56 percent of the vote to Harrington's 44 percent.
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Notably, Eric Lesser earned the endorsement of his former boss, President Barack Obama, who only endorsed 161 candidates nationwide that year.
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Eric Lesser was sworn in for a second term in the Massachusetts State Senate on January 4,2017.
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Eric Lesser won his third and fourth elections to the Massachusetts State Senate in 2018 and 2020, running uncontested each time in the Democratic primary and general election.
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In January 2022, Eric Lesser announced his campaign for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.
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Eric Lesser would be the first Democrat from western Massachusetts to serve in the role since 1853.
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Eric Lesser believes that a high-speed rail line between Pittsfield and Boston would increase employment and boost the economy in Western Massachusetts.
21.
In January 2015, Eric Lesser filed two bills regarding opioid misuse.
22.
Eric Lesser's bills served as the blueprint for the plan ultimately adopted by the Massachusetts State Senate in its 2015 budget, which allocated $100,000 in state funds to buy doses of the drug Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, which can reverse opiate overdoses.
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Eric Lesser sits on the advisory board of the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group for student loan borrowers.
24.
In January 2021, Eric Lesser negotiated for an economic recovery and development bill.
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Eric Lesser is the co-chair of the 17-member Future of Work Commission that is developing a report on the "impact of automation, artificial intelligence, global trade," and other economic trends affecting drivers, musicians, and gig workers.
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Eric Lesser has proposed a remote worker relocation program, which would pay $10,000 over two years to employees that could move to western Massachusetts to work from home.
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Eric Lesser's plan is similar to one currently in place in Vermont.
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The economic relief and development package that Eric Lesser negotiated included historic housing reform, designed to address the housing crisis and encourage new construction.
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Eric Lesser established the Nonprofit Security Grant program alongside Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler in 2017.
30.
In June 2020, Eric Lesser attended the Black Lives Matter protests in Springfield, Massachusetts.
31.
Eric Lesser's proposal makes an exception for immediate threats to life and public safety emergencies.
32.
Eric Lesser served on the Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes, which advises on the prevalence, prevention, and recovery from hate crimes.
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In May 2014, Eric Lesser published an opinion piece in the Springfield Republican detailing a plan to support the increasing population of adults over 65 in Western Massachusetts.
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Eric Lesser believes that in-home healthcare should be more affordable so that seniors can stay in their homes as long as possible.
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Eric Lesser's plan includes two points to protect the physical and financial security of the elderly.
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Eric Lesser wrote that the state should provide increased oversight of in-home healthcare agencies in order to reduce instances of elder abuse, and he supports the increased availability of computer and financial literacy education opportunities to decrease the number of seniors who fall victim to online and phone scams.
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Since 2017, Eric Lesser has hosted an annual "Thrive After 55" Wellness Fair where participating organizations answer questions and offer information about their resources to local seniors.
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Eric Lesser, who served as the Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation at the time, participated in the oversight hearings.
39.
Eric Lesser has since proposed legislation to force the RMV to process these out-of-state notifications, before tragedy strikes again.
40.
Eric Lesser criticized the vaccine rollout in Massachusetts as messy and uncoordinated.
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Eric Lesser sponsored an emergency bill to set up a one-stop website for COVID-19 vaccination appointments, as well as a 24-hour hotline.
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Eric Lesser requested that Baker appear before the legislature's COVID-19 oversight committee to answer questions.
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Eric Lesser helped secure a $600 million bond for an entirely new Holyoke Soldiers' Home and increased veterans' services statewide.
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Eric Lesser holds a number of national recognitions, including a Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership at the Aspen Institute.
45.
Eric Lesser is the co-chair of the Future of Work Initiative at NewDEAL, a national network of pro-growth, progressive state and local elected officials.
46.
Eric Lesser sits on the advisory board of the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group for student loan borrowers.
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Eric Lesser is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
48.
Eric Lesser has taught workshops on campaigns, elections, and public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a class on millennial leadership in local and state politics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
49.
Eric Lesser worked as a script consultant with HBO on the television show Veep for seven seasons.
50.
In 2018 and 2020, Eric Lesser did not face any opponents in the 1st Hampden and Hampshire Democratic Primary and General Election.