Pat Jehlen: Candidate Profile 2nd Middlesex District

SOMERVILLE, MA — State Sen. Pat Jehlen is among two Democrats vying for the Senate seat in the 2nd Middlesex District. Jehlen, a 15-year veteran of the State Senate, faces a primary opponent in Gary Fisher.

Jehlen, 77, lives in Somerville with her husband Alain, daughter Wendy, and granddaughters Anika, Laura and Kayala. Her son, Peter, and his wife Sarah also live in Somerville. Her other son, Nick, and his wife Amber live in Pennsylvania.

Jehlen previously served on the Somerville School Committee and as a state representative. She holds a master's degree in teaching from Harvard University, a bachelor's in history from Swarthmore College and a graduate study degree in history from UMass Boston.

Jehlen has worked as a teacher, VISTA volunteer and activist.

Why are you seeking elective office?

My work as a legislator has always focused on reducing inequality - in education, in pay, in health care, in public safety. This is a time when real change is possible because the pandemic has exposed inequity so clearly, and when so many people are mobilized to demand change. I am excited to continue working together on all those issues. That means greatly increased and fairer school funding, higher pay for direct care workers, reducing disparities in health care, and reducing incarceration.

How would you rate the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic on a letter-grade scale (A, B, C, D or F), and how would you explain that rating?

I don't like letter grades. Are we grading on a curve? Compared to the president's performance nationally, the Baker administration deserves an A+.

I appreciate the governor's recent extension of a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and many other actions in an unprecedented and terrible situation.

65% of the state's COVID deaths have occurred in nursing homes. The administration's initial response to the - predictable - nursing home disaster was far from adequate, but eventually they did an excellent job of providing resources and assistance.

The state publishes a LOT of information about COVID every day and week. But it was very hard to get them to publish useful information about deaths and cases in nursing homes, and now they refuse to release information about what happened in state-run emergency child care centers. This makes it hard for people trying to plan for re-opening schools and day care programs since they can't learn from the emergency centers' experience.

There are no good solutions for operating schools in a safe and productive way; there are only less worse ones. School leaders, parents and educators are frustrated with the lateness and lack of certainty from the state, and reported threats against schools that don't re-open in person.

Schools should have been a top priority, and to re-open schools safely, the state should have moved more slowly in re-opening other businesses such as gyms and bars to slow the spread more. Sen. Brownsberger's blog https://willbrownsberger.com/t... makes that case.

So: lots of explanation for a letter grade of Incomplete.

Is Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing law, working, and if not what would you change?

40B has led to a lot of housing being built since the 80s that might not have been built. 32,500 of those (or 650/year) units have been "affordable." It's the most effective program the state has had to produce "affordable" housing. But it's a drop in the bucket of what's needed. It's had little effect in some of the most affluent suburbs. And the standard for "affordability" is 80% of the area median income, so the people most in need don't qualify.
When the Senate considered the governor's Housing Choices proposal, I proposed increasing the percentage of low-income housing required in the plan, and making more people eligible by making the standard 60% of the area median income. Unfortunately, this was not adopted.

What steps, if any, should the state take toward police reform?

I supported the Senate's bill to:
- establish a board for state training standards, certification and decertification of police officers
- limits use of force, for example banning chokeholds with intent or result of loss of consciousness and limiting no-knock warrants
- requiring de-escalation
- creating a duty to intervene
- limiting qualified immunity in civil suits to situations where behavior was objectively reasonable
- requires civilian authority approval for police to acquire military weapons
- allows local discretion in assigning school resource officers

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

For more about what I work on, see www.electpatjehlen.org.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I'll leave that to the voters

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My website (www.electpatjehlen.org) lists some of the laws for which I was the primary sponsor. Here's just one of the laws I've worked to pass:
In 2016, I was lead author of our law requiring equal pay for equal work. We were the first state to prevent employers' asking an applicant’s salary history. A new study shows that, in states that have since passed this policy, the average job changer makes 5% more, women make 8% more, and Black people make 15% more than in states without that policy.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"No one makes change alone." Any significant change in laws or the budget requires not just passionate advocacy by legislators but work by individuals and groups in the public. No matter how important and laudable the goal, no matter how persuasive the legislator, no matter how minimal the opposition, if you don't have public, organized support, it won't happen. And many of the most important, needed changes have serious powerful opposition.

This article originally appeared on the Somerville Patch