Senator Eric Lessers next chapter? He says it will be close to home

LONGMEADOW With Eric P. Lesser, the conversation always seems to circle around to east-west rail.

The plan to increase passenger rail service from one end of the Bay State to the other through Springfield has been a signature issue in his eight years as a state senator. Its also engendered a lot of the opposition and pushback that he felt in the Senate and, this year, in running unsuccessfully statewide for lieutenant governor.

Hes talked about it since his very first campaign as a 28-year-old in 2014 when he was a brand-new candidate who survived a five-way Democratic primary and, then, a three-candidate race to succeed state Sen. Gale P. Candaras.

In this photo from Sept. 9 2014, state Senate candidate Eric P. Lesser smiles near the end of the vote count on primary election night at Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow. With him at right are his wife Alison and daughter Rose.

We were laughed out of a lot of rooms, recalled the now 37-year-old Lesser this week. And, now, its literally on Joe Bidens desk.

Ten days ago, the state, Amtrak and CSX applied for $108 million in federal funds, enough to help fund an early phase of construction for the project.

Lesser cites not only east-west rail, but legislation fostering civics education, allowing cities and towns to buy cheaper Narcan to reverse overdoses and the states COVID response as major accomplishments of his tenure in the Senate. And, he adds, there is the future of workforce development, another of the issues he championed.

Just to be able to talk about manufacturing, Lesser said. And the opportunity that presents for us here in Western Massachusetts.

In this photo from 2020, state Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Brian Ashe toured Toner Plastics in East Longmeadow with members of FORGE Manufacturing Initiative. Here, Toner Plastics' president Jack Warren shows how they make their products during the tour. Lesser, who will leave the Senate in the new year, says manufacturing and workforce development have been among the key issues for which he advocated during this tenure. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who will become the senior state senator from the four Western Massachusetts counties with the departure of both Lesser and Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, said Lessers presence will be missed on Beacon Hill.

Hes been a valuable colleague and a friend, Comerford said. I saw his work ethic up close when he led the states COVID response. His work ethic is tremendous.

Joel McAuliffe, a former Lesser aide who is a city councilor in Chicopee, calls his former boss the most consequential state senator from the region in decades, possibly ever.

I think he put Western Massachusetts front and center, McAuliffe said. And was able to get things accomplished in Boston that would have been difficult for anybody else.

Lesser, McAuliffe would like to remind people, negotiated three economic development bills as chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee. That includes a $1 million pilot program that helps families on public assistance avoid the cliff effect and gain wealth while keeping needed supports. Those bills also had support for health and science research and the states biotech industry.

Those have and will have a significant impact for decades, he said.

Lesser talks about spearheading the states COVID response. But its McAuliffe who offers an example that makes it real.

Because of Lesser, businesses didnt have to pay state taxes when their Paycheck Protection Program loans were forgiven. The forgiven loans were not counted as taxable income.

Every restaurant and small business in the state owes him a debt of gratitude, McAuliffe said.

Lately, Lessers been making the rounds, appearing at municipal meetings across his district in his final weeks in office. His farewell address to Senate colleagues takes place today on Beacon Hill. Hes planning a farewell event for friends and supporters on Thursday at Springfields White Lion Brewing, and will officially turn over the duties to his successor, current state Rep. Jacob Jake Oliveira, D-Ludlow, early next month.

All this has led to a lot of speculation.

One of his mentors, longtime Longmeadow Democratic Committee chair Candice Glazer, jokes that she needs to have a button made to read, I dont know what Eric is doing.

Candy Glazer, then chairwoman of the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee, speaks beside state Senate candidate Eric Lesser at a campaign rally in 2014 in East Longmeadow. (The Republican file photo)

Lesser isnt making any major announcements about his next chapter. He said hes staying in Longmeadow, his hometown, where he grew up the son of a family doctor, Martin Lesser, and a social worker, Joan Lesser.

Its where his children Rose, 9, Nora, whos nearly 6, and 2-year-old David are growing up around the corner from his parents. His wife, Alison Silber Lesser, has her law practice here.

Lesser will continue to serve on the Western Massachusetts Passenger Rail Commission, and hes a member of the transition team working with Gov.-elect Maura Healey and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Driscoll on transportation issues.

In the new year, he will return to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to teach a course, State and Local Leadership in the Millennial Era, a topic with which he is clearly familiar. (Lesser, in 2016, was appointed by then Senate president Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, to launch the states Millennial Engagement Initiative.)

Glazer said she remembers Lesser as a high-school student, running a Proposition 21/2 override campaign in Longmeadow to help avoid teacher layoffs.

It didnt win the first time, she said. So he did it again. He got to see teachers tear up pink slips that night.

After high school, he attended Harvard College, where headed the Harvard Democrats and worked on Deval Patricks campaign for governor. Later, he went on to work U.S. Sen. Barack Obamas campaign to become president, beginning as a baggage handler and then going on to become a special assistant to Obama White House adviser David Axelrod.

Former President Barack Obama walks with Massachusetts State Sen. Eric Lesser, of Longmeadow, at the Obama family home on Martha's Vineyard this summer. Lesser worked on Obama's first campaign for president in 2008 as a baggage handler; he later became a special assistant to White House advisor David Axelrod.

Lesser went back to Harvard to attend law school and in February 2014 announced his candidacy to succeed the retiring Candaras.

It was a tight primary that year, Glazer said, but Lesser emerged the winner by 174 votes.

In the Senate, Lesser demonstrated a commitment to the oft-forgotten priorities of Western Massachusetts, according to his mentor. I think everyone knows we are out here now, Glazer said.

Lesser, speaking last week, said its true that Western Massachusetts priorities can get shunted aside on Beacon Hill in favor of those for Boston and its suburbs, where both the money and the votes are. Its not only where the capital is, but its where most major businesses and institutions are based.

To break through can be difficult, but Lesser cites east-west rail as an example of an issue that can viewed through a lens of how it affects the entire state.

The real turnaround there came when it was seen as a statewide problem, he said.

Or, more specifically, the solution to two regional problems. Eastern Massachusetts has booming industries but housing is expensive. Businesses cant find workers because the workers cant find housing.

Western Massachusetts has comparatively cheaper housing, and space. There is also an opportunity to place back-office and manufacturing operations here. To accomplish those things, people need to get back and forth and the Massachusetts Turnpike often turns into a parking lot.

The problems are complementary, Lesser said. Or at least each one offers a solution to the other.

Thus, when the Boston City Council, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and leaders in the bsiness community, like Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. got on board, it proved a turning point for the cause.

Over the course of his Senate tenure, Lesser pulled together a loyal and diverse following, which he highlighted in his run for lieutenant governor. It was Springfield City Councilor Justin Hurst and his wife, Springfield School Committee member Denise Hurst, who introduced him at the Democratic State Convention in May, a presentation that included a videotaped message from state Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield.

Hurst said it would have been easy for Lesser to focus on the parts of his district that are not Springfield, the monied suburbs where voter turnout tends to be higher.

He never lost sight of the fact that Springfield is the economic engine for his entire district, Hurst said. He deserves a lot of credit for that.

And, Hurst, like others, pointed back to the Obama years and how Lesser drew on his connections to benefit his district and the region.

Eric had connections at the national level and the state level prior to being a state senator, Hurst said, which he utilized to the benefit of his district.

Lesser, when asked to recall some favorite projects, recalled his work with the Community Music School in Springfield. He secured state funding over the years for its adaptive music programs, getting music education into the hands of special-needs students in the Springfield Public Schools. I think thats done a lot, he said.