Hi, I’m Jamie.
I’m passionate about investing in our children, healthcare system, society, and environment. I’m always learning more from my work as State Senator and as a representative for the people of the Middlesex and Worcester district.
Brief Introduction
I have served as State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester district since January 2009, representing 12 communities in the MetroWest.
I serve as the Senate-Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources as well as the Senate-Chair of the Clean Energy, Criminal Justice Reform, Medicare For All and MBTA Caucuses.
My Passions
I focus my energies on Beacon Hill largely on increasing investments in public education and transportation, combating climate change, guaranteeing healthcare a right, stimulating the economy, reforming our criminal justice and prison systems, advancing campaign and ethics reform, protecting the environment, making government more transparent, combatting racial and economic inequality, and supporting immigrants.
My Family
I grew up with my younger sister Amanda in South Acton. My mother, Betsy Eldridge, was a kindergarten teacher in Acton public schools for over twenty-five years, and my father Dave worked as an electrical engineer for thirty-five years for Raytheon. My extended family has ties mostly in Cape Cod and Maine but also in the Maryland - Virginia area.
My Education
I grew up in Acton. I am a product of Acton’s public schools, graduating from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in 1991. My commitment to public service began at an early age, as I co-founded the high school’s community service organization, Acton Boxborough Community Outreach (ABCO).
Following High School, I graduated from Johns Hopkins University, where I was President of the Student Council, and continued my volunteer activities, including for Habitat for Humanity, the Native American Mentoring Program, and Matt Boulay for City Council, all in Baltimore.
After John Hopkins, I attended Boston College Law School, where I served as President of the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) for two years. I fought to increase the law school’s funding of public interest internships, change the U.S. Department of Defense’s ban on gay and lesbian Americans serving in the military, support reproductive rights groups on all Boston College campuses, and expand public interest law practices in animal rights, community economic development, and environmental protection.
While in law school, I became interested in a new area of public interest law called Community and Economic Development law, which I practiced as a student at the Harvard Law School Clinic in Jamaica Plain, as a lawyer at Merrimack Valley Legal Services in Lowell, and I continue to support to this day as a legislator and lawyer.
Community Involvement
In 2001, I was elected as a commissioner of the Acton Housing Authority and was appointed by the Acton Board of Selectmen as an Associate Member to the Acton Planning Board. Holding these positions gave me a deeper understanding of municipal budgets and the impact of state legislation on communities, and housing, environmental, and “Smart Growth” issues, as well as the need for every community to protect its most vulnerable residents.
I have been politically involved in the Middlesex and Worcester Senate district since high school, where I was a town coordinator for then-State Representative Bob Durand’s successful run for State Senate in 1990, who was and remains an important mentor to me. After graduating from college, I was elected as Chair of the Acton Democratic Town Committee, and the Middlesex and Worcester Democratic Coalition. In 1996, I was hired as State Senator Bob Durand’s campaign manager, after which I worked as a Legislative Aide in his Littleton District office, and the State House, helping constituents. While attending law school, I managed the re-election campaigns for then-State Representative and Senator Pam Resor’s campaigns for re-election in 1998 and 2000, who has been an outstanding mentor to me.
As a state legislator, I was an early supporter of Deval Patrick’s 2006 run for Governor, Maura Healey’s 2014 run for Attorney General, Elizabeth Warren for U.S. Senate in 2012, Don Berwick’s and Jay Gonzalez’s runs for Governor, Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign for President of the United States, and Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 campaigns for President of the United States. Finally, I was a national delegate for Barack Obama in 2008, and for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 and 2020.
Public Service
Prior to my election as State Representative, in 1996, I worked as a Legislative Aide for State Senator Bob Durand, working in his Littleton district office, and the State House. After graduating from law school in 2000, I worked as a public interest attorney with Merrimack Valley Legal Services in Lowell (now Northeast Legal Services), a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to the poor, senior citizens, and people with disabilities.
As a public interest lawyer, I worked to help low-income residents with issues of housing, Social Security, disability, and unemployment. I received a National Equal Justice Works fellowship to help low- and moderate-income people buy their first homes, start a business, or create a non-profit to create change in their neighborhoods. I left Merrimack Valley Legal Services to run for State Representative for the 37th Middlesex District, becoming the only publicly-financed “Clean Elections” candidate to be elected in Massachusetts history in 2002. In 2008, upon the announced retirement of former State Senator Pam Resor, I ran for State Senate for the Middlesex and Worcester district, and was elected in November 2008, the position I continue to hold today.