With Congressman Seth Moulton throwing his hat in the ring as a Democratic candidate for President of the United State in 2020, a lot of people are watching State. Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead, Swampscott and a small portion of Lynn) 8th Essex District to see if she takes the challenge of running for his Congressional Seat.
“It’s something I’m giving a lot of thought to. I have been serving as a legislator for over a decade now. I have felt honored to represent my constituents and this would just be taking that to a different level, the federal level” said Ehrlich during an interview in a Lynn coffee shop. “So I’m giving it some thought, I haven’t come to a decision yet.”
Ehrlich said at this stage of the game she is “listening” to people and what they have to say and she adds it’s been quite eye-opening. Another factor is finance. There is a good difference between running for state representative and running for Congress.
“It is part of the decision process. It requires raising millions of dollars (for Congress) which is sort of an unfortunate feature. It really illustrates to me in real terms some things need to change on the federal level,” she said, adding that the state representative race varies in the size of the district and how competitive a campaign is. ”It can range from $10,000 to $200,000. It’s a very wide range. I think in terms for Congress it would be in the millions.
Early in her career Ehrlich, who has been in the House of Representatives since 2008, fought against the former coal-burning power plant in Salem.
Ehrlich has been a CPA for over three decades, running her own practice while counseling small and medium sized businesses. She is one of only two CPAs in the legislature. As part of MA Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo’s leadership team, she currently serves as the House Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Export Development, where she has an eye on growing Massachusetts’ trade and expanding access to new markets for Massachusetts businesses.
Ehrlich and her husband, Bruce, have two daughters who both attended Marblehead Public Schools and went on to pursue their passions in biomedical science and journalism.