Jo Comerford
Jo Comerford | |
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Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester district | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office January 2, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Stan Rosenberg |
Personal details | |
Born | (1963-09-03) September 3, 1963 (age 60) |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Northampton, Massachusetts |
Joanne M. Comerford is an American politician who currently serves in the Massachusetts Senate. She is the first woman to hold the seat.[1] Before being elected senator she had worked for the National Priorities Project, the Center for Human Development, the American Friends Service Committee, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and MoveOn.[2]
Comerford won her first race, a primary election for state senate, entirely on write-in votes. The long-time incumbent senator for her district resigned abruptly in May 2018 in the face of an ethics scandal, after the filing deadline for potential challengers.[3] After an energized grassroots campaign that mobilized over 650 registered volunteers[4] and adopted the rallying cry "Go With Jo," 14,196 voters wrote in Comerford as their preferred candidate, defeating the only candidate whose name was printed on the ballot and two other write-in candidates.[5]
The Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus endorsed Comerford as an incumbent candidate in the 2020 Massachusetts general election.[6]
In 2021, Comerford was appointed as the Massachusetts state senate's leader of a COVID-19 working group, helping to provide oversight of the state’s pandemic response.[7] She has advocated for full funding for public schools, turning Massachusetts into a zero emissions state, health care reform, revenue equity, a police reform bill that passed the Legislature in 2020, and work on bringing rail to the western part of the state, among other priorities.[4][8] In 2021, she filed a bill to establish a five-year moratorium on the construction of new prisons and jails in the commonwealth, in partnership with Representative Chynah Tyler.[9]
She is married to Ann Hennessey, a public school teacher who represented Ward 5 on the Northampton School Committee.[2]
See also
- 2019–2020 Massachusetts legislature
- 2021–2022 Massachusetts legislature
References
- ^ "Senator Joanne Comerford". malegislature.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ a b "Jo Comerford, campaign director for MoveOn, seeks state Senate seat". Daily Hampshire Gazette. May 22, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ "Sen. Stan Rosenberg resigns after ethics report". masslive. May 3, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ a b Frenier, Adam (September 5, 2018). "Jo Comerford Looks Ahead To Beacon Hill After Write-In Victory". www.nepm.org. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ "Comerford wins Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District with write-in campaign". Daily Hampshire Gazette. September 6, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ "Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus Political Action Committee Endorsed Candidates", Mwpc.org, retrieved August 5, 2020
- ^ Young, Colin A. (February 13, 2021). "Northampton's Jo Comerford to serve as Massachusetts Senate leader on COVID". masslive. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ "Comerford, constituents talk legislative achievements, priorities in online town hall". Daily Hampshire Gazette. December 8, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ Comerford, Jo (April 27, 2021). "Columnist Sen. Jo Comerford: No new women's prison". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
External links
- Legislative website
- State House website
- Campaign website
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- President of the Senate
- Karen Spilka (D)
- President pro tempore
- Will Brownsberger (D)
- Majority Leader
- Cynthia Stone Creem (D)
- Minority Leader
- Bruce Tarr (R)
- ▌Paul Mark (D, Berk., Hpsh., Frnk., & Hpdn.)
- ▌Paul Feeney (D, Bris. & Norf.)
- ▌Michael Rodrigues (D, 1st Bris. & Plym.)
- ▌Mark Montigny (D, 2nd Bris. & Plym.)
- ▌Marc Pacheco (D, 3rd Bris. & Plym.)
- ▌Julian Cyr (D, Cape & Islands)
- ▌Pavel Payano (D, 1st Essex)
- ▌Joan Lovely (D, 2nd Essex)
- ▌Brendan Crighton (D, 3rd Essex)
- ▌Bruce Tarr (R, 1st Ess. & Mid.)
- ▌Barry Finegold (D, 2nd Ess. & Mid.)
- ▌Adam Gomez (D, Hampden)
- ▌John Velis (D, Hpdn. & Hpsh.)
- ▌Jacob Oliveira (D, Hpdn., Hpsh. & Wor.)
- ▌Jo Comerford (D, Hpsh., Frnk., & Wor.)
- ▌Edward J. Kennedy (D, 1st Mid.)
- ▌Patricia D. Jehlen (D, 2nd Mid.)
- ▌Michael J. Barrett (D, 3rd Mid.)
- ▌Cindy Friedman (D, 4th Mid.)
- ▌Jason Lewis (D, 5th Mid.)
- ▌Karen Spilka (D, Mid. & Norf.)
- ▌Sal DiDomenico (D, Mid. & Suff.)
- ▌Jamie Eldridge (D, Mid. & Wor.)
- ▌Cynthia Stone Creem (D, Norf. & Mid.)
- ▌John F. Keenan (D, Norf. & Plym.)
- ▌Walter Timilty (D, Norf., Plym. & Bris.)
- ▌Mike Rush (D, Norf. & Suff.)
- ▌Becca Rausch (D, Norf., Wor. & Mid.)
- ▌Susan Moran (D, Plym. & Barn.)
- ▌Patrick O'Connor (R, 1st Plym. & Norf.)
- ▌Michael Brady (D, 2nd Plym. & Norf.)
- ▌Nick Collins (D, 1st Suffolk)
- ▌Liz Miranda (D, 2nd Suffolk)
- ▌Lydia Edwards (D, 3rd Suffolk)
- ▌Will Brownsberger (D, Suff. & Mid.)
- ▌Robyn Kennedy (D, 1st Worcester)
- ▌Michael O. Moore (D, 2nd Worcester)
- ▌Ryan Fattman (R, Wor. & Hpdn.)
- ▌Peter Durant (R, Wor. & Hpsh.)
- ▌John Cronin (D, Wor. & Mid.)
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