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Margaret Scarsdale
Margaret Scarsdale (Democratic Party) is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 1st Middlesex District. She assumed office on January 4, 2023. Her current term ends on January 6, 2027.
Scarsdale (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives to represent the 1st Middlesex District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Margaret Scarsdale was born in Georgia, and lives in Massachusetts. Scarsdale earned her general equivalency diploma (GED). She later earned a bachelor's degree in American studies and sociology. Her career experience includes owning her own writing and consulting business, working at Ayer Town Hall, and teaching language arts.[1]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Scarsdale was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity
- Community Development and Small Businesses Joint Committee
- Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management
- Municipalities and Regional Government Joint Committee
Elections
2024
See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District
Incumbent Margaret Scarsdale defeated Lynne Archambault in the general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Margaret Scarsdale (D) | 51.3 | 13,545 |
 | Lynne Archambault (R) | 48.6 | 12,833 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 20 | ||
| Total votes: 26,398 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District
Incumbent Margaret Scarsdale advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Margaret Scarsdale | 99.7 | 3,599 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 10 | ||
| Total votes: 3,609 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District
Lynne Archambault advanced from the Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lynne Archambault | 99.1 | 2,190 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 2,211 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Scarsdale in this election.
2022
See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District
Margaret Scarsdale defeated Andrew Shepherd and Catherine Lundeen in the general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Margaret Scarsdale (D) | 47.1 | 9,409 |
| Andrew Shepherd (R) | 47.1 | 9,402 | ||
| Catherine Lundeen (Independent) | 5.4 | 1,075 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 91 | ||
| Total votes: 19,977 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District
Margaret Scarsdale advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Margaret Scarsdale | 99.6 | 4,082 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 17 | ||
| Total votes: 4,099 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District
Andrew Shepherd defeated Lynne Archambault in the Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Andrew Shepherd | 50.8 | 2,261 | |
| Lynne Archambault | 49.0 | 2,182 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 7 | ||
| Total votes: 4,450 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Scarsdale's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Margaret Scarsdale did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Margaret Scarsdale completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Scarsdale's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Climate change is a dire threat to our planet and must be met without equivocation. This cannot happen through lukewarm mandates, and absolutely cannot happen through unfunded mandates. Legislation should be targeted to a full spectrum of remedies and must be fully funded to avoid crippling small towns further.
- The affordable housing crisis is at a tipping point, a crisis of many converging elements, including aging baby boomers, young families burdened with college debt, and no strong plan from the state to address this issue. Massachusetts needs a clear framework to help towns achieve the state’s 10% goal, and this must include a mix of incentives to developers and aid to small towns to help them bridge this gap.
- The COVID pandemic has upended almost every facet of American life, and emerging from this in a strong, sustainable way is a priority. Small towns were especially hit hard, as there is often little “cushion” to meet the varied needs of a robust community: senior and veteran needs resulting from physical and emotional isolation; students struggling with almost two years of virtual learning, and the resulting loss in key literary and emotional skills; small businesses and farmers struggling to rebound, as many are the mom-and-pop operations that are so vital to community vibrancy; and strained municipal services, as exhausted employees leave the workforce. Massachusetts must address all of these needs in a robust, comprehensive way.
Funding State Mandates: As a resident of a district that comprises towns with a population from ~3,000 to ~12,000, I understand first-hand how crippling unfunded state mandates are. Unfunded state mandates, like regionalized bus transportation, leave towns held hostage as they wrestle with the dilemma of funding schools vs. funding necessary municipal needs. The state has long been focused on large cities, and many smaller towns are often left to fend for themselves, which always translates into deferred maintenance, stretching departments thin, and disinvestment that keeps them from achieving their potential.
Commitment to Action: All the talk in the world is useless if a leader cannot follow through and make sure goals are achieved. This involves facilitating key collaborations, helping to identify and develop a strategic plan for accomplishing goals, and rolling up your sleeves and actively participating in the process. Not only does this have a practical outcome of seeing goals accomplished, it helps build trust and energy in a community as they see elected officials as a genuine partner in success.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 31. Formal session ended on July 31, 2024 and an informal session was convened from August 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 15.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District |
Officeholder Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Sheila Harrington (R) |
Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Middlesex District 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
