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Patricia Jehlen
2005 - Present
2027
20
Patricia D. Jehlen (Democratic Party) is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing the 2nd Middlesex District. She assumed office in 2005. Her current term ends on January 6, 2027.
Jehlen (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Massachusetts State Senate to represent the 2nd Middlesex District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Patricia Jehlen was born on October 14, 1943, in Austin, Texas. She earned a master's degree from Swarthmore College in 1965. She earned a master's degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1969. She attended the University of Massachusetts Boston for graduate study. Jehlen's career experience includes working as a legislator, as a VISTA volunteer, as a research assistant with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as a teacher with Brookline High School, as a supervisor of student teachers with Simmons College, and as an instructor with the Boston University School of Public Health.[1][2]
She has been affiliated with the Mystic Valley NAACP, with the Mystic River Watershed Association, with local Democratic Party committees, with the Citizens for Public Schools, with the Friends of the Middlesex Fells, with the Winchester League of Women Voters, and with OPENAIR Circus as an officer.[2]
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
Jehlen was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
- Education Joint Committee
- Elder Affairs Joint Committee (decommissioned), Chair
- Labor and Workforce Development Joint Committee, Chair
- Public Service Joint Committee, Vice Chair
- Ways and Means Joint Committee
2021-2022
Jehlen was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee
- Reimagining Massachusetts Post-Pandemic Resiliency Committee (decommissioned)
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
- Education Joint Committee
- Elder Affairs Joint Committee (decommissioned), Senate chair
- Housing Joint Committee, Senate vice chair
- Labor and Workforce Development Joint Committee, Senate chair
- Ways and Means Joint Committee
2019-2020
Jehlen was assigned to the following committees:
- Elder Affairs Joint Committee (decommissioned), Chair
- Community Development and Small Businesses Joint Committee
- Labor and Workforce Development Joint Committee, Chair
- Ways and Means Joint Committee
- Cannabis Policy Joint Committee, Vice Chair
- Revenue Joint Committee
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
Massachusetts committee assignments, 2017 |
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• Ways and Means |
• Education Joint, Vice chair |
• Elder Affairs Joint |
• Election Laws Joint |
• Judiciary Joint |
• Labor and Workforce Development Joint, Vice chair |
• Marijuana Policy Joint, Chair |
• Ways and Means Joint |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Jehlen served on the following committees:
Massachusetts committee assignments, 2015 |
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• Elder Affairs Joint, Chair |
• Education Joint, Vice Chair |
• Ways and Means Joint, Assistant Vice Chair |
• Judiciary Joint |
• Housing Joint |
• Ways and Means, Assistant Vice Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Jehlen served on the following committees:
Massachusetts committee assignments, 2013 |
---|
• Ways and Means |
• Education Joint, Vice chair |
• Elder Affairs Joint, Chair |
• Health Care Financing Joint |
• Housing Joint |
• Judiciary Joint |
• Ways and Means Joint |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Jehlen served on these committees:
Massachusetts committee assignments, 2011 |
---|
• Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Joint |
• Education Joint, Vice chair |
• Elder Affairs Joint, Chair |
• Health Care Financing Joint |
• Housing Joint |
• Judiciary Joint |
• Ways and Means |
• Ways and Means |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Jehlen served on these committees:
Massachusetts committee assignments, 2009 |
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• Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Joint |
• Elder Affairs Joint |
• Health Care Financing Joint |
• Municipalities and Regional Government Joint |
• Steering and Policy |
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.
Elections
2024
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen (D) | 98.4 | 72,232 |
Other/Write-in votes | 1.6 | 1,183 |
Total votes: 73,415 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen | 99.1 | 22,105 |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 210 |
Total votes: 22,315 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Jehlen in this election.
2022
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen (D) | 99.2 | 53,866 |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 439 |
Total votes: 54,305 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen | 99.6 | 22,556 |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 84 |
Total votes: 22,640 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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. |
2020
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen (D) ![]() | 98.8 | 82,607 |
Other/Write-in votes | 1.2 | 991 |
Total votes: 83,598 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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 State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen defeated Gary Fisher in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on September 1, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen ![]() | 81.9 | 41,723 |
Gary Fisher | 18.1 | 9,231 |
Total votes: 50,954 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
![]() | ||||
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 Jehlen's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
2018
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen (D) | 98.8 | 70,099 |
Other/Write-in votes | 1.2 | 825 |
Total votes: 70,924 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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 State Senate 2nd Middlesex District
Incumbent Patricia D. Jehlen advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District on September 4, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Patricia D. Jehlen | 100.0 | 27,494 |
Total votes: 27,494 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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. |
2016
Elections for the Massachusetts State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 8, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.
Incumbent Patricia Jehlen ran unopposed in the Massachusetts State Senate Second Middlesex District general election.[3][4]
Massachusetts State Senate, Second Middlesex District General Election, 2016 | ||
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Party | Candidate | |
Democratic | ![]() | |
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth |
Incumbent Patricia Jehlen defeated Leland Cheung in the Massachusetts State Senate Second Middlesex District Democratic Primary.[5][6]
Massachusetts State Senate, Second Middlesex District Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Democratic | ![]() |
79.73% | 15,189 | |
Democratic | Leland Cheung | 20.27% | 3,861 | |
Total Votes | 19,050 |
2014
Elections for the Massachusetts State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Patricia Jehlen was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Robert Cappucci, Jr. was unopposed in the Republican primary. Jehlen defeated Cappucci in the general election.[7]
2012
Jehlen won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts State Senate Second Middlesex District. Jehlen was unopposed in the September 6 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
2010
Jehlen won re-election to the Second Middlesex District seat in 2010. She had no primary opposition. David Carnevale ran for the seat on the Republican ticket. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
Massachusetts State Senate - Second Middlesex District | ||||
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Candidates | Votes | |||
![]() |
32,923 | |||
David Carnevale (R) | 16,153 | |||
All Others | 87 | |||
Blanks | 3,993 |
2008
On November 4, 2008, Jehlen won re-election in the Senate election for the Second Middlesex district.[10] In this election she raised $45,953; of that total $42,725 (93.6%) was from in state contributions and $1,350 (3.0%) was from out of state contributions.[11]
Massachusetts State Senate - Second Middlesex district | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidates | Votes | |||
![]() |
53,174 | |||
All Others | 828 | |||
Blanks | 18,478 |
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Patricia D. Jehlen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Patricia D. Jehlen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Patricia D. Jehlen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Jehlen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Collapse all
|- One job should be enough.
- Every child is special.
- Older adults and people with disabilities should be able to live with dignity
Care and opportunity for older adults and people with disabilities
Worker pay and benefits
Fair and adequate taxes to pay for services we value
Safe transportation options, from pedestrian safety to bikes to fuel efficient cars to public transit
Clean rivers with public access
Doing justice and loving mercy;
Helping individual constituents with their problems;
Trying to see the whole picture and finding big solutions to big problems;
- We had inadequate revenue even before the pandemic, due to cutting taxes by $3 billion in the past 20 years.
- We need more investment in public health
- Nursing homes need to be re-envisioned, and we need more alternatives that are less restrictive.
- Direct care workers and other essential workers need adequate pay, both to recruit and retain the workforce and to protect public health
- Many people have been unable to pay rent or mortgages; there will be massive impacts, probably evictions and foreclosures.
- We need to get the federal government to re-imagine unemployment insurance, expanding it like PUA to cover gig workers.
- Many businesses are failing; can we help them recover? If not, can we help their workers find new employment?
- Early education and care are now seen as crucial to the economy: can we make sustainable models?
Public schools were under funded and inequitably funded, as we recognized in passing the Student Opportunity Act. Now we have even less revenue to support that.
Student debt is unsupportable for many, and keeps many people from opportunity. We need to restore funding for public higher education.
The murder of George Floyd and so many others has led to a massive movement of people demanding reform of policing and the rest of our law enforcement system. We need better training, clearer standards, and more accountability from police. We also need reform of sentencing and incarceration.
Lawyer Johnson was the last man on death row in Massachusetts, but when he was retried and released because of innocence, he received no compensation for his lost years of wrongful incarceration. He didn't even receive the help some people get on parole. I worked for years to provide compensation for Lawyer and others who have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. Then I worked to make the compensation more adequate. And now I'm working to give them help when they leave prison rather than waiting up to 2 or 3 years as the attorney general contests each case.
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.
2016
Jehlen's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
“ |
Sen. Jehlen is a leader in the fight for:
|
” |
—Patricia Jehlen, [13] |
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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2022
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 5 to August 1.
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2021
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 6 to January 4.
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2020
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 1 to January 5.
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2019
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2018
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Massachusetts General Court was in formal session from January 3 to July 31. The legislature was in informal session from August 1 to December 31.
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2017
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through November 15. The legislature held an informal session from November 16 to January 2.
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2016
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 6 through July 31.
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2015
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 7, 2015, through January 5, 2016.
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2014
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.
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2013
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2012
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through July 31.
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2011
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 through November 16.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Candidate Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District |
Officeholder Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Senator Jehlen
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 1, 2020
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 State election candidates," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Election data lookup," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidates (Democratic)," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonweath of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Election Statistics," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ 2012 State Primary Candidate List, "Massachusetts Secretary of State," accessed June 26, 2012
- ↑ 2012 Massachusetts Secretary of State, Official 2012 Primary Results
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes For Massachusetts State Election - November 4, 2008," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed December 29, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect Pat Jehlen, "About Pat," accessed September 2, 2016
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex District 2005-Present |
Succeeded by - |
Preceded by - |
Massachusetts House of Representatives 30th Middlesex District 1991-2005 |
Succeeded by - |
Preceded by - |
Somerville School Committee 1976-1991 |
Succeeded by - |