SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Outgoing state Sen. Eric Lesser (D-Hampden & Hampshire) is advising his community to be mindful of what he calls a growing divide between the eastern and western parts of Massachusetts.
What You Need To Know
- State Sen. Eric Lesser will be leaving office in January after choosing to not run for reelection
- Lesser said he is worried about the lack of economic development in western Mass. compared to the eastern part of the state
- Lesser said he is confident in the East-West rail project being completed even if he wont be in office anymore
- Lesser said he is in full support of Senator-elect Jake Oliveira
Lesser did not run for reelection in the 1st Hampden &Hampshire District in January after running unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the Democratic primary this year.
He said while western Massachusetts may offer a great quality of life as far as open space and historical attractions, the lack of economic growth compared to the eastern part of the state remains a big issue.
"We're not creating enough jobs" Lesser said. "We're not attracting enough of those families to be able to stay here and build their lives and careers here. Eastern Mass. actually has in many ways the inverse challenge There's a really red hot economy there, a lot of great job opportunities, but it's getting harder and harder to live there."
Massachusetts will see changes in January when Attorney General Maura Healey and Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll are sworn in as governor and lieutenant governor. Both are from the eastern part of the state.
Lesser said while changes in politics are normal, he has faith certain western Massachusetts projects will still be completed.
"That's the nature of life and current events and I'm just excited," Lesser said. "I think we really do have some momentum going on some really big items. Most excitingly of all I think theres some new focus the East-West rail, which I'm personally just really happy to see after so many years of working on it."
State Rep. Jake Oliveira (D) won the election to fill Lesser's seat and will take over as state senator for the Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester district. Lesser said he has great faith in Oliveira and wishes him luck.
"Jake is a really talented public servant and he's been the state representative for two years," Lesser said. "He had a long history of local government before that, so I'm really excited for Senator-elect Oliveira and I'm certainly going to be there to support him however I can and I'm excited to see what he will do in the role."
Lesser said he's working on passing smaller pieces of legislation as well as transitioning ongoing projects to his colleagues in his last weeks in office. He said he’ll be making an announcement soon about his future plans, but for now he’s focused on family and helping Oliveira get acclimated into the new role.