PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Eric Lesser says the next gubernatorial administration needs to focus on the cost of living, affordable child care, affordable housing for people, and transportation because they are all tied together.

 

"They all go together, you can't really have good, high-quality housing without good transportation, right to get people connected to where they work and where they live," the state senator said recently during a visit to Pittsfield.

 

He's running in the Democratic primary on Sept. 6 for the lieutenant governor nomination.

 

One of the most important roles of the lieutenant governor is helping carry out the governor's vision, he said.

 

"The lieutenant governor is the one who really works to put the pieces together, working with cities and towns, working with the legislature, working with the business community, nonprofits, to get everybody around the table, you know, really singing off the same sheet of music," he said.

 

Since being elected to the Senate in November 2014, Lesser said he has been working to improve the quality of life of the residents in the nine 1st Hampden and Hampshire District communities in Western Massachusetts that he serves.

 

Most recently, the Longmeadow lawmaker has voted for an act that would provide financial relief and economic growth, advancement in transportation, and the expansion to affordable early education and childcare access.

 

During his time on the campaign trail, he has heard a lot of citizens expressing that although we live in a state with a progressive history, it is getting more difficult and expensive to live here. 

 

"It's a challenging time people have gotten through. We've gotten through COVID, but it's not completely in the rearview mirror and we've got all these other challenges. The price of housing, skyrocketing, rents are going up, gas prices continue to go up," Lesser said.

 

"So, I think people just feel like they need government on their side and I think especially for us in the outlying areas of the state right in Western Mass in the Berkshires, in the Pioneer Valley, it's even more important to get that focus from state government. I think what I really hear and something that I think I hear in common, really wherever we go, is that people just need some help. They need the government kind of working for them and helping them."

 

Lesser has championed bulk purchasing and prescription drugs in an effort to help bring prices down and give more bargaining power to MassHealth. 

 

He said we are in a crisis when it comes to health, especially in terms of mental health and the costs.

 

"You're seeing this, especially in our schools with our young people, especially teenagers, high school, and middle school age, all of our hospitals across the state, including our hospitals here in the Berkshires don't have enough beds, don't have enough space," he said. 

 

"So we've got to really tackle mental health, we've got to really dramatically expand access to care and improve reimbursement rates for mental health services, we've also got to do a lot more to bring costs down, you see cost continuing to go up."

 

As a Western Massachusetts resident, living in Longmeadow and representing Springfield and Chicopee in the state Senate, he really wants to place Western Massachusetts front and center when it comes to transportation. Lesser is a strong supporter of east/west passenger rail and was in Pittsfield for the maiden trip of the Berkshire Flyer from New York City.

 

"There are more than a dozen candidates for statewide office across all the various offices this year. There's not a single one outside [Instate] 495. It's very, very important that we have that regional balance that regional equity," he said.

 

He said his work on vocational education, tourism, art promotion, and being involved with several caucuses would make him a successful lieutenant governor.

 

Lesser is Senate chair of the Joint Legislative Manufacturing Caucus, the Gateway Cities Caucus, and the Libraries Caucus and Senate co-chair of the Food Systems Caucus.

 

More information on Lesser can be found here.