“I am a real, firm believer that any kind of government body should be as diverse as the people it serves.” - Senator Comerford
For years, Senator Joanne Comerford has devoted herself to serving the people of western Massachusetts, with a steady focus of striving for equality, justice, and increasing opportunities for the community. Assuming Office in 2019 and currently approaching the end of her first term, Comerford has been the first woman holding the seat to represent Hampshire, Franklin, and Worcester districts at the State Senate, dedicating herself to promoting quality education, healthcare, environmental justice, and more.
In an interview with ShePolitics, Comerford shares her work, stressing the importance of diverse representation in government and encouraging young women to pursue politics. There's not one path to becoming an elected official, there's not only one way to change the world. Progress comes step by step, just like how a bill is passed. Here are some key takeaways from the inspiring conversation with her.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in politics?
"I grew up in a family that was involved in town government, and learned to believe in the government's capacity to do good things. It doesn't always, but it can and should. What makes government work best is people and advocates who raise their voices — that is the secret sauce and the recipe for it prevailing. I wanted to be someone in the government who would be willing to know about people power”being the most important, and then do everything I could to channel that people power."
You have a Master of Social Work from New York City. How do you think social work and the ideals of building connections with people, plays into that of your work?
"I think the social work degree helps me get an appreciation of the range of issues and stressors that individuals and families and groups face, and the kind of services they need and deserve to live good, healthy lives."
You’ve always focused on a wide range of social issues, including prison reform, housing shelter policy, healthcare, energy, environment, and even more. Would you be able to share what are some of the key issues that you're focusing on during your current term?
"We're about to get sworn in again on January 1, and that'll be the next, the 25, 26 fiscal year. I will be focusing a lot on education — early ed, K12, and higher ed — and I will be focusing on what we have to do as a Commonwealth to protect our people. Honestly, I am worried about some of the social programs — healthcare and other communities of people who may be targeted in a Trump administration."
Previously, you've worked as part of a working group on reproductive and gender-affirming health care and establishment which was established after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Could you elaborate on your work that empowers women and addresses the gender-specific concerns of the community?
"A couple of things that the Senate has done around reproductive care and gender-affirming care include, for example, right now Massachusetts will protect someone coming from another state to seek gender-affirming care or reproductive care — we are protecting them and not going to give any data away. We're also going to protect the providers who are giving those services so that they cannot be held accountable or penalized from outside of Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, these healthcare services are legal. So we’re not going to let people be held criminally liable."
How do you feel that your experience as a woman has shaped your perspective and approach to politics and your work? How does it feel to be the first woman to hold the seat to represent Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district in the State Senate?
"It’s sort of hard to believe that I would get elected in 2018 and that I would be the first woman — that seems bananas in the 21st century. When I ran for office, I didn't say to voters “You should vote for me because I'm a woman”. I want people to vote for me because I'm qualified to do the job. I want you to vote for me, however, because I'm a woman, and not only because I am a woman, but also a mom. I adopted my children. I'm a member of the LGBTQ community. My family is multiracial. All these identities make me a different person. I have different life experiences, and they're for different perspectives on key social issues. And I think that's why I am a real, firm believer that any kind of government body should be as diverse as the people it serves because that is the way to ensure that the government is as strong. We need multiple perspectives in order to pass the best policy. The recipe for passing bad policy is just to have it looked at by a small, narrow group of people."
What do you think are some of the potential steps that can be taken to achieve that diverse representation, especially with gender equality in political representation?
"Actually, I'm going to back up and ask you a question. There have been about 20,000 men who have served in the Massachusetts legislature since its inception. In comparison, how many women do you think have served? The answer is 200. I was elected during an election where there was a disproportionate number of women. Imagine the disparity for young people, for gay people, for people living with disabilities, for people of color, right? The disparity is even greater. How can we remedy that? I believe the solution is for the public to ask these really important questions and talk to each other. The young and rising generation needs to hold the government accountable and say, if you're not doing the work that we want you to do, you're out of there. We're going to run someone against you because we need to make sure that our interests are represented."
What skills do you believe are essential for high school students who aspire to pursue a career in politics? What do you think are some qualities that we should try to develop ourselves and or specific activities or organizations that we can join to develop these skills?
"First of all, you should run for office. That is just 100% the case. The world will try to tell young people there's only one right path to do anything, and if you haven't done you know these things by the time you're 15, you're never going to be able to do anything right: like if you don't go to this college, you're doomed. If you don't do this graduate program, you're out of here. It's completely false. We have to resist this narrowing, rigid, judgy narrative. I served in the legislature with people who were firefighters or nurses, teachers, and lawyers — these are the people who worked on campaigns, people who served in a staff of elected officials. There are so many paths to get to be an elected official. If young people are interested in exploring, you can get an internship in a legislative office. You can study in college. You could look at political science or any of history. They give you a good background. You can do a master's in policy or law or social work. These are the direct routes. But you can also do things like figure out what you're passionate about — climate, healthcare, or education. Dig in there and build a base of knowledge that you would want to use if you got elected."
What would be some advice you would give specifically to young women in high school that aspire to enter politics?
"Go into politics! We need you. We need more women-identified voices. I strongly value the skills and capacity and perspectives of women in my work. You have to look past sexism and misogyny: they're real, they're everywhere. You can't internalize them. You can't let them stop you. You know other people's opinion of you is just not important. What's important is your opinion of yourself, your belief in your own worth, and your interest in serving others. Remember, there is no one right place, but only your place. There's not one right path, but only your path. Knowing this would take some burden off of yourself as you grapple with what's next for you. There is certainly not only one way to be of service in the world."
Edited by Amy Zhao