Beyond Town Hall: Meet the Elected Officials Working For You
Burlington residents have no shortage of elected officials working on their behalf here in town. Here's who advocates for your town on statewide issues.
Burlington residents have no shortage of elected officials working on their behalf here in town. But what about broader statewide initiatives? These essential conversations happen 12 miles away at the State House, and three representatives carry Burlington’s interests into them every day.
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State Senator
Cindy Friedman
Cindy Friedman has been representing the 4th Middlesex District in the State Senate since 2017. While she’s now at home in the role, the idea of taking a position in local government wasn’t on her radar at first.
Friedman taught special education before a 20-year career in technology that she said became unfulfilling. “I would wake up in the morning and think, ‘Why am I even doing this?’” she said. Friedman pivoted, serving as Chief of Staff to the late State Senator Ken Donnelly after helping lead his campaign to victory. Donnelly passed away in 2017, and by that time Friedman said she had become deeply invested in the work they were doing, particularly around mental health.
As the relative of someone with severe mental illness, Friedman had seen first-hand the difficulty Massachusetts residents experience when trying to access treatment and support. She had also witnessed the criminalization of mental illness that accompanied the closure of state hospitals without the addition of community supports former patients needed. “I was concerned that if I didn’t run, this issue wouldn’t have a champion,” said Friedman. She won Donnelly’s seat in a special election.
Today, Friedman serves as Chair of both the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, which initiates and reviews bills related to public health and mental health, and the Steering and Policy Committee, which Friedman said “responds to what is happening at the federal level that affects our state.” The Steering and Policy committee recently worked to pass the SHIELD act to protect healthcare workers who provide services including reproductive care and the PROTECT act to protect the state’s immigrant population.
Along with the day-to-day work of a state senator, Friedman frequently performs outreach on behalf of residents and speaks at events related to her areas of focus. She said the most frequent calls her office gets are related to immigration, unemployment access, transitional assistance, and healthcare. The office is “open and available to all Burlington residents,” she said. “We’re there to help people who need access to state agencies or may have issues.”
State Representative
Ken Gordon
Perhaps the most familiar face in Burlington’s State House contingent is State Representative Ken Gordon, who represents the 21st Middlesex District. An attorney and journalist prior to running for office, Gordon has been in office for 14 years and represents Burlington, Bedford, and a portion of Lexington (recently changed from Wilmington through redistricting).
Gordon said much of his work centers on representing the unique perspectives of his communities during statewide discussions. Most recently, he worked as Education Committee Chair on the early literacy law requiring school districts to use evidence-based instructional materials. Burlington he said, already adopted such a curriculum and “should stand up as the example to other districts.” The bill passed the House with a vote of 155-0 and was signed into law by the governor in June.
Economic development is another topic that’s high on the list, as Gordon champions the benefits and challenges of the technology and life science sector in Burlington compared with the cities closer to Boston. “We’re working with businesses around the globe to show them the benefit of coming to Burlington,” he said.
Gordon has also helped get local funding earmarks to support infrastructure initiatives like the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority connection to be completed this fall after several years of work and the PFAS filtration project at Mill Pond, which was among the first of its kind nationally. The recent facelift to the walkways on the Town Common were also completed using funding Gordon helped secure.
Business openings & events
Monthly office hours
617-722-2070
ken.gordon@mahouse.gov
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Governor’s Councilor
Mara Dolan
Public defender Mara Dolan is nearing the end of her first term as a Governor’s Councilor after winning in her second primary attempt against long-time incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney in 2024.
This eight-member elected council is responsible for approving the governor’s judicial and parole board appointments, among others (see sidebar). “The work is very fascinating, very rewarding,” said Dolan, whose job as a Councilor entails reviewing application materials and interviewing candidates individually. “I get to learn a lot from nominees, which I really love.”
Dolan said her time as a public defender influenced what she looks for in a candidate. “People’s lives are changed by what happens to them in court,” she said, and she is committed to supporting candidates who “are ready, willing, and able to tackle systemic racism, are pro-choice, and understand the science of addiction and know how to work to support recovery.”
Another job of the Governor’s Council is to review recommendations for commutations and pardons, which are suffering from a backlog due to a vacancy on the parole board. Once that is filled, Dolan said, the Council hopes to see more such recommendations come their way.
Dolan said she’s been doing outreach to educate community members on the role of the Governor’s Council, and it’s working: More people understand now than they did when she started running four years ago, she said.
