Lesser ends tenure in state Senate, stays mum on future plans

Date: 12/27/2022

SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Eric Lesser may be in office for a few more days but he formally said his farewell to his constituents and the office with an event on Dec. 15 and an interview produced by Focus Springfield.

The most frequently asked question of the senator is what he will do next, and at this point Lesser is not saying.

Lesser will be teaching a class at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, something he has done before, but he said, “There’s no announcement beyond that.”

He said he is “enjoying the slower pace right now,” by spending time with his family and there will be an “announcement soon enough but nothing just as yet.”

His farewell event, conducted in the center of Tower Square and near White Lion Brewery, was attended by hundreds of people including Congressman Richard Neal, who spoke warmly of Lesser and his attitude toward governance and accomplishments.

Neal said, “I never had a conversation with Eric Lesser in all these years that I thought was superficial.”
Lesser served eight years in the state Senate and decided to run for lieutenant governor in this year’s election cycle instead.

While Lesser’s time in the Senate was marked by his advocacy of establishing East-West Passenger Rail service, he focused on other issues as well, such as tourism, an important industry to Western Massachusetts.

He noted that when he first won office, there was no Dr. Seuss Museum, no MGM Springfield and before the major renovations of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“It was really a different time. We had to make a case very proactively why Western Mass. and the Pioneer Valley in particular was a great place to host events, host conferences, bring in visitors. I think it’s become easier for us to make that argument now. It’s become more socialized frankly this sector, this industry is really important. Part of the reason it’s really important is that it can’t be outsourced, it can’t be moved. It’s inherent to the assets you have in your community. It tends to have to favor and support small businesses more than other sectors – restaurants, gas stations, souvenir shops, service economy all round.”

Another “huge achievement” has been the success of the Springfield Thunderbirds, he added.

He noted that money spent at local businesses stays in the community and he would like to see greater emphasis and support to this sector.

Lesser also worked on the commonwealth’s sport gaming legislation. On Dec. 19 the Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced, “During a public meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) where MGM Springfield presented and commissioners reviewed that entity’s application for a sports wagering operator license, commissioner voted unanimously to award MGM Springfield with a Category 1 sports wagering operator license. The MGC set a goal to launch retail sports wagering at the three casinos in the commonwealth, which are eligible for Category 1 sports wagering licenses, in late January. MGM Springfield now must obtain an operations certificate and meet additional conditions before bets can be accepted. More information on a universal launch day for retail sports betting will be released in the coming weeks.”

“I do think when all is said and done, people are going to be very happy with the law Massachusetts passed,” Lesser said. “I think the law we passed is going to create a really strong product and a really good experience for residents of Massachusetts. That was really the goal.”

With other states in New England having sports gambling, Lesser said remaining competitive is very important.

Speaking of the economy, he stressed that Massachusetts must acknowledge and prepare for the post-coronavirus pandemic way of working with remote work and undertake policies and programs to help people decide to stay here.

Lesser had participated in a study about the future of work in the commonwealth – remote work, the growth of independent contractors and “gig work, among other issues – “that gets to the beams and timbers of our economy.”

He said there are many issues that need attention from the continued support and development of advanced manufacturing to the opioid crisis, which after making progress prior to the coronavirus pandemic is once again a significant problem.

On the subject of East-West Rail, which has made significant funding progress, Lesser said part of the reason the proposed project advanced is that he and others wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

He said, “The idea that you could quickly, reliably and frequently make the trip back and forth would be a game changer for our region. It would be perhaps the single most transformative economic development and environment project this state has undertaken.”

Although he readily admitted he was “laughed out of rooms,” Lesser and his colleagues who supported it kept the issue alive by appealing to public, he noted.

Initially he said many people viewed this as a project for Western Massachusetts, but that attitude changed. “What changed it for us was a growing realization this was a project for our entire state,” Lesser said. He added that it would help the Boston area as well.

He explained there are “some steps left” to unlock the federal dollars that could be used to help fund the project. The commonwealth has until March to establish the legal means of accepting the money for the rail project, something Lesser described as a “critical moment.”

“It’s no longer an abstract idea,” he added.