FEMA calls and state Rep. Lori Ehrlich bids farewell to the 8th District

After 14-years at the State House, Rep. Lori Ehrlich has been tapped to work for a bigger house. President Joseph Biden has appointed Ehrlich Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Regional Administrator for Region 1.  

“It has been a truly humbling experience spending each and every day of the past 14 years representing the good people of Marblehead, Swampscott, and Lynn,” wrote Ehrlich in a farewell to her constituents. “I have lived in all three and know the warmth and compassion at the core of each of these wonderful communities on the North Shore.” 

As an administrator for the FEMA region that includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, Ehrlich will be charged “to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the nation from all hazards, by leading and supporting the nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation," according to FEMA. 

Marblehead’s Jackie Belf-Becker said she would miss Ehrlich but she couldn’t be happier for her. 

“I think she will be phenomenal in this new job,” she said. “She cares, she does her homework, she follows through. … I can’t say enough about her. It’s a great loss but I’m so happy for her.” 

Ehrlich has been a state representative for 14 years and in that time she has she served in leadership roles as Chair of the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government and the Joint Committee on Export Development. She has filed and passed numerous bills into law on topics ranging from clean energy, climate change, and local journalism, to animal protection and reforming restrictive employment contracts. Ehrlich was also appointed to serve on a U.S. Department of Energy Commission on Energy Preparedness. 

Prior to her elected service, Ehrlich founded two environmental non-profit organizations that brokered both the closure of the Salem Power Plant, a 1950s-era coal-burning plant, and the remediation of a contaminated drinking water supply for 80,000 local residents.  

Sen. Brendan Crighton, D-Third Essex, has worked with Ehrlich for a long time and the two have developed a close friendship. He was working for then-Senator Tom McGee when Ehrlich was first elected, and he served with her in the House as a state rep before joining the Senate. 

“Our delegation is really close,” Crighton said. “We consider ourselves to be a team.” 

Ehrlich, he said, has been a tremendous partner working on local issues and teaming up to address constituents’ concerns. 

“It’s bittersweet,” Crighton said. “I’m very happy for Lori. It’s a tremendous opportunity for her and she’s certainly well qualified for it, but it’s going to be tough losing a friend and partner.” 

However, Ehrlich will now be Crighton’s constituent. 

“Prior to being elected, she was always an active member in the community, and always raising her voice to fight for the things she believes in,” Crighton said. “I can’t imagine that that part of her life will ever be over with.” 

Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said of Ehrlich, “She is absolutely one of the most extraordinary public officials that I have ever worked with. She is so passionate and so committed to environmental justice and really making government effective.” 

Ehrlich has been outstanding in helping Swampscott, he said. For example, she worked with Crighton to secure $2.5 million to address pollution at King’s Beach and she helped with the town’s home rule petition to be exempt from the civil service law in the hiring of personnel for its police and fire departments.  

“She has always been there and I’m really excited about her new role,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s incredible that we have a local official being appointed to this important federal post as FEMA’s Region 1 leader, and I think that will bode well for anybody that really truly does care about environmental sustainability. She will be one of the strongest voices we could ever have in that role.” 

It is the environment that brought Ehrlich and the Sustainable Marblehead group together. 

“She has been an important leader on environmental issues, and is responsible for a number of bills that have tightened oversight of gas leaks, and protected gas ratepayers,” said Eileen Mathieu, chair of Sustainable Marblehead’s Clean Energy and Public Policy Working Group. “Her vision for reducing climate change's impact on the future is clear in her championing of a bill to heat our homes through regional geothermal instead of gas, and a bill to protect our urban trees and invest in replacing them.” 

Mathieu said Ehrlich’s qualities of patience, persistence and approachability have made her a great representative, and she would be missed. 

“Sustainable Marblehead is deeply appreciative of Lori’s support on the climate issues that are so important to the future of Marblehead,” she said. “We wish her the best of luck, and we know that she will be successful in her new role in the Biden administration.” 

Seventh Essex State Rep. Paul Tucker, D-Salem, said Ehrlich is a “terrific person,” a hard worker who isn’t afraid to lead on the issues.   

“She has been an extraordinary champion on environmental issues,” Tucker said. “She’s been a true leader. She just gets the job done. She puts her mind to it and she leads by example and gets the job done.”

The work Ehrlich did to address the gas leaks, he said, exemplifies the skill set she will bring to FEMA.

“She brought this issue to the forefront,” Tucker said. “She did it by putting together coalitions.”

Ehrlich stayed with it for years, pushing for legislative action and bringing awareness to the public, he said.  

Her new role as a regional leader with FEMA, he said, will involve working with local, state, and regional agencies, making sure they’re all on the same page.

“She knows how to get people to work together and work together well,” Tucker said. “She will empower the staff at FEMA, and she will represent FEMA extremely well.”

Ehrlich said to be selected and then reselected every two years, to help out when needed and to be entrusted to move policy forward based on shared values is an honor that has never faded. 

“Thank you for letting me serve you,” she said. “Now, with humility and pride, I am honored and ready to accept this important appointment.” 

State House News Service contributed to this story.