The Ehrlich family has lived in the 8th Essex District for three generations. Lori Ehrlich was born in Lynn, raised in Marblehead, and schooled in Swampscott. After graduating from Lehigh University in 1985 with a B.S. in Accounting, Ehrlich moved back to the 8th Essex District with her husband Bruce and her two daughters, currently 23 and 26. In 2005 she earned a master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. While at Harvard, Ehrlich served as president of the Kennedy School's Energy Caucus. She managed her own CPA practice for over 20 years.
Career
Lori Ehrlich worked for Stavisky, Shapiro and White, CPAs in Boston from 1985-1988 as a staff accountant and tax specialist. From 1988-2008 Ehrlich was self-employed as a CPA, focusing on business consulting and tax planning and preparation. From 2005-2009 she served as President of The Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington, DC based project of Rockefeller Family Fund. Ehrlich also co-founded two non-profit environmental and energy organizations: Healthlink, Inc. and the Wenham Lake Watershed Association. Until her election in 2008 Ehrlich served as HealthLink president, media liaison, political strategist and spokesperson. As a co-founder of Wenham Lake Watershed Association, she brokered the successful corporate cleanup of a major drinking water source for 80,000 residents on the North Shore of Boston.
Politics
In 2006 Ehrlich became involved in the Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign. She served on the Patrick/Murray Finance Committee as a fund raiser and on the policy team as an energy policy adviser. Ehrlich also served as a delegate for Patrick and Murray at the 2006 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention. Ehrlich has been a vocal opponent of a new power plant being constructed in Salem. after decades of successful advocacy for closure of the old coal plant.
Election
In February 2008 Ehrlich competed for the seat vacated by Doug Petersen. Ehrlich beat Cesar Achilla of Swampscott in the Democratic Primary by 6214 votes to 2899. Ehrlich went on to compete in the March 4 Special Election against Republican John Blaisdell and Independent Mark Barry, both from Marblehead. Ehrlich won the Special Election with 56% of the vote, winning all precincts but one. Blaisdell finished second with 35% of the vote, and Barry in third with 9%. Ehrlich was re-elected in November 2008 with 56.6% of the vote. Republican John Blaisdell came in 2nd with 34.6% and Independent Mark Barry finished 3rd with 8% of the vote. Ehrlich triumphed in all but one of the district's 15 precincts, the exception being Marblehead's 7th precinct where Blaisdell won by 5 votes. For her third term, Ehrlich faced off with a Republican opponent Katherine Kozitza on November 2, 2010. Ehrlich won every precinct in the district to an overall 65% return. She was sworn in on January 5, 2011 to begin her third term and is now serving her sixth term in the Massachusetts legislature.
