Listening Tour Preps Jenny Armini To Work For 8th Essex At State House

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The 8th Essex District — comprised of Marblehead, Swampscott and parts of Lynn — can present an interesting challenge for the person trying to represent the interests of all three communities on Beacon Hill.

While there is a shared coastline, the demographics, needs and many of the priorities of the cities and towns differ.

Following her election out of a crowded, six-person field in the Democratic primary in September, Jenny Armini told Patch in an interview this week that she took advantage of having no general election opponent on the ballot to go on a months-long listening tour that has helped her arrive in the State House with a better sense of what unities the communities and the unique interests of each of them.

"We had the chance to talk about a lot of issues and meet a lot of people," she said. "That process prepared me really well after the primary because I was able to go a little deeper with people. When you are campaigning, the goal is obviously to meet people, learn their concerns and their core issues, but also to get their vote. You are scrambling because there isn't a lot of time and there isn't a lot of money.

"Getting to go deeper in these three communities, attend meetings, and spend more time listening, has allowed me to have some really extensive conversations. That has allowed me to hit the ground running. I feel I have a firm grasp on what people are concerned about through those conversations and now I am able to focus my energy in those areas."

Her conclusion is that there are more common interests among the residents of Marblehead, Swampscott and Lynn than some conventional wisdom may suggest.

"Lynn is such a dynamic place with so much going on that you want to be there," she said. "Lynn is also really the transportation hub for this part of the North Shore. We are going to get the ferry back. We are going to electrify rail.

"The people of Marblehead and Swampscott have to go through Lynn if they want to work or play in Boston. You can go through Salem, but a lot of people go through Lynn, so making sure that Lynn has lots of transportation options only benefits the people of Marblehead and Swampscott."

The Marblehead mother of two has been a professional speechwriter who earned a Master's in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Business, a Bachelor's degree in government at the University of Virginia and an Associate's degree in communications at Endicott College.

She has made the rounds and has been visible at board meetings, community gatherings and the special Swampscott town meeting in December as she's looked to connect with residents and with the two communities that may not have been as familiar with her.

The three common threads of concern — climate change, affordable housing and education.

"Part of my job is constituent services and the No. 1 issue, overwhelmingly, that people have been looking for in the two weeks since I've been sworn in is help with housing costs," she said.

She said coastal sustainability will be a substantial focus for her as she looks for ways to help the state beat its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, by finding ways to help municipalities, businesses and residents with the financial resources to make the needed shifts to green energy.

"It's about how we are going to protect our district," she said. "This a district from top to bottom that is on the coast. So really tackling the program, and all the factors that go into greenhouse gas emissions, and really figuring out ways to meet and beat our climate goals, is important.

"A group like Sustainable Marblehead wants to get to those goals by 2040, or even faster if we can, and I agree with them. So how can the state incentivize alternatives to fossil fuels? How can we electrify transportation for both public transportation and cars, and be making sure the energy in our grid is clean?"

Armini said she is looking forward to her first set of office hours later this month, which will be held in person in all three communities, as well as virtually for those who cannot attend in person.

She will meet with Lynn residents Friday at the Congregation Ahabat Shalom at 151 Ocean Street from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., with Swampscott residents at Swampscott Town Hall on Monday from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and with Marblehead residents at Abbot Hall in the Select Board meeting room on Jan. 30 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

She said she will also hold an online forum on Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. Constituents can obtain a link to attend that meeting by emailing Armini's State House aide here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)