Sally Kerans: Candidate Profile 13th Essex District

PEABODY, MA — Sally Kerans is looking to return the State House more than 20 years after she last represented Danvers and West Peabody in the 13th Essex District.

The 60-year-old Democrat and mother of two represented the district from 1991 to 1997 before declining to seek a fourth term to focus on her family. She has since remained involved with public service as a Danvers town meeting member and member of the Danvers Finance Committee.

She is a graduate of Danvers Public Schools, attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and got her Master's in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997.

The 13th Essex district includes Danvers, Middleton and Peabody with Kerans running as a Democrat against Republican Robert May, Independent William Bates, Independent Jason Guida and Independent Christopher Keohane for the open seat.

The general election is Nov. 3.

Campaign website

sallykerans.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I'm running at this particular time to bring my experience as our State Representative (1991-1997) to the challenges of guiding our state through Covid-19 and the several other pressing issues we face, including health care, jobs and our economy, transportation and climate change.

More broadly, I've been drawn to civic activity, politics and public service my entire life, as were my parents. I've remained involved in my community since I chose not to seek re-election to a fourth term in order to focus on my family.

How would you rate the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic on a letter-grade scale (A, B, C, D or F), and how would you explain that rating?

Covid-19 has effected every facet of life: our health, our jobs, businesses and economy, our schools, how we celebrate and how we grieve. Our state’s response so far has been effective with the tragic exception of the Holyoke Soldiers Home. The failures that occurred there are shocking, well-documented and, as we know, had deadly consequences.

We must strengthen oversight of state facilities for veterans and seniors and also set a higher bar for all long-term care facilities for preparation and staffing. I will focus on this issue if elected in order to protect our vulnerable elders.

Other steps the state has taken and must continue include: more testing and adequate PPE for frontline workers; the state can play a role in ensuring fair distribution; we must ensure continued access to unemployment assistance and vital assistance for laid off workers, continue to support our teachers, students and their families through the challenges of remote learning; and ensure access to affordable childcare so that parents can work.

Going forward, we all must continue to adhere to the necessary restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the virus — wearing masks, washing our hands, avoiding crowds. We must be vigilant about the increase in cases we’re seeing and realize that the virus is not done with us. Ongoing legislative support and coordination between among state and local government will be necessary.

Is Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing law, working, and if not what would you change?

I would support a change to Chapter 40B to allow communities to count manufactured housing as affordable housing for purposes of meeting the 10 % affordable housing stock threshold. We must also increase the supply of housing that young people, gig workers and workers of modest means can afford.

What steps, if any, should the state take toward police reform?

The Danvers Police Department was the first municipal police department in the Commonwealth to receive national accreditation, which it attained in 1987. We pride ourselves on a well-trained, highly educated police department.

At the same time, we must recognize that horrible incidents of police abuse have occurred across the country. The murder by a Minneapolis police officer of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, and the shooting of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman and young EMT, as she lay in bed in her home, shocked and horrified us. These incidents and others too numerous to list have forced an overdue reckoning with systemic racism in our country. Police reform is part of that process.

Reform efforts should focus on bringing the best practice standards of accredited departments (like Danvers and Peabody) to all Departments in the Commonwealth, including: comprehensive pre-hiring screening; comprehensive training in de-escalation, domestic violence and mental health incidents; and training in use of force and duty to report.

These are features of accredited departments and they should be followed in every department, along with Officer Certification. In addition, good reform must address accountability of officers and departments and also ensure that victims of police abuse have legal recourse.

I've been a member of the Human Rights and Inclusion Committee in Danvers for the past seven years. Our work focuses on creating a climate of acceptance, respect and inclusion in our town, and our Committee includes a member of our Police Department. We discuss incidents of racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia in our town, and we hear about the work our police do. We learn from one another.

I often think our most important learning takes place in our discussions among ourselves, giving us each the opportunity to examine our own assumptions. That work must continue as well.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

In addition to a strong Covid response, we must address jobs and our state and local economy, local infrastructure needs in Danvers, West Peabody and Middleton, access to health care, including mental health and reproductive health for women (I'm pro-choice); transportation and climate change.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I bring the perspective of a mother and the perspective that only someone who's done this job can offer because I've done the job. I was honored to be elected three times by the people of Danvers and West Peabody to represent the 13th Essex District in the Massachusetts House from 1991-1997, during a fiscal crisis that demanded hard choices ( Middleton was added in 2010).

I know what I believe — I'm a Democrat — and I know how to work with Democrats and Republicans and how to create alliances and build relationships to get things done on Beacon Hill because I've done it.

If elected, I can get to work immediately to be an effective representative for our district.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I was a very responsive representative who helped my constituents, listened to my local officials and wasn't afraid to challenge House leadership or administration officials.

I led the effort to pass laws to prevent insurance companies from forcing mothers to leave the hospital within 24 hours of delivery and requiring insurers to cover bone marrow transplants for metastatic breast cancer patients.

I advocated for local aid and essential human services funding, often successfully.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

My father, Tom Kerans, advised me in my first campaign: "Remember that it's we, not I."

(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.)