State Rep: What Is Important For Marblehead?

As a way to inform our readers about the candidates, Patch asked the two candidates for state representative five questions that focused on topics ranging from education to regionalization and from the economy to 40B housing.

Lori Ehrlich

Town: Marblehead, where she has lived for the past 20 years.

Profession: Lori's professional career as a certified public accountant spanned two-and-a-half decades, managing her own practice, before becoming state representative in 2008. 

Education: Swampscott High in 1981. She earned her BS in Accounting from Lehigh University in 1985. In 2005, she earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. While there, she was president of the Kennedy School of Government's Energy Caucus. 

Family: Husband, two teenage daughters, dog

Dr. Kate Kozitza

Town: Swampscott

Profession: Self-employed physician on Market Street in Lynn. "Psychiatric Partners of Essex County, LLC."

Education: 09/1983 – 06/1984:   University of California, Riverside, CA, 09/1984 – 05/1987:    BS-Zoology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 09/1993 – 06/1998:  M.D., University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, POST-DOCTORAL TRAINING: 07/1998 – 06/1999:    Medical Intern;  Boston University Medical Center, Boston, 07/1999 – 06/2002:    Resident in Psychiatry; Boston University Medical Center, Boston

Family:  Father, now retired.  He's a former school superintendent and college president. Mother, now deceased, was a bilingual school teacher. One sister, age 43 and a brother, age 44.

What do you think is the #1 issue facing Marblehead?

State Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D)

For a number of years, I owned and operated my own small business, a CPA firm, and I have brought my decades of business experience to the office of state representative as the legislature's only CPA.

In this difficult economic environment, so many small businesses are currently struggling to stay afloat. Especially in a suburban community, these small businesses and the families they support are the lifeblood of our community and a down economy hits us especially hard. After working with many small businesses in my community for two and a half decades, I know what it means to struggle to make payroll or how an increase in health insurance premiums of 30% could send a profitable business into the red. 

I am proud to have filed several bills to help struggling small business owners. Last session, I filed four bills that would, in effect, eliminate the minimum corporate excise tax for what is known as C-Corps and LLC's. This tax is a required minimum for all such corporations in Massachusetts even if they have a loss for the year -- which many will.

I also co-sponsored and amended the healthcare cost containment bill that was signed into law. This bill puts a cap on premium hikes and allows small businesses to team up to negotiate more advantageous rates and not be so vulnerable to rate hikes.

The economic development bill was also signed into law with my support and because I have found that small business has few champions in the legislature, I hope to continue in this vein to provide relief and stimulus next session.

Dr. Kate Kozitza (R)

Because I've had the privilege of knocking on doors in Marblehead for the last five months, I have at my fingertips a good deal of anecdotal evidence. I do not limit my door-to-door visits to Republicans. On the contrary, I have used no list, and have spoken with Democrats, Independents and Republicans.  

Among the things I've asked people is the question of what is most concerning to them. What I have heard repeatedly is that unemployment is hitting many in Marblehead hard. And for many of those still lucky enough to have jobs, the fear of facing unemployment is very real.

A large part of the demographic of this district, particularly this town, are college-educated people, and of those, a substantial number have advanced degrees as well. In times of economic distress in the country, classically there have been segments of our population that remain fairly unscathed. But this time, the economy is not only hitting the trades, nor is it only impacting certain fields.  

Across the board, folks from all walks of life are feeling strangled by the tax burdens. They, and I, are seeing that Massachusetts is becoming increasingly less friendly to business.

For instance, people running businesses in Marblehead will continue to feel the pinch of the 25% additional sales tax voted for by my opponent last year if voters do not make a statement by voting "Yes" on Question 3 on the ballot. And even those businesses experiencing only a slight or incremental impact from the tax increase will ultimately suffer long-term.  

I am asking for the people's vote for state representative so that I can show the people of this district that I am on their side, and on the side of actually stimulating our economy so that we all benefit.  

To get our economic house in order, it is imperative that the legislature drop the notion that businesses and innovators are the enemy, and start recognizing that they are actually the backbone of our society -- here in Marblehead and across the commonwealth.

Check back for question 2 -- where the candidate stand on education reform.