Lida Harkins
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Lida E. Harkins serves in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as the Representative from the 13th Norfolk District. This district is comprised of the towns Needham, Dover and Medfield. Representative Harkins was first elected in 1989. She is the current House Majority Whip and Assistant Majority Leader. Her priorities include public education, improving health care access, and generating economic development.
[edit] Early life and Career
Harkins was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. She was born to Paul and Lida McMahon. Her father worked as an executive at General Motors, while her mother worked as an executive assistant for several high-tech firms and for the Middlesex County Sheriff’s office.
Prior to being elected to the Massachusetts Legislature, Harkins served six years on the Needham School Committee and directed a collaborative vocational training program for 13 towns in the Metrowest area. She is also a former elementary school teacher.
Representative Harkins was appointed to House Majority Whip by former Speaker of the House Thomas Finneran in 2001. Before her appointment, she served as the Assistant Majority Whip and the House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Education Arts and Humanities. Representative Harkins has also served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, the House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Labor, Co-Chairman of the bi-partisan Women’s Caucus and as a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and Public Safety. She has also chaired the Special Education Study Commission created in the FY ’97 state budget and the Special Commission that reformed and restructured the School Building Assistance Program.
Harkins has lived in Needham for 35 years and she currently chairs the Needham Democratic Town Committee. She has three children and nine grandchildren.
[edit] Educational Background
Representative Harkins attended Marian High School in Framingham, MA. She graduated from Regis College in 1966 with a degree in Education and in 1987, went on to Boston College’s Graduate Studies Program: Women in Politics and Government. Harkins was the first graduate of Boston College’s Women in Politics and Government program to be elected to the Massachusetts General Court.
[edit] Citizen's Roll Call
Harkins hosts the Needham community access program, Citizen’s Roll Call, a series where Massachusetts officials join her to discuss issues of the day. Previous guests this year have included Congressman Stephen F. Lynch and Representative Peter Koutoujian, the House Chair of Public Health.
