Political Career
Prior to being elected to the 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.
Harkins serves in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as the Representative from the 13th Norfolk District. This district comprises the towns Needham, Dover and Medfield. Harkins was first elected in 1989, and has been the House Majority Whip since 2001. Her priorities include public education, improving health care access, and generating economic development.
Harkins was appointed 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. 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 1997 state budget and the Special Commission that reformed and restructured the School Building Assistance Program.
Read more about this topic: Lida E. Harkins
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