Following her time working on Somerville schools, Senator Jehlen was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1991. At this level she became co-chair of the Women’s Caucus and Co-Chairman of the Progressive Legislator's Group(There are a few more she was involved in aswell.)
From fighting for the rights of people living with mental illness as a state rep to passing groundbreaking legislation for equal pay as a senator, Jehlen has certainly left her mark. I was able to meet with her in her state house office to discuss her legacy(she would never call it this because she’s so humble but she totally has one). When we first sat down in her office, I felt very intimidated by her awesomeness, however she made me feel right at home. We were both very shy at first but as our conversation progressed we began to open up more. When I asked her if she felt like she was blazing a trail for young women she replied, “I think the trail is pretty open.” The Senator then went on to speak about inspiring others to walk this trail,“evidence shows the best way to get other women to run is to run yourself, no matter if you succeed.” Senator Jehlen expresses that a lot of people view politicians like “some kind of untouchable alien species,” but really anyone can do it. She elaborated, “a lot of people want to jump right in, especially men. They graduate from college or law school and they say ‘well the world needs me,’ never having held elected office or working on a campaign.” Women generally have “less self confidence in joining politics. I hope that by running as an underdog for all three of my elected positions, I have inspired my fellow women to run as well. The Senator soon took this to a deeper level describing how “your dream [specifically in politics] isn’t just for yourself, it’s for the greater good. I found that my dream was being in my community and guarantee that everyone’s voices were heard. So after I wanted to be a violinist and a gardener I wanted to bring about world peace and I have not been successful in that yet” (that last part is hands down my favorite quote).