Senator Jehlen’s final words of advice highlighted the importance of working together, even with those who may never even agree with you. There are a total of 40 seats in the MA senate, consisting of 34 democrats and only 6 republicans( fun fact: most state senates are majority republican, ie Indiana= 41-9). The Senator discloses that really, “there is no value in not getting along. It’s much more satisfying [and effective] to work with everyone.” In politics, “you truly cannot keep permanent enemies.” While sometimes it can be “difficult to keep your individual feelings and hesitations to yourself, if you let it get personal then you are never going to be able to come back and work on something else.” Sentator Jehlen amplifies that “ there will always be conflict, so you need to try and express yourself in a way that does not cut off communication and create antagonist relationships”
Our conversation was cut off after about 30 minutes because she had a whole bunch of super cool senator stuff to do, but I think we could have talked for hours! It was an honor to speak with such a prominent female veteran politician.
Senator Jehlen and her family