State Sen. Brendan Crighton said much of the State Senate’s recent work has been “reactionary” to events unfolding in Washington, D.C.
“We’re really trying to help people make ends meet and try to ultimately thrive and have the best life they can here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Crighton said. “Cutting crucial services right now that you might not think about every day that the government provides, really is having a detrimental impact on our communities and constituents at a time when they’re already being pinched everywhere they go – at the grocery store, health care, housing.”
He specifically noted the need for legislators to “find a way to reduce the harm caused” by rising health care costs and coverage reductions facing many residents. Crighton also voiced concerns about food insecurity and “the unlawful arrests of our constituents just because of how they look or how they talk.”
“We’re really trying to do everything within our power to eliminate that pain,” Crighton said, “but it’s very challenging. I think it’s unprecedented in modern history, so we’re trying to figure out what we can do. It’s been a challenge. That will continue unfortunately I think.”
Crighton represents the 3rd Essex District, which includes Swampscott, Lynn, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant and Saugus. He was raised in the area and attended Lynn Classical High School. He still lives in Lynn with his wife and two children.
“I think community service and being involved with the community and having pride with the community was instilled in me from a young age,” Crighton said. “We’ve really felt a great sense of pride.”
Crighton attended Colby College, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in government. During college, he interned at Lynn City Hall, “seeing what government can do for people, which was inspiring.” He later earned a master’s degree in public administration from Suffolk University.
After college, Crighton began working in politics in 2005, joining State Sen. Thomas McGee’s staff as a legislative aide.
“That was my big introduction. I got to work on a lot of local issues, constituent services, and just trying to help people,” Crighton said. “I was very inspired by Tom, his passion, and he’s just a wonderful person who for all the right reasons tried to help people.”
Around the same time, Crighton launched his own political career. In 2009, he won a seat on the Lynn City Council after the incumbent, who chose not to run, encouraged him to seek the position.
“It gave me an opportunity to overcome some of the anxiety I felt around public service,” Crighton said, particularly noting public speaking but by overcoming the fears he was able to “really represent my community of Lynn.”
In 2014, Crighton was elected to represent the 11th Essex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he served for three years. After McGee vacated his seat in 2018, Crighton’s career came full circle when he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate.
“I get to now represent six communities, including Swampscott,” Crighton said. “A lot of those issues that I dealt with over the years (with McGee) I still tap into, trying to be the most effective policymaker and elected official as I can be.”
During the pandemic, Crighton focused on housing policy and helped craft a temporary proposal aimed at keeping residents in their homes. He also sponsored the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Communities Act, which passed in 2021 and requires communities served by transit to zone for multifamily housing.
“We recognized that we had a housing crisis,” Crighton said. “Under Swampscott’s own Gov. Baker, he had a policy for housing choice to make it easier to build multi-family housing. We wanted to go a little bit farther…You see the results now, with communities working to get into compliance…If we can increase the supply to match the demand for housing, the cost will come down.”
As chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, Crighton said he is focused on electrifying the commuter rail system. The bill, now before the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, would fully electrify the MBTA commuter rail by December 31, 2035, helping the Commonwealth meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.
“The trains themselves are much lighter and they start faster and they slow down faster. You’d get so much more frequency with these types of trains, which would make it possible to have additional stops,” Crighton said. “It could really open up a whole lot of opportunities in terms of work mobility.”
The Fairmont Line in Boston is currently being worked on, and Crighton said that he hopes his representative area can be next.
Recent MBTA investments include $20 million for the low-income reduced fare program, $40 million for infrastructure upgrades, and $175 million for workforce and safety expenses.
Overall, Crighton said “we have a lot of good minds” in the Legislature and across the districts working “to build on the investments we’ve made over the last several decades.”
“Every day, I learn something new, I’m inspired by something new, and I’m trying to just do the best I can to get things done for the district,” Crighton said.
Read the Swampscott Tides story here.