Environmental issues guide Ehrlich

MARBLEHEAD – When her two daughters, one of whom was still in diapers, left a trail of sooty black footprints on the kitchen floor, state Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, experienced what she described as the policy epiphany that led her into public service.?The little black footprints were soot from the (Salem) power plant,” she said during an editorial board interview with The Daily Item.Before long, Ehrlich helped co-found HealthLink, an environmental group based in Salem and co-founded the Wenham Lake Watershed Association, which helped clean up the drinking water source for 80,000 people.Ehrlich, who sponsored a bill requiring natural gas companies to repair leaks in a timely manner, said she would like to reduce environmental hazards.?One of my concerns is really about the health of our communities,” she said. “I would like to see use explore other options (to fossil fuel) like solar energy, wind power and geothermal.”Ehrlich, who is running for re-election in the 8th Essex District, is the only certified public accountant in the Legislature.The leadership on Beacon Hill immediately put her to work restoring integrity to the commonwealth’s transportation finances by troubleshooting “a looming catastrophe” in the former Turnpike Authority caused by risky investments.Ehrlich had no time for on-the-job training. She said her first week on the job she had to fight to secure $20 million for the renovation of Marblehead’s Village School.Ehrlich also stressed her deep roots in the communities she represents. She was born in Lynn, moved to Marblehead as a child and her family moved to Swampscott when she was in sixth grade.?I have lived my whole life in the three communities I am privileged to represent,” she said. “I have my finger on the pulse of the community and I know the pulse of the community.”Ehrlich, who has been a CPA for 25 years, holds a Master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Ehrlich said she is concerned about fiscally irresponsible spending and lack of accountability.?I would like to see taxes come down and us spend more efficiently,” she said.”I fully support budget transparency and accountability.”Funding for education locally is an issue Ehrlich said she has been working on. Ehrlich said the Chapter 70 funding formula is inequitable and hurting a handful of communities in the commonwealth, including Swampscott.?I formed a coalition of legislators to look at this,” she said. “It is a very complicated funding formula but not impossible. We need to bring communities up to the 17.5 percent (of the foundation budget).”Ehrlich said rolling the state sales tax back to 3 percent would hurt municipalities and is something she doesn’t support.?It’s too much and would devastate local aid,” she said. ” ? I would be happy to support a rollback to 5 percent as long as North Shore residents have assurances tolls will not double.”The representative said she is working to eliminate the Massachusetts corporate excise tax on small businesses, and filed a bill toward that end in her first term.?Right now small businesses, c-corporations and LLC-corporations, have to pay a $456 filing fee even if they show a loss, and in this down economy there are a lot of businesses showing a loss. I want to eliminate that tax.”Although the bill did not make it through this year, she said, “I plan to pick it up and run again with that in the next session.”Ehrlich, who is on the Transportation Committee, said North Shore residents are paying hefty tolls while commuters on the South Shore get a free ride.She also said she would have liked to have seen a gambling bill pass before the session ended.?I would favor destination casinos,” Ehrlich said. “I am not a fan of slot parlors.”