SWAMPSCOTT — Polly Titcomb, one of six candidates running for state representative in the 8th Essex District said that she knew from a young age that she wanted to change the world.
“My family used to tease me when I said I wanted to change the world. I was really young, I was like eight. I was like, I can change the world, I’ve got to change the world,” Titcomb said in an interview with the Item. “I got so frustrated that people did not believe that they could change the world.”
Now that she has had two children, gotten a law degree and worked as a licensed attorney for 11 years, an elected town member for nine years, and has served in the Swampscott Select Board for three, Titcomb said that her ambitions “have been changed” from believing that she can “personally change the world”, but she still wants to be “doing important work that will benefit society.”
“I want to work in the public interest, and that has always been the goal,” said Titcomb.
Titcomb said that her abundant volunteer work in the community, as well as her job as public counsel in the field of child welfare law and, very recently, mental health litigation, have already set her on the path of public service.
“I am appointed by the state to people who otherwise can’t afford an attorney. I represent either children, or one of their parents once the child has been taken into custody by the Department of Children and Families,” she said.
She also noted that as a working mother of two — with 10-year-old son, Ellis, and 8-year-old daughter, Elena — who supports herself and pays her own expenses, she might be that needed voice in the State Legislature that retains “this realistic sense of the stressors and constraints of a modern family.”
Titcomb said that she realizes that she might never have that level of economic security that she has today, if she did not have her large and supportive family, and that many people do not have “a support system that provides that level of security.”
“I already have a professional level degree, but my income is average, because I do a lot of public work and I spend a lot of time with my children, and we need people who understand what it is like to get a bill and worry whether they have enough money on their hands to pay that bill,” said Titcomb.
That is why Titcomb’s campaign largely remains a grassroots campaign, and she says that a lot of the issues that the Legislature needs to address are rooted in economic justice issues. For example, the commitment to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions depends on the ability of residents to buy greener technologies and the ability of the government to provide support for that, she said.
“As it stands right now, sustainability is largely a luxury,” Titcomb said. “I would love driving a Tesla, but I can’t afford a Tesla. I don’t think that people should be punished or that we should fail to address the climate crisis because they can’t afford to buy a green vehicle.”
She said that she could not be more committed to green energy, but when her burner broke, and she tried to switch to ductless and solar, she had two home energy audits from MassSave, and she still did not qualify for a zero percent or one percent loan that would enable her to afford the change. Nonetheless, commitment to a greener future remains one of the priorities of her campaign, which also focuses on coastal resilience, affordable housing, and mental health.
“Coastal resilience is one of the most immediate — we need to make sure that our harbors are not under water,” said Titcomb.
The housing crisis is another top priority on Titcomb’s agenda. She said that in Swampscott there were approximately 200-250 units of affordable housing for the town, and with the average cost of housing, now “even affordable housing is not affordable for people with secure jobs and a decent income.”
“We have not made enough of a commitment as a state not just to affordable housing, but to public housing, and making public housing more abundant and more accessible,” Titcomb said.
Titcomb’s campaign also focuses on improving mental health services and especially dealing with substance-use disorders and educational services for the children with special needs. She said that she observed a gap in a social network that can smoothly transition the young individuals with special educational needs “into adulthood in a way that is productive and meaningful.”
“Everyone must have a chance for a meaningful life,” said Titcomb.
Titcomb remains as energetic and optimistic as ever, and she believes that with that and also with her experience in managing the municipal finances and municipal governance, she is the best fit for a state representative position.
“My passion doesn’t wither over time, and my optimism doesn’t wind over time, and my energy didn’t lessen over time, and neither did my commitment to those issues. Those were the qualities that developed through my public experience so far,” said Titcomb.
Oksana Kotkina can be reached at [email protected].
