Polly Titcomb 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. “I got so frustrated that people did not believe that they could change the world.”
After having two children, getting a law degree, working as a licensed attorney for 11 years, and serving on 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.
Her abundant volunteer work in the community, as well as her job as an attorney in the field of child welfare law and, very recently, mental health litigation, have already set her on the path of public service, Titcomb said.
She also noted that as a working mother of two who supports herself and pays her own expenses, she might be a needed voice in the state Legislature.
“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.
Titcomb said a lot of the issues that the Legislature needs to address are rooted in economic justice issues. To that end, Titcomb believes 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.
“As it stands right now, sustainability is largely a luxury,” Titcomb said. “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.”
The housing crisis is another top priority on Titcomb’s agenda.
“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 children with special needs.
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.
