Senate · Democrat

Eric P. Lesser

Former member, served 2015–2022 in the sessions covered here · First Hampden and Hampshire

Data through FY2026; built October 19, 2026.

Residence

Longmeadow

First elected

Senate 2014

Occupation

Senator

Left office

did not seek reelection in 2022 (not a candidate in the 2022 primary or general election for this seat); term ended January 4, 2023

Seats held, General Courts 189–194 (the FY2017–FY2026 budgets)
Session	Chamber	District	Lines
189th (2015–16)	Senate	First Hampden and Hampshire	2011 lines
190th (2017–18)	Senate	First Hampden and Hampshire	2011 lines
191st (2019–20)	Senate	First Hampden and Hampshire	2011 lines
192nd (2021–22)	Senate	First Hampden and Hampshire	2011 lines

Posts and stipends

Eric P. Lesser was paid $277,643 in leadership and committee stipends from 2016 to 2022.

Posts and stipends by session (stipends by calendar year)
Session	Posts	First year	Second year
189th (2015–16)	Chair, Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development; Vice chair, Joint Committee on Financial Services	not available	$7,500
190th (2017–18)	Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; Vice chair, Joint Committee on Financial Services	$35,200	$35,200
191st (2019–20)	Chair, Senate Committee on Ethics; Vice chair, Joint Committee on Transportation	$48,744	$48,744
192nd (2021–22)	Chair, Senate Committee on Ethics; Vice chair, Joint Committee on the Judiciary	$51,128	$51,128

Posts: the Legislature’s leadership and roster records as compiled for this project; where those name no post, the member’s committee chair, vice-chair and ranking roles from the Legislature’s member profiles. Stipends: additional compensation in the Comptroller’s payroll data (CTHRU dataset 9ttk-7vz6), 2016–2026; 2026 is the year to date. Stipends for 2015 are not available. Base salary is not included.

The district

First Hampden and Hampshire on its 2011 lines: 9 cities and towns, 162,455 residents (2020).

Springfield 27%, 28% of the town · Chicopee 15%, 44% of the town · Ludlow 13% · East Longmeadow 10% · Longmeadow 10% · Belchertown 9% · Wilbraham 9% · Granby 4% · Hampden 3%

Percentages are each place’s share of the district’s 2020 residents; for a town split between districts, the share of the town inside this one follows.

Population-weighted Fairness Index of the district’s cities and towns: 54 for all state aid and 38 for discretionary money (50 is a fair share).

Local earmarks are counted three ways. District money uses the first, clauses that name a place in the district; the second table adds organizations located in the district (placed in the district) and state facilities located there (everything placed). Three ways to count a local earmark.

District money, first measure: enacted earmarks in clauses naming a place in the district, by session (district money, not the member’s)
Session	District	Dollars	In corrective clauses	Per resident per budget, rank	Without corrective clauses, rank
189th (2015–16)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$541,000	$0	$3.33 · 19th of 40	$3.33 · 19th of 40
190th (2017–18)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$1.4M	$0	$4.40 · 16th of 40	$4.40 · 16th of 40
191st (2019–20)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$783,000	$0	$2.41 · 35th of 40	$2.41 · 35th of 40
192nd (2021–22)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$2.1M	$0	$6.61 · 27th of 40	$6.61 · 27th of 40

District money is where enacted earmarks land, by the place a clause names, mapped to districts by 2020 population; it is not attributed to the member and does not include leadership’s base-text money that names no place. Ranks are of district money per resident among the chamber’s districts, 1 = most. “In corrective clauses” is the part carried by a Ways and Means chair’s corrective amendments, which is leadership’s money; the last column gives the per-resident figure and rank without it. Sessions are labeled by the General Court that enacted each budget. Per-resident figures use the district as drawn for each session (2011 lines through the 192nd General Court, 2021 lines from the 193rd), so they will not equal a session’s dollars divided by the resident count above.

The same district on the other two measures, by session (enacted; includes any corrective-clause money)
Session	District	Placed in the district	Per resident per budget, rank	Everything placed	Per resident per budget, rank
189th (2015–16)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$548,000	$3.37 · 28th of 40	$583,000	$3.59 · 27th of 40
190th (2017–18)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$1.6M	$4.89 · 18th of 40	$1.6M	$4.89 · 20th of 40
191st (2019–20)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$942,000	$2.90 · 38th of 40	$942,000	$2.90 · 38th of 40
192nd (2021–22)	First Hampden and Hampshire	$2.5M	$7.75 · 25th of 40	$2.5M	$7.75 · 26th of 40

Budget amendments

Eric P. Lesser sponsored 237 budget amendments in FY2017–FY2026, asking for $325 million in all.

Amendments sponsored

237

FY2017–FY2026 budgets

Adopted, known outcomes

35%

84 of 237

Chamber rate, same ask sizes

46%

expected at the chamber’s rates

Of the 237 with a known outcome, 84 were adopted (35%). At the chamber’s adoption rate for amendments of the same size, about 108 (46%) would have been.

Largest enacted items matched to an amendment Eric P. Lesser filed (strong text matches)
Year	Amount	Enacted budget text (excerpt)	Amendment
FY2021	$1.1M (shared two ways)	“not less than $2,200,000 to the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc., the first $2,000,000 of which shall be distributed equally among…”	S4 #192
FY2019	$850,000 (shared two ways)	“not less than $1,700,000 to the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, Inc., which shall be distributed equally between its member…”	S4 #640
FY2022	$800,000	“equally to the Urban League of Springfield, Inc., in the city of Springfield and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Inc”	S3 #705
FY2020	$500,000	“a nonprofit security grant program to provide support for target hardening and other physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations that…”	S3 #1080
FY2017	$200,000	“the interactive bilingual operations of the Dr. Seuss Museum in the city of Springfield”	S4 #697

Strong matches: 47 enacted items, $6.1 million (the member’s share where several amendments claim one clause). A further one weaker text match is not listed; attribution is inferred from amendment text and is less certain there.

For 63 amendments the sponsor is the first mover named in the amendment text, because the Legislature’s record listed none. Ask size is the larger of the earmark dollars and the line-item change an amendment requests; bands: no dollar amount, under $50,000, $50,000–$250,000, $250,000–$1 million, $1–5 million, $5 million or more. Leadership’s unattributed base-text and corrective-amendment money is never assigned to a member. The comparison describes outcomes; it is not a measure of merit.

Bills sponsored

Eric P. Lesser filed 166 bills as lead sponsor in these sessions; two were enacted on their own. In completed sessions, 1% of their lead bills were enacted on their own, against chamber medians of 2% to 4% for the same sessions.

Most bills die in every legislature, and many policies pass inside other bills; the chamber median for the same session is the fair comparison.

Bills filed as lead sponsor, by session and outcome
Session	Chamber	Lead bills	Enacted	Folded into an enacted bill	Sent to study	Reported favorably, then died	Reported adversely or withdrawn	No action	Enacted rate	Chamber median	Cosponsored
189th (2015–16)	Senate	7	0	0	2	2	1	2	0%	4%	63
190th (2017–18)	Senate	46	2	1	22	18	0	3	4%	3%	152
191st (2019–20)	Senate	52	0	1	21	22	6	2	0%	3%	150
192nd (2021–22)	Senate	61	0	0	26	26	6	3	0%	2%	151

Enacted bills as lead sponsor

S2444 (190th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Melvin Maldonado, an employee of the Department of Mental Health · Chapter 117 of the Acts of 2018
S2583 (190th): An Act authorizing the town of Wilbraham to exchange a certain parcel of land held for conservation purposes · Chapter 187 of the Acts of 2018

Outcomes are the furthest point each bill reached in the record. “Folded into an enacted bill” means the history names the enacted bill that absorbed it. “Passed both branches; no chapter recorded” means the bill was enacted by both branches and laid before the Governor, with no chapter or veto in the history; in the 194th General Court such bills are shown as laid before the Governor (pending). The 194th General Court is in session until January 2027, so its open bills are pending, not dead, and its rates (*) are not comparable with completed sessions. Chairs and leaders control the calendar, which raises their rates. Source: malegislature.gov bill histories.

Recorded votes on accountability measures

Eric P. Lesser cast 36 yes-or-no votes on the 37 accountability roll calls in this file (16 yes, 20 no, one for a named candidate).

Roll calls on rules, audits, public records, term limits and pay
Date	Measure	Vote	Chamber result
January 26, 2017	Senate engrossment of the pay-raise bill	Yes	Yeas 31, nays 9
February 2, 2017	Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Matters considered in an informal session	Yes	Yeas 38, nays 0
February 2, 2017	Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Time to consider matters in an informal	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 2, 2017	Amendment 7.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Provided with text of bills prior to poll	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 2, 2017	Special orders by majority instead of two-thirds (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 2, 2017	Amendment 11.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 2, 2017	Amendment 13.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Timely Local Aid Notification	No	Yeas 7, nays 32
February 2, 2017	Senate override of the veto of the pay-raise bill	Yes	Yeas 31, nays 9
January 31, 2019	Amendment 1.1 (Bruce E. Tarr): Posting of Committee Roll Call Votes	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 1.0 (Walter F. Timilty): Improving Access to Records	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Informal Session	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Conference Committee Report	No	Yeas 8, nays 31
January 31, 2019	Amendment 11.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Audit of accounts	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
not available	Joint rules (S9), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 1.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Non disclosure agreements	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 7.1 (Rebecca L. Rausch): anti-harassment and assault	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 5.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Numbers of bills considered at a hearing	No	Yeas 8, nays 31
January 31, 2019	Amendment 17.0 (Ryan C. Fattman): Matters considered in an informal session	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
January 31, 2019	Amendment 25.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
not available	Senate rules (S8), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
not available	Senate President election (contested meaning)	Voted for Karen E. Spilka	not available
February 11, 2021	Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Members receiving SWM GAA recommendation	No	Yeas 4, nays 35
February 11, 2021	Amendment 6.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent to go past midnight	No	Yeas 6, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 7.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Going past 10 pm	No	Yeas 6, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 8.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Successive formal sessions	No	Yeas 6, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 15.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Anti-harassment and bystander intervention training	No	Yeas 10, nays 29
February 11, 2021	Amendment 20.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Amendments to other appropriations bills	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Accessibility; adopted 39-0 (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 11, 2021	Supplier diversity; adopted 39-0 (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 11, 2021	Amendment 42.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Consideration of further and redrafted amendments	No	Yeas 7, nays 32
February 11, 2021	Amendment 44.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Hearings	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 11, 2021	Amendment 49.0 (Ryan C. Fattman): Adoption amendment - Rule 24	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Minority Leader appointments to committees (partisan allocation) (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 4, nays 35
February 11, 2021	Amendment 24.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Notice of legislative matters	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 1.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): New items on the calendar	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 1.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Filing of conference committee report	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 11, 2021	Amendment 14.0 (James B. Eldridge): Lengthening public notice period for legislative hearings	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0

Votes marked “contested meaning” are rules-package and public-records passage votes; reform advocates were on both sides of them. Descriptions are the project’s plain summaries of each question, or the question as recorded for rules-package roll calls; the official record is on malegislature.gov. Votes are facts; no score is computed.

Campaign money in

Eric P. Lesser’s committee reported $1.8 million in contributions of $250 or more in years the member served, 2015–2022.

By year (years in the Legislature)
Year	Contributions
2015	$124,000
2016	$188,000
2017	$104,000
2018	$148,000
2019	$115,000
2020	$113,000
2021	$180,000
2022	$802,000

By kind of contributor
Kind	Total	Share
Individuals	$1.7M	97%
Political committees and PACs	$44,000	3%
Unions and associations	$6,819	under 1%

Individuals’ money by the employer they reported
Employer reported	Share
A named employer	63%
Self-employed	17%
Retired	4%
Not employed	11%
Student	under 1%
Homemaker or at home	1%
Not reported or withheld	3%

Not counted as contributions: $467,000 in other receipts of $250 or more in the same years (candidate loans and the candidate’s own money, transfers, refunds, bank interest and aggregated small receipts).

Largest employers and organizations
Employer or organization	Kind	Total	Contributions
WILMERHALE	individuals, by employer	$26,000	45
BACON WILSON	individuals, by employer	$21,000	38
BAYSTATE HEALTH	individuals, by employer	$15,000	26
BAYSTATE MEDICAL CENTER	individuals, by employer	$14,000	25
UNITED PERSONNEL	individuals, by employer	$12,000	17
COVINGTON AND BURLING	individuals, by employer	$11,000	18
HAMPDEN ENGINEERING	individuals, by employer	$10,000	13
REDGATE	individuals, by employer	$8,750	12
FOLEY HOAG	individuals, by employer	$8,750	14
GALLET DREYER AND BERKEY	individuals, by employer	$7,800	15

Source: Office of Campaign and Political Finance, itemized receipts of $250 or more since 2015; OCPF filer record: Lesser Committee (CPF 15786). Individuals are grouped by the employer they reported; no individual contributor is named, and an employer field that is a person’s name is withheld. Massachusetts bars business contributions to candidates. Employer shows affiliation, not instruction.

Sources

Every figure traces to a public record.

Facts only: posts, stipends, sponsored amendments, enacted items, roll-call votes and district money. No score or grade is computed. Associations shown here are not evidence of cause. Method.