Jim Marzilli
Representative, Massachusetts
Biography
Jim Marzilli is in his sixth term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing Arlington and West Medford. He is one of the state's leading advocates for working families, progressive tax reform, the environment and a sustainable energy policy. Jim organized the Working Family Agenda, a statewide coalition advocating for the needs of Massachusetts' working families. He led the successful fights that gave Massachusetts the highest minimum wage in the nation, expanded the earned income tax credit, provided tax relief for low-income seniors paying high property taxes and restored the capital gains tax. Jim was named "Legislator of the Year" by the Environmental League of Massachusetts in 2001. He wrote the law banning the sale of toxic mercury thermometers. He has authored legislation to create a Green Building Tax Credit and a "gas pig" tax to create a sliding scale vehicle sales tax based on a vehicle's energy efficiency. At the local level, he organized the "Green Streets, Green Cities" program to restore urban green areas. Jim is active in national circles on issues of income equality, energy conservation, foreign trade and urban forestry. He is active in the international debate on issues of energy policy, sustainable economic development and North/South hemispheric relations, with a focus on Cuba and Mexico. Jim serves on the legislature's Committees of Federal Financial Assistance, Local Affairs, and Long-Term Debt and Capital Expenditures. He represents Arlington at the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and its program on Cities for Climate Protection. He is on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and the New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS). He gets to these meetings in his gas/electric hybrid car.