BOSTON — At 22, Solomon Goldstein-Rose, D-Amherst, will be the youngest Massachusetts House member when the body convenes in January.
His age, he said, is no disadvantage.
“A lot of young people… talk about being in politics despite being young,” said Goldstein-Rose. “I come at it from the perspective that I am in politics because I am young.”
From organizing elementary school recycling campaigns to testifying in favor of an air pollution bill on Beacon Hill at age 12, the newly elected representative said he has been preparing for the job most of his life. As a high school sophomore he did a biography project on the woman he is replacing, retiring Rep. Ellen Story, who he said has served as a mentor to him since he was 10.
Now, as a recent graduate of Brown University with degrees in engineering and public policy, Goldstein-Rose said he looks forward to working with fellow millennials in the Legislature. He notes the number of legislators under 30 has doubled since the Nov. 8 election.
“I think that young people are uniquely idealistic and open minded,” he said.
Born to activist parents, Goldstein-Rose has been exposed to politics since early childhood. He said his father was an international relations professor and would always encourage conversation and understanding about inner workings of the political realm.
Climate change — a centerpiece of his campaign — has long been an important issue for Goldstein-Rose, dating back to when he started a container recycling program in elementary school. His mother was an avid supporter.
“My teacher would always mention that my mother was helping wash bins,” he said. “It actually got my mom into being an environmental activist in her own right.”
He said Story was key in his developing political aspirations. The two met by chance when he was 10 at the Amethyst Brook Conservation Area. He said his mother recognized Story and introduced her to her son.
At age 12, Goldstein-Rose provided testimony for a bill Story sponsored to ban school buses from idling. In 10th grade, he interviewed her for a school biography project.
“Even back then, I was thinking, ‘that’s going to be me some day,’” he said. “Since the election she has been a great help, pressing upon me what it’s going to be like once I get [to the State House].”
Though Goldstein-Rose plans on emulating his mentor’s style of friendliness and respect in the Legislature, he said he will be his own person based on his age and different priorities.
Goldstein-Rose’s two major issues of interest are climate change and education. He said he hopes to introduce bills that will start conversations about diversity and inclusion in schools, as well as provide more support for first-generation college students.
To combat climate change, Goldstein-Rose said he will promote clean energy development and investment in clean energy technologies that can be sold to the rest of the world.
“I’m just seeing what sticks, what people have a political appetite for,” he said.
Goldstein-Rose said he would like to see all of the political energy surrounding the presidential election put to good use.
“We now have all this energy around engaging with government that I would like to be the norm,” he said. “How do you harness this and get it into action?”
Goldstein-Rose said many people on both the Republican and Democratic side have felt left out, and that it is important to get people connected to government again. Overall, he is hopeful for the future of both national and state politics.
“At a state level, Massachusetts actually gets things done, and I hope to be a part of working with bigger things on the agenda,” he said. “I think we can get people to believe in the system again, get it to work again and get really good things done.”