Watertown state Rep. Jonathan Hecht to run for Tolman's senate seat

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

State Rep. Jonathan Hecht, a Watertown Democrat, announced today that he will vie for the open Senate seat left by Sen. Steven Tolman when Tolman resigned to become the president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

Hecht was elected as a state representative for Watertown and West Cambridge in 2008. He currently serves as vice chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, and also stands as a member of the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight, and the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. He is a member of the Mental Health Caucus, MBTA caucus and Urban Parks Caucus.

"Senator Tolman and I share a common goal: to fight heart, head and soul for those who need it most," Hecht said in a prepared statement. "People are struggling right now. I want to help improve people’s lives and livelihoods.”

The open seat represents the Second Suffolk and Middlesex Senate District, which includes Watertown, Belmont and parts of Cambridge, Allston-Brighton, the Fenway and the Back Bay.

Hecht wrote in a prepared statement that in this "time of great economic uncertainty and frustration with government," he vows to obtain results from limited resources, while keeping a commitment to help people in need.

"We have to end the short-term fixes and special-interest politics and focus on the building blocks of shared prosperity: education, infrastructure and a healthy environment. And we have to do this together - good government is a team sport," he said.

The election to fill the vacant senate seat is scheduled for Jan. 10. Any primary run off would be held Dec. 13.

Follow us on Twitter: @watertownupdate

To contact Jaclyn Reiss, email her at jaclyn.reiss@gmail.com