Jonathan Hecht is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

for the 29th Middlesex district from 2009 to 2021.

Early life and education

Born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, Hecht spent his youth in Belmont, attending

Belmont Public Schools Belmont Public Schools is a school district that serves Belmont, Massachusetts, United States. Schools There are four public elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, a ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1981, a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1988, and a Master of Arts in law and diplomacy from

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in its ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1990.

Career

Hecht was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

attorney before working as a program officer for

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and governance for the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

from 1990 to 1994. He was a research fellow and law lecturer in East Asian legal studies at

from 1994 to 1998. He co-founded the China Law Center at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

in 1999 and was its deputy director until 2006. A former board member of the

Arsenal Center for the Arts The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts (formerly Arsenal Center for the Arts) is a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts venue on the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States. The 30,000 square foot center, located in an hi ...

, Hecht won a seat on the

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

in 2005, later serving as chair the council's budget, economic development, and rules committees. Elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the 29th

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

District seat in the

in 2008, Hecht is Vice Chair of the Elder Affairs Committee and a member of the House Committee on Post

Audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

and Oversight and the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. He is a member of the

Mental Health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

Caucus,

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Caucus, and Urban Parks Caucus. In December 2011, Hecht was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the special election to replace

Steven Tolman Steven A. Tolman (born October 2, 1954 in Brighton, Massachusetts) is an American labor union leader who is the current President of the Massachusetts AFL–CIO. He is a former state legislator who served in the Massachusetts Senate (1999–2011) ...

in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

, but lost to state representative

Will Brownsberger William N. Brownsberger (born March 21, 1957) is an American politician and the President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate representing the Second Suffolk and Middlesex District which includes his hometown of Belmont, as well as Watertow ...

in the primary election.

Personal life

Hecht and his wife Lora Sabin, a public health economist at

Boston University School of Public Health Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1976, the School offers master's- and doctoral-level programs in public health. It is located in the heart of Boston University's Me ...

, reside in Watertown and have four children.

References

External links

Official web siteCampaign web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecht, Jon Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Stanford University alumni Harvard Law School alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Politicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts People from Belmont, Massachusetts People from Watertown, Massachusetts 21st-century American politicians

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links