Leadership
Leadership
Ken serves as House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. He is tasked with overseeing all legislation related to K-12 education, as well as early education and care. Currently, Rep. Gordon and his research staff are holding hearings and monitoring bills on a variety of topics, including curriculum, school finance and infrastructure, school climate and safety, transportation, and college and career readiness.
Traffic
Ken worked with Senator Cindy Friedman and former Senator Ken Donnelly to access $800,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to fund improvements to the intersection of Route 128 and U.S. Route 3. He continues to work to improve the traffic flow on Cambridge Street in Burlington and Great Road in Bedford. He was honored by The Middlesex 3 Coalition with its 2014 Economic Development Advocate Award:
“When it comes to addressing traffic concerns in our area, nobody has worked harder,” said Bob Buckley, who is also on the board of Middlesex 3, a group of business and municipal leaders. “He realized early on that addressing our traffic problems required a regional approach. For four years Rep. Gordon to almost all our meetings, and pitches right in. We can count on him to follow through.”
Jobs
Ken partnered with the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce, which has honored him with its Partners in Prosperity Award, and the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, which honored him with its Diversity Award for his work bringing new businesses to Burlington and creating new jobs:
“When our restaurants needed help with transportation so they could fill job openings, I turned to Rep. Gordon for help,” said Burlington Chamber of Commerce President Rick Parker. “He came to our meetings and got to work advocating for funding for employee shuttles. His legislation will make life easier for working people, but he consults with small businesses to make sure it does not overburden our employers. His approach is fair and data driven. We appreciate his reliability.”
Three times, at the instruction of their respective Town Meetings, Ken steered Burlington and Bedford’s requests for additional liquor licenses through the legislature, overcoming opposition in each case by drafting language that satisfied all parties, or convincing legislators to support the Town Meeting’s intent. The new licenses helped Burlington and Bedford welcome several new restaurants for its residents and employees.
Ken has also welcomed new companies and industries to the district, including the Broad Institute in 2024, which brought infrastructure and work opportunities to Burlington. He is excited to welcome Keurig Dr. Pepper to the district, whose new global headquarters will open in Burlington in 2026.
Schools
Every year of his tenure, Ken has delivered on increased state aid and school funding for Burlington and Bedford.
Ken worked with Sen. Mike Barrett to win permanent funding of more than $500,000 annually to reimburse Bedford for the education of children of military families at Hanscom Air Force Base.
Ken involves our students in the operation of government. He led a group of elementary school children who wanted to pass a new law, and they did just that! He brought them to meet Governor Baker when their bill was signed into law. He has visited various student councils and social studies classes. He hosted the Burlington fashion class in a first-of-a-kind show at the State House. He also hosts tours for the scouts, school groups, military family groups, and more.
Rep. Gordon is a strong advocate for early education and care for children and families across the Commonwealth. His “Common Start” legislation, which passed in the FY25 budget, seeks to transform the early education sector by improving affordability and access for families, increasing pay for early educators, and ensuring the sustainability and quality of early education and care programs.
Homelessness
Ken delivered on his pledge to have the Department of Housing and Community Development find families more permanent housing in or near their home communities. This reduced the number of homeless families temporarily housed in Bedford from 88 to 24, putting it in the middle of the range of municipalities in Massachusetts. The facility is no longer part of the program that provides transitional housing.
Veterans
Ken was appointed by Governor Baker to the Massachusetts council for the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission, where he participated in a bi-partisan effort to support the needs of the children of servicemen. He filed legislation to dedicate bridges in Bedford and Burlington to the memory of fallen heroes L.Cpl. Travis Desiato, PfC John Hart, and L.Cpl. Gregory MacDonald, and then organized dedication ceremonies. He helped lead the fight for new laws protecting veterans, including protection against discrimination in employment, protection against the accrual of certain taxes while on duty, and a new law prohibiting demonstrations close to military funerals. He has supported the Skate for the 22 Foundation, which addresses mental health issues among veterans.
In 2024 Ken joined his House colleagues in passing historic legislation, known as the HERO Act, which is “an act honoring, empowering and recognizing our servicemembers and veterans.” This legislation includes an amendment filed by Rep. Gordon, which gives veterans more time to make decisions regarding their buy back time. This amendment gives employees more freedom and opportunity when making important decisions about retirement.
Seniors
Ken listens to our seniors and responds. His first address to the legislature was on the topic of the Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP), a program that provides services to seniors so they can stay in their homes longer, rather than facing nursing home placement. When Burlington’s seniors appeared to have lost their weekly bingo gathering, Ken stepped up and formed a group to replace the aging bingo equipment, serve as bingo callers, and allow the seniors to continue to have their weekly entertainment.
Ken attends bingo once a month to help facilitate the activity and serve as a caller, along with his staff. He often brings homemade treats and converses with the group about current and upcoming events in the legislature, answering constituents’ questions and concerns.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Ken serves on the Middlesex County Restoration Commission, which has provided advice regarding the feasibility of a center, likely to be located in Lowell, where police can transport people they encounter who may be suffering from untreated mental health or substance abuse issues so they can get the help they need. The Commission was created from a substance abuse bill championed by Senator Cindy Friedman, who works with Ken as the Senator for Burlington and Lexington.
Ken has taken the lead on advocating for funding for restorative justice, a system that, under the right circumstances, provides a forum outside the criminal justice system for petty crimes that may be resolved by educating the perpetrator of a crime, while bringing in the victim of the crime for a meaningful dialogue. He is also a member of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan’s Opioid Task Force, which identifies community-based needs and opportunities to address the opioid epidemic.
Health Care
Ken was the primary sponsor of a law that brought transparency to the way mental health coverage is administered, reducing tax burdens for all of us.
Ken helped influence the Substance Abuse Act, which helped to reduce the waiting time at Lahey Clinic in Burlington and at other area hospitals with first-in-the-nation provisions that pre-authorize transfers of those suffering from substance abuse to more appropriate treatment centers.
Worker Security
Ken led the way for laws that strengthened our unemployment insurance system by reducing premiums for small business without reducing any recipient’s eligibility or benefits.
Ken helped draft new minimum wage legislation that benefits both workers and employers. Ken championed unemployment insurance reform as part of this legislation. As a result of Ken’s leadership, workers will enjoy an increased minimum wage, and most small businesses will see reduced premiums to offset any increased labor cost.
Ken filed legislation that led to Massachusetts’ landmark Paid Family & Medical Leave law. He was called to the White House twice to discuss this bill and spoke with President Obama. He hosted forums that featured former US Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Deputy Secretary Chris Lu. He researched this bill by speaking not only to workers, but to Burlington and Bedford businesses, to make sure everyone benefited from the program. Recently, he filed an amendment to ensure that employees can supplement their PFML benefits with other unused benefit time. This amendment was included in the final FY2024 budget, strengthening the program by allowing families to care for children or loved ones during serious illness or injury without risking their financial security.
Accessibility
Ken holds monthly gatherings, open to all residents, at coffee shops in Bedford and Burlington, where constituents can bring their questions and concerns.