State Representative Aaron Michlewitz
House Ways & Means Chair (Democrat – 3rd Suffolk District)
Recipient of the Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award
House Ways & Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz to be Honored with MHSA’s Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award at Home for Good
The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance is pleased to announce the 2023 recipient of the Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award: State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award is named in honor of the late Canon Brian S. Kelley, a longtime advocate to end homelessness who served as the Canon at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. Canon Kelley was a founder of Social Action Ministries, now known as Social Action Massachusetts, a program of MHSA.
Representative Michlewitz has proven himself an ally of all people experiencing homelessness and those community organizations that serve them. The budget for Fiscal Year 2023 was historic in its scope and in its diversity of responses for the various agencies trying to end the reality of homelessness. Throughout his career, just like Canon Kelley, he has demonstrated a concern for those who have less and has worked to create a more just world. For this reason, we are proud to award him the 2023 Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award.
First elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2009, Aaron Michlewitz represents the Third Suffolk District, which comprises the Boston neighborhoods of the North End, Waterfront, Chinatown, Downtown, Leather District, Bay Village, and portions of the South End, West End, and the Back Bay.
Representative Michlewitz has served as the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee since February of 2019. In his second term as Chair, Rep. Michlewitz has worked on four budgets and has taken the lead in enacting a number of key legislative accomplishments such as the Student Opportunity Act, the ROE Act, and numerous economic development packages. Rep. Michlewitz also was a stabilizing voice in the House throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and helped guide the Legislature’s response to the virus.
Rep. Michlewitz has previously served as Chairman of the Joint Committees on Financial Services, Public Service, and Election Laws, where he took a lead in crafting comprehensive legislation dealing with new emerging technologies such as Transportation Network Companies like Uber and Lyft and short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Expedia. He was also instrumental in the passage of the ACCESS bill for guaranteed contraception care, the PATCH act, and gender equity in disability insurance.
Rep. Michlewitz earned an MBA from Suffolk University and a BA in Journalism from Northeastern University. He resides in the North End with his wife, Maria.