Skip to content

Kenneth Ira Gordon

Democratic · MA · Massachusetts State Representative, 21st Middlesex District

Official website

Ken Gordon has represented Bedford, Burlington and part of Lexington in the Massachusetts House since 2013 and is an employment lawyer who represents workers facing discrimination. He has focused on wage and parental leave laws and on unemployment insurance reform.

Where Kenneth Ira Gordon stands, based on their records

Supports

Healthcare Affordability (2 records), Environment and Public Health (3 records), Labor Rights (4 records),

Opposes

Government Spending Reduction (7 records)

Track record

Track record — Healthcare Affordability

Healthcare Affordability · 2 support
  • Voted for a bill writing no-cost birth control coverage into state law. It passed the House 140-16.

    November 8, 2017Supports Healthcare Affordability

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a bill updating state law to carry out the federal Affordable Care Act. It passed the House 118-32.

    June 19, 2013Supports Healthcare Affordability

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Environment and Public Health

Environment and Public Health · 3 support
  • Voted for the final climate roadmap law setting a net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050. It passed the House 145-14.

    March 18, 2021Supports Environment and Public Health

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final law banning flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes, and taxing vaping products at 75%. It passed the House 119-33.

    November 21, 2019Supports Environment and Public Health

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a bill committing Massachusetts to the Paris climate agreement's emission goals. It passed the House 146-10.

    November 1, 2017Supports Environment and Public Health

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Labor Rights

Labor Rights · 4 support
  • Voted for a bill requiring employers with 25 or more workers to list pay ranges in job postings. It passed the House 148-8.

    October 4, 2023Supports Labor Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final 'grand bargain' law raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2023, creating paid family and medical leave, and making the sales tax holiday permanent. It passed the House 119-24.

    June 20, 2018Supports Labor Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Filed a bill (H.2172) to create a paid family and medical leave insurance program. In June 2018 it was folded into the 'grand bargain' law (H.4640) that created paid family and medical leave.

    January 23, 2017Supports Labor Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final law raising the state minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017 and changing unemployment insurance. It passed the House 122-24.

    June 18, 2014Supports Labor Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Immigration

Immigration · 2 support
  • Voted for the final PROTECT Act, which limits federal civil immigration arrests at courthouses, schools and hospitals and keeps state and local police out of immigration enforcement. It passed the House 137-21.

    July 30, 2026Supports Immigration

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted to override Governor Baker's veto of the Work and Family Mobility Act, which lets immigrants without legal status get driver's licenses. The House overrode the veto 119-36.

    June 8, 2022Supports Immigration

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Government Spending Reduction

Government Spending Reduction · 7 oppose
  • Voted for the final $63.4 billion state budget for fiscal year 2027. It passed the House 142-6.

    July 1, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a $425 million emergency spending bill for the family shelter system that also tightened shelter eligibility. It passed the House 126-26.

    February 6, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final Affordable Homes Act, a $5.16 billion housing bond and tax credit law that also allowed backyard in-law apartments statewide. It passed the House 128-24.

    August 1, 2024Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final $251 million emergency shelter funding bill, which also set a nine-month limit on family shelter stays. It passed the House 123-35.

    April 25, 2024Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a House bill raising the gas tax by 5 cents and the diesel tax by 9 cents to pay for transportation. It passed the House 113-40.

    March 4, 2020Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted to override Governor Baker's veto of about $18 million in pay raises for legislative leaders, statewide officials and judges. The House overrode the veto 116-43.

    February 2, 2017Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a House transportation finance bill raising about $500 million a year through a 3-cent gas tax increase and a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase. It passed the House 97-55.

    April 8, 2013Opposes Government Spending Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control

Public Safety and Crime Control · 1 support
  • Filed a bill (H.1734) to prevent sexual misconduct by school staff and abuse of children and youth.

    February 27, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties · 4 support
  • Voted for the final bill protecting school and public libraries from book bans and protecting librarians from retaliation. It passed the House 156-1.

    July 31, 2026Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted to re-enact the law making phone and video calls free for people in Massachusetts prisons and jails. It passed the House 132-26.

    November 8, 2023Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final police reform law that created a civilian-majority police licensing board and banned chokeholds. It passed the House 91-67.

    December 1, 2020Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final criminal justice reform law (S.2371). It passed the House 148-5.

    April 4, 2018Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Housing Affordability

Housing Affordability · 1 support
  • Voted for the final Affordable Homes Act, a $5.16 billion housing bond and tax credit law that also allowed backyard in-law apartments statewide. It passed the House 128-24.

    August 1, 2024Supports Housing Affordability

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Social Programs and Welfare

Social Programs and Welfare · 3 support
  • Voted for a $425 million emergency spending bill for the family shelter system that also tightened shelter eligibility. It passed the House 126-26.

    February 6, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final $251 million emergency shelter funding bill, which also set a nine-month limit on family shelter stays. It passed the House 123-35.

    April 25, 2024Supports Social Programs and Welfare

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Filed a bill (H.489) with Rep. Adrian Madaro to make high-quality early education and child care affordable and widely available. In February 2024 it was folded into a Senate bill (S.2619).

    February 16, 2023Supports Social Programs and Welfare

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Public Education Quality

Public Education Quality · 3 support
  • As House chair of the Joint Committee on Education, led the House side of the conference committee that wrote the final early literacy law requiring evidence-based reading instruction such as phonics. Governor Healey signed it.

    July 1, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

    Source: bcattv.org

  • Filed a bill (H.590) requiring schools to keep an emergency supply of epinephrine for severe allergic reactions. The Education Committee reported it favorably in October 2025.

    February 27, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Filed a bill (H.489) with Rep. Adrian Madaro to make high-quality early education and child care affordable and widely available. In February 2024 it was folded into a Senate bill (S.2619).

    February 16, 2023Supports Public Education Quality

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Gun Control

Gun Control · 3 support
  • Voted for the final state gun law that cracked down on untraceable ghost guns, banned guns in more public places and widened the red flag law. It passed the House 124-33.

    July 18, 2024Supports Gun Control

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final red flag law letting family members and police ask a court to take guns from someone found to be a danger. It passed the House 133-15.

    June 28, 2018Supports Gun Control

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a House bill to reduce gun violence that tightened state gun laws. It passed the House 112-38.

    July 9, 2014Supports Gun Control

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Women's Reproductive Rights

Women's Reproductive Rights · 6 support
  • Voted for a law letting doctors perform abortions after 24 weeks based on their professional judgment, removing the list of allowed reasons. It passed the House 121-35.

    July 31, 2026Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final law expanding legal protections for people who provide or receive abortion and gender-affirming care in Massachusetts. It passed the House 132-24.

    July 31, 2025Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final law shielding abortion and gender-affirming care providers and patients in Massachusetts from out-of-state legal action. It passed the House 137-16.

    July 26, 2022Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted to override Governor Baker's veto of the ROE Act, which wrote abortion rights into state law and let 16- and 17-year-olds get abortions without parental consent. The House overrode the veto 107-46.

    December 28, 2020Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a bill writing no-cost birth control coverage into state law. It passed the House 140-16.

    November 8, 2017Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final law protecting access to reproductive health clinics, passed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's clinic buffer zone. It passed the House 119-33.

    July 29, 2014Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Personal Income Tax Reduction

Personal Income Tax Reduction · 1 support
  • Voted for the final tax relief law worth about $1 billion a year, which more than doubled the state child and dependent tax credit. It passed the House 155-1.

    September 27, 2023Supports Personal Income Tax Reduction

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Civil Rights

Civil Rights · 6 support
  • Voted for the final law expanding legal protections for people who provide or receive abortion and gender-affirming care in Massachusetts. It passed the House 132-24.

    July 31, 2025Supports Civil Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final law shielding abortion and gender-affirming care providers and patients in Massachusetts from out-of-state legal action. It passed the House 137-16.

    July 26, 2022Supports Civil Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final VOTES Act, which made mail-in voting and expanded early voting permanent. It passed the House 126-29.

    June 16, 2022Supports Civil Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a bill banning conversion therapy for minors. It passed the House 149-8.

    March 13, 2019Supports Civil Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the final automatic voter registration law. It passed the House 134-16.

    July 27, 2018Supports Civil Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a bill banning discrimination against transgender people in public places such as restaurants and stores. It passed the House 116-36.

    June 1, 2016Supports Civil Rights

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — Public Infrastructure

Public Infrastructure · 2 support
  • Voted for a House bill raising the gas tax by 5 cents and the diesel tax by 9 cents to pay for transportation. It passed the House 113-40.

    March 4, 2020Supports Public Infrastructure

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a House transportation finance bill raising about $500 million a year through a 3-cent gas tax increase and a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase. It passed the House 97-55.

    April 8, 2013Supports Public Infrastructure

    Source: malegislature.gov

Track record — General

General · 6 records
  • Voted for a bill banning student cellphone use during the school day and barring social media accounts for children under 14. It passed the House 129-25.

    April 8, 2026

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the House energy bill that cut about $1 billion from the Mass Save efficiency program, returned some clean-energy payments to ratepayers, and eased limits on nuclear power. It passed the House 128-27.

    February 26, 2026

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Was endorsed for re-election by Attorney General Maura Healey, Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton.

    August 25, 2022

    Source: bcattv.org

  • Voted for the House rewrite of the voter-approved recreational marijuana law, which raised the retail marijuana tax from 12% to 28%. It passed the House 126-28.

    June 21, 2017

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for the 2015-2016 House rules package, which ended the eight-year term limit on the House speaker. It passed the House 114-40.

    January 29, 2015

    Source: malegislature.gov

  • Voted for a bill to raise the charter school cap in low-performing districts and give those districts new school turnaround tools. It passed the House 114-35.

    May 21, 2014

    Source: malegislature.gov

Past race Kenneth Ira Gordon ran in: