Massachusetts Federation of Republican Women - Summer 2004 Newsletter

Meet Dr. Gail Lese

Dr. Gail Lese of Yarmouth is running for State Senate against incumbent Democrat Robert O'Leary. If successful, she will be the only physician sitting in the Legislature. "Health and Human Services are 40% of the state budget, so this is an area where you can make a big difference." She anticipates that healthcare will be a key issue in her campaign, and as she indicated in her campaign announcement, "my background as a physician and financial professional gives me a unique ability to have an impact in the Senate that will greatly benefit the Cape and the Islands."

Dr. Lese supports the Romney reform agenda and opposes bureaucracies that are "unresponsive to what people want." One of her top priorities as a Senator - to file legislation which would make medical insurance more affordable and more accessible. Her proposal may include the use of tax incentives, and pooling to reduce insurance costs for small businesses. Areas like the Cape and Islands, which rely heavily on small business and service industries, would be prime beneficiaries. Dr. Lese favors environmentally safe energy sources, but the business interests behind the Nantucket Sound Wind Farm need to be better understood. She also supports civil unions for gay couples.

Her academic and professional credentials are impressive. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lehigh University, she earned her MD from Cornell and interned in Pediatric Neurological Surgery at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. She worked as a pediatric physician in private practice and in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Health System. As a volunteer at the Los Angeles Free Clinic, she provided health care to homeless and indigent children, and recognized that more comprehensive programs were needed - programs that addressed economic and social issues along with medical ones. Dr. Lese returned to academics, earned anMBA from Harvard Business School, and served as financial analyst and portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments. She has been a volunteer tutor and mentor to students in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York, and also established a schoarship program to help economically disadvantaged students attend college. She was a finalist for the 2003-2004 Class of White House Fellows, the nation's most prestigious leadership program. For more information, visit http://www.LeseforSenate.com.