Aaron Vega
Aaron Vega | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 5th Hampden district | |
In office January 2, 2013 – January 6, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Michael F. Kane |
Succeeded by | Patricia Duffy |
Member of the Holyoke City Council from the At-large district | |
In office 2010–2012 | |
Personal details | |
Born | (1970-08-15) August 15, 1970 (age 54) Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Debra Vega (m. 2006) |
Children | 4 |
Residence(s) | Holyoke, Massachusetts |
Alma mater | Holyoke Community College Keene State College (BA, MA) |
Occupation | Small business owner, yoga instructor, film editor |
Website | Official website Campaign website |
Aaron Vega (born August 15, 1970) is an American state legislator who previously represented the 5th Hampden district of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, co-owner of a yoga business, and a former film editor. He has been nominated for the Argentine Film Critics Association's Silver Condor Award for Best Film for directing jazz documentary Van Van - Empezó la fiesta!, and has worked on several PBS documentaries including American Experience and Ken Burns' Jazz.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, Vega began his political career in 2009 when he successfully ran as a city councilor in Holyoke, and subsequently ran successfully for state representative for the 5th Hampden district in 2012.[2] In 2020, then-Mayor Alex Morse appointed Vega as Director of the City of Holyoke's Office of Planning and Economic Development, replacing outgoing director Marcos Marrero; Vega assumed the office on January 21, 2021, and would subsequently lead Mayor Josh Garcia's transition team.[3][4]
Personal life
The son of local Ecuadorian activist and cofounder of Nueva Esperanza, Carlos Vega, Aaron Vega was born in Holyoke on August 15, 1970, and grew up in South Holyoke, attending Morgan Elementary School, before moving with his mother to New Hampshire. He graduated from Mascenic Regional High School in 1988,[2][5] and soon after attended Holyoke Community College and subsequently Keene State College where he received dual bachelor's degrees in psychology and film studies.[2] Over the next several years he worked as an editor on a number of PBS documentaries, including several directed by Ken Burns, before returning to Holyoke in 2002.[1][6] In 2008, Vega opened a yoga studio with his wife in the converted Lyman Mills, now known as Open Square, becoming a mobile yoga service in 2017. Vega resides in Holyoke with his wife Debra, who teaches dance at Mount Holyoke College,[7] his three daughters, and son.[2] He is a member of the board of the Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice.[8]
Selected filmography
Vega has worked as an editor for a number of films, primarily human interest stories told through documentaries. He is credited as the film editor of the following works, unless otherwise noted[1]
- Refugee Kids: One Small School Takes on the World, 2014, short
- Héroes, 2011, TV movie (Puerto Rico), director
- Sosúa: Make a Better World, 2009, documentary
- American Experience
- A Class Apart, 2009
- Race to the Moon, 2005
- Artists of the Bahamas, 2008, documentary edited with Scott Hancock
- Through Deaf Eyes, 2007, documentary
- Clock Paint Eyeball, 2006, short, edited with Chris Ohlson
- My Electric Bill, 2006, short
- Addison's Wall, 2005, drama
- Front Wards, Back Wards, 2005, documentary
- The Spin Cycle, 2004, short
- Blue Vinyl, 2002, post-production coordinator
- The New Sideshow, 2002, TV movie
- Ram Dass, Fierce Grace, 2001, documentary
- Jazz (TV series), 2001, 3 episodes
- The True Welcome: 1929-1934
- The Gift: 1917-1924
- Gumbo: Beginnings to 1917
- Van Van - Empezó la fiesta!, 2001, director with Liliana Mazure, documentary, nominated for 2002 Silver Condor Award for Best Film
- Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, 1997, assistant editor
Massachusetts House of Representatives (2013–2021)
Vega ran for the Massachusetts House of Representative's 5th Hampden District legislative seat, which was made vacant upon the resignation of incumbent state representative Michael F. Kane who accepted a position with Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.[9] He defeated the Republican nominee Ward 5 City Councilor Linda M. Vacon and Green-Rainbow nominee Jerome T. Hobert[10] and was sworn in on January 2, 2013. He is a member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.[11]
Committee assignments
- Committee on Personnel and Administration
- Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies
- Joint Committee on Higher Education
Electoral history
Massachusetts House of Representatives, 5th Hampden District, 2018:[12]
- Aaron Vega (D) – 10,199 (99.6%)
- All Others – 38 (0.4%)
- Blank Votes – 2,214
Massachusetts House of Representatives, 5th Hampden District, 2016:
- Aaron Vega (D) – 13,687 (99.7%)
- All Others – 40 (0.3%)
- Blank Votes – 3,312
Massachusetts House of Representatives, 5th Hampden District, 2012:
- Aaron Vega (D) – 9,545 (60.8%)
- Linda Vacon (R) – 3,211 (20.5%)
- Jermone Hobert (Green-Rainbow) – 2,939 (18.7%)
Democratic primary for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 5th Hampden District, 2012:
- Aaron Vega – 1,947 (65.4%)
- Michael F. Kane (inc.) – 999 (33.6%)
Holyoke City Council, At-large, 2011:
- Kevin Jourdain (inc.) – 5,029
- Peter Tallman – 4,834
- Aaron Vega (inc.) – 4,697
- Joseph McGiverin (inc.) – 4,675
- Brenna Murphy (inc.) – 4,528
- Daniel Bresnahan – 4,264
- James Leahy (inc.) – 4,252
- Rebecca Lisi – 4,213
- Patricia Devine (inc.) – 3,886
- John Whelihan – 3,675
- Yasser Menwer – 1,706
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Aaron Vega". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Aaron Vega. Massachusetts General Court.
- ^ Phillips, Amy (November 12, 2020). "Vega appointed Director of Holyoke's Office of Planning & Economic Development". WWLP 22 News.
- ^ D'Amours, Kristina; Shook, Ashley (November 30, 2021). "Holyoke Mayor Garcia reveals his transition team". WWLP 22 News.
- ^ "Class of '88". Viking '85. Mascenic Regional High School; Modu-Form of Fitchburg. p. 25.
- ^ Aaron Vega, Jasmine Colonna (2013). Studio Interview with Aaron Vega. The Holyoke Public Schools Media Center – via Vimeo.
- ^ "Debra Vega". Mount Holyoke College. 2017. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Carlos Vega Board Members". Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice. 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
Aaron is Carlos's eldest son and the current chair of the advisory board. After a career in documentary films as an editor Vega moved back to Holyoke in 2002 and quickly got involved in the community. In 2009 Vega ran for the Holyoke City Council as an at-large candidate and won. He won a second two-year term in 2011 and then ran for the State Representative Seat in 2012. In his first term as the state representative, he worked on economic development, higher education and workforce development opportunities. In addition to his political life, Vega is a yoga instructor. He and his wife own VegaYoga & Movement Arts. He has three adult daughters and a son.
- ^ "Holyoke state Rep. Mike Kane quits House for Columbia Gas job, setting up scramble for post". Mike Plaisance. June 8, 2012.
- ^ "Holyokers elect Aaron Vega state rep over Linda Vacon and Jerome Hobert in the 5th Hampden District". Mike Plaisance. November 6, 2012.
- ^ "2019-2020 Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus". mablacklatinocaucus.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ PD:43+, Massachusetts Election Results, Elections Division, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
External links
- Vega for Holyoke City Councilor-at-Large, 2011 municipal campaign website from the Internet Archive
- VegaClips, former film editing portfolio site
- v
- t
- e
- Speaker of the House
- Ron Mariano (D)
- Speaker pro tempore
- Kate Hogan (D)
- Majority leader
- Michael Moran (D)
- Minority leader
- Bradley Jones Jr. (R)
- ▌Chris Flanagan (D, 1st Barnstable)
- ▌Kip Diggs (D, 2nd Barn.)
- ▌David Vieira (R, 3rd Barn.)
- ▌Sarah Peake (D, 4th Barn.)
- ▌Steven Xiarhos (R, 5th Barn.)
- ▌Dylan Fernandes (D, Barn., Dukes, Nan.)
- ▌John Barrett (D, 1st Berkshire)
- ▌Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D, 2nd Berk.)
- ▌Smitty Pignatelli (D, 3rd Berk.)
- ▌F. Jay Barrows (R, 1st Bristol)
- ▌Jim Hawkins (D, 2nd Bris.)
- ▌Carol Doherty (D, 3rd Bris.)
- ▌Steve Howitt (R, 4th Bris.)
- ▌Patricia Haddad (D, 5th Bris.)
- ▌Carole Fiola (D, 6th Bris.)
- ▌Alan Silvia (D, 7th Bris.)
- ▌Paul Schmid (D, 8th Bris.)
- ▌Christopher Markey (D, 9th Bris.)
- ▌William M. Straus (D, 10th Bris.)
- ▌Christopher Hendricks (D, 11th Bris.)
- ▌Norman Orrall (R, 12th Bris.)
- ▌Antonio Cabral (D, 13th Bris.)
- ▌Adam Scanlon (D, 14th Bris.)
- ▌Dawne Shand (D, 1st Essex)
- ▌Kristin Kassner (D, 2nd Ess.)
- ▌Andy Vargas (D, 3rd Ess.)
- ▌Estela Reyes (D, 4th Ess.)
- ▌Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D, 5th Ess.)
- ▌Jerry Parisella (D, 6th Ess.)
- ▌Manny Cruz (D, 7th Ess.)
- ▌Jenny Armini (D, 8th Ess.)
- ▌Donald Wong (R, 9th Ess.)
- ▌Daniel Cahill (D, 10th Ess.)
- ▌Peter Capano (D, 11th Ess.)
- ▌Thomas Walsh (D, 12th Ess.)
- ▌Sally Kerans (D, 13th Ess.)
- ▌Adrianne Ramos (D, 14th Ess.)
- ▌Ryan Hamilton (D, 15th Ess.)
- ▌Francisco E. Paulino (D, 16th Ess.)
- ▌Frank A. Moran (D, 17th Ess.)
- ▌Tram Nguyen (D, 18th Ess.)
- ▌Natalie Blais (D, 1st Frnk.)
- ▌Susannah Whipps (I, 2nd Frnk.)
- ▌Todd Smola (R, 1st Hpdn.)
- ▌Brian Ashe (D, 2nd Hpdn.)
- ▌Nicholas Boldyga (R, 3rd Hpdn.)
- ▌Kelly Pease (R, 4th Hpdn.)
- ▌Patricia Duffy (D, 5th Hpdn.)
- ▌Michael Finn (D, 6th Hpdn.)
- ▌Aaron Saunders (D, 7th Hpdn.)
- ▌Shirley Arriaga (D, 8th Hpdn.)
- ▌Orlando Ramos (D, 9th Hpdn.)
- ▌Carlos Gonzalez (D, 10th Hpdn.)
- ▌Bud Williams (D, 11th Hpdn.)
- ▌Angelo Puppolo (D, 12th Hpdn.)
- ▌Lindsay Sabadosa (D, 1st Hampshire)
- ▌Daniel R. Carey (D, 2nd Hpsh.)
- ▌Mindy Domb (D, 3rd Hpsh.)
- ▌Margaret Scarsdale (D, 1st Middlesex)
- ▌James Arciero (D, 2nd Mid.)
- ▌Kate Hogan (D, 3rd Mid.)
- ▌Danielle Gregoire (D, 4th Mid.)
- ▌David Linsky (D, 5th Mid.)
- ▌Priscila Sousa (D, 6th Mid.)
- ▌Jack Lewis (D, 7th Mid.)
- ▌James Arena-DeRosa (D, 8th Mid.)
- ▌Thomas M. Stanley (D, 9th Mid.)
- ▌John J. Lawn (D, 10th Mid.)
- ▌Kay Khan (D, 11th Mid.)
- ▌Ruth Balser (D, 12th Mid.)
- ▌Carmine Gentile (D, 13th Mid.)
- ▌Simon Cataldo (D, 14th Mid.)
- ▌Michelle Ciccolo (D, 15th Mid.)
- ▌Rodney Elliott (D, 16th Mid.)
- ▌Vanna Howard (D, 17th Mid.)
- ▌Rady Mom (D, 18th Mid.)
- ▌Dave Robertson (D, 19th Mid.)
- ▌Bradley Jones Jr. (R, 20th Mid.)
- ▌Kenneth Gordon (D, 21st Mid.)
- ▌Marc Lombardo (R, 22nd Mid.)
- ▌Sean Garballey (D, 23rd Mid.)
- ▌Dave Rogers (D, 24th Mid.)
- ▌Marjorie Decker (D, 25th Mid.)
- ▌Michael Connolly (D, 26th Mid.)
- ▌Erika Uyterhoeven (D, 27th Mid.)
- ▌Joe McGonagle (D, 28th Mid.)
- ▌Steven Owens (D, 29th Mid.)
- ▌Richard Haggerty (D, 30th Mid.)
- ▌Michael Day (D, 31st Mid.)
- ▌Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D, 32nd Mid.)
- ▌Steven Ultrino (D, 33rd Mid.)
- ▌Christine Barber (D, 34th Mid.)
- ▌Paul Donato (D, 35th Mid.)
- ▌Colleen Garry (D, 36th Mid.)
- ▌Dan Sena (D, 37th Mid.)
- ▌Bruce Ayers (D, 1st Norfolk)
- ▌Tackey Chan (D, 2nd Norf.)
- ▌Ron Mariano (D, 3rd Norf.)
- ▌James M. Murphy (D, 4th Norf.)
- ▌Mark Cusack (D, 5th Norf.)
- ▌William C. Galvin (D, 6th Norf.)
- ▌William Driscoll (D, 7th Norf.)
- ▌Ted Philips (D, 8th Norf.)
- ▌Marcus Vaughn (R, 9th Norf.)
- ▌Jeffrey Roy (D, 10th Norf.)
- ▌Paul McMurtry (D, 11th Norf.)
- ▌John H. Rogers (D, 12th Norf.)
- ▌Denise Garlick (D, 13th Norf.)
- ▌Alice Peisch (D, 14th Norf.)
- ▌Tommy Vitolo (D, 15th Norf.)
- ▌Matt Muratore (R, 1st Plymouth)
- ▌Susan Gifford (R, 2nd Plym.)
- ▌Joan Meschino (D, 3rd Plym.)
- ▌Patrick J. Kearney (D, 4th Plym.)
- ▌David DeCoste (R, 5th Plym.)
- ▌Vacant (6th Plym.)
- ▌Alyson Sullivan (R, 7th Plym.)
- ▌Angelo D'Emilia (R, 8th Plym.)
- ▌Gerard Cassidy (D, 9th Plym.)
- ▌Michelle DuBois (D, 10th Plym.)
- ▌Rita Mendes (D, 11th Plym.)
- ▌Kathleen LaNatra (D, 12th Plym.)
- ▌Adrian Madaro (D, 1st Suffolk)
- ▌Daniel Joseph Ryan (D, 2nd Suff.)
- ▌Aaron Michlewitz (D, 3rd Suff.)
- ▌David Biele (D, 4th Suff.)
- ▌Christopher Worrell (D, 5th Suff.)
- ▌Russell Holmes (D, 6th Suff.)
- ▌Chynah Tyler (D, 7th Suff.)
- ▌Jay Livingstone (D, 8th Suff.)
- ▌John F. Moran (D, 9th Suff.)
- ▌Bill MacGregor (D, 10th Suff.)
- ▌Judith García (D, 11th Suff.)
- ▌Brandy Fluker Oakley (D, 12th Suff.)
- ▌Daniel J. Hunt (D, 13th Suff.)
- ▌Robert Consalvo (D, 14th Suff.)
- ▌Sam Montaño (D, 15th Suff.)
- ▌Jessica Giannino (D, 16th Suff.)
- ▌Kevin Honan (D, 17th Suff.)
- ▌Michael Moran (D, 18th Suff.)
- ▌Jeff Turco (D, 19th Suff.)
- ▌Kimberly Ferguson (R, 1st Worcester)
- ▌Jonathan Zlotnik (D, 2nd Wor.)
- ▌Mike Kushmerek (D, 3rd Wor.)
- ▌Natalie Higgins (D, 4th Wor.)
- ▌Donnie Berthiaume (R, 5th Wor.)
- ▌John Marsi (R, 6th Wor.)
- ▌Paul Frost (R, 7th Wor.)
- ▌Michael Soter (R, 8th Wor.)
- ▌David Muradian (R, 9th Wor.)
- ▌Brian Murray (D, 10th Wor.)
- ▌Hannah Kane (R, 11th Wor.)
- ▌Meghan Kilcoyne (D, 12th Wor.)
- ▌John J. Mahoney (D, 13th Wor.)
- ▌Jim O'Day (D, 14th Wor.)
- ▌Mary Keefe (D, 15th Wor.)
- ▌Dan Donahue (D, 16th Wor.)
- ▌David LeBoeuf (D, 17th Wor.)
- ▌Joseph D. McKenna (R, 18th Wor.)
- ▌Kate Donaghue (D, 19th Wor.)
- ▌Democratic (133)
- ▌Republican (25)
- ▌Independent (1)
- ▌Vacant (1)