Michlewitz takes starting role in North End

by Ben Austin

NORTH END -- Since he played Little League in the North End as a child, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz put his team first.

Last summer, Michlewitz, 31, took over the 3rd Suffolk District, which had been held by Sal DiMasi, former speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, for three decades. The freshman lawmaker has taken an active role in cleaning up his district, which includes the neighborhood where he has spent his entire life.

"The North End is a funny place," Michlewitz said with a grin. "You can't help but to know your neighbor. You really have a connection with everyone in the area."

Since taking office, Michlewitz has made the sanitation and rat problems in his district his No. 1 priority. He has also supported other bills to protect the environment.

Joe Romano, Michlewitz's former baseball coach, says Michlewitz has always been a team player. Romano remembers Michlewitz as a quiet kid more worried about the team than himself. In one instance, Michlewitz fought through the pain of an injury so his team would not have to forfeit a game due to an insufficient number of players. 

"I basically had to carry him out onto the field to play shortstop," Romano said. "That's the kind of player he was. He could have easily just sat on the bench ... but he is always thinking of others."

Last year, Romano, municipal affairs liaison at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, found himself working for the Michlewitz campaign.  He says it didn't take long to see his former shy Little Leaguer taking a seat in the State House.

"The more I worked with him everyday it was obvious how dedicated he was," Romano said. "I think he was well prepared for it."

Before being elected, Michlewitz worked as constituent services director for DiMasi for five years before taking over the seat. Because of this, Michlewitz feels that he has more experience than most young representatives.

"I guess I'm not the typical freshman representative," explained Michlewitz, who studied journalism at Northeastern University. "I've seen what we've been through in the North End. I've seen the changes that have been made."

Despite his experience in the State House, the fact of the matter is that Michlewitz is in his first term and he will need to work for the respect and productivity that he witnessed while working for DiMasi.

"I'm still low man on the totem pole... It sometimes can be hard to live up to [DiMasi]," Michlewitz said. "We're getting things done. It's just that we're not the speaker of the house, so it's an adjustment."

As he has done since his days of playing baseball in the North End, Michlewitz says he is trying to help out the people of his district. Today, he still manages to spend time on the baseball diamond coaching the North End Dodgers, a teenage baseball team in his home neighborhood.

"He hit the ground running and started attacking issues right away," said Romano, who plans to work for Michlewitz's re-election campaign later this year. "The most important thing is that becoming a state rep. hasn't changed him one bit. He still treats all of his friends and neighbors the exact same way that he always has."