Peter Lucas: Lori Trahan’s run for Congress is built on experience

If you like U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, you will like Lori Trahan.

If you don’t like Niki Tsongas, you will still like Trahan anyway.

It may not be enough to get her elected to Congress, but it surely is enough to keep her in the running, and probably at the front of the pack.

That is the effect the smart and charismatic 43-year-old candidate from Westford has on you, whether you believe she is the one to replace Tsongas in the 3rd Congressional District.

A lot of people believe she is.

Tsongas, of Lowell, is not seeking re-election to the seat once held by her late husband, Paul Tsongas. The seat has been in the hands of a Democrat for more than 40 years, and it is expected to remain that way.

One of those Democrats was Lowell native Marty Meehan, now president of the University of Massachusetts system, who held the seat from 1993 to 2007 before leaving Congress to head UMass Lowell a decade ago.

Trahan, a Lowell native, worked for Meehan during most of those congressional years, rising from an entry-level position to chief of staff. She ended up knowing the district, its problems and its politics as well as Meehan.

“I did every job in the office, both in Washington and Lowell. I know Congress and I know the district. I grew up in a hard scrabble, working-class family on Staple Street in the Highlands in Lowell. I know the anxiety working class families are going through. They feel that they have been left behind,” she said.

Trahan, in an interview, stressed the importance of women’s issues and Tsongas’ role in supporting and promoting them, particularly issues dealing with women in the military. “I want to build on what Niki Tsongas has accomplished,” she said.

A successful businesswoman at the head of a business and strategy consulting firm, Trahan believes that being pro-business translates into being pro-employment

Trahan, who is a product of Lowell High School, graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, majoring in international relations. She attended on an athletic scholarship.

Formerly Lori Loureiro, she is married to David Trahan, a home builder, who is from London Street in Lowell’s “Spaghettiville,” named after the section of South Lowell that once housed the famous Prince Spaghetti Company. David Trahan is a boyhood friend of Meehan’s.

Meehan, as president of the UMass, is barred from raising funds for Lori Trahan. But he is a close campaign advisor and supporter who urged her to run. His network of friends is expected to be a big help.

Interestingly, the other Marty in the fight — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh — is campaigning for Dan Koh, 32, who was Walsh’s chief of staff before leaving and moving back to Andover to run.

How would Trahan feel about the Boston mayor, an outsider, campaigning in the district for Koh?

“I would campaign against Marty Walsh,” she said.

Other Democrats in the fight are Steve Kerrigan of Lancaster, who ran for lieutenant governor in 2014; Lawrence state Rep. Juana Matias; Terence Ryan, chairman of the Westford School Committee; Nadeem Mazen, a Cambridge city councilor with roots in Andover; Abhijit “Beej” Das, CEO of Troca Hotels; former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford of Concord; Alexandra Chandler, a Haverhill resident and former Navy intelligence specialist; and Boxboro entrepreneur Patrick Littlefield.

What is refreshing about Trahan is that she is beyond simply bashing President Donald Trump like other Democrats, but recognizes that Trump represents change. “It is not enough to be mad, you have to fight for change,” Trahan said.

That is what the voters want, she said, and not the partisan bickering of a deadlocked Congress that gets nothing done.

While not a Trump supporter, Trahan said Trump represented “a disruptive force” that represented change. It was a force that bowled over the Washington political establishment, just as the upstart transportation technology company Uber (where she consulted) turned the transportation industry on its head.

“When you have disruption, change is going to follow, and we need change. I am optimistic that change is going to happen, and I want to be part of that change,” Trahan said.

While she lags behind Koh in fundraising — Koh so far leads the pack with $800,000 to Trahan’s $240,000 — Trahan is confident that she will raise enough to be a major factor in the race.

“That is just the tip of the iceberg. I am going to be competitive,” she said.

And she will.

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