Cerrato Reflects On 1st Year As State Representative
HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —Melissa Cerrato is crying.
The township resident is sitting down with Patch to discuss her first year as state representative for the 151st Legislative District and she is wiping away tears from her eyes as she talks about helping an elderly constituent resolve an issue.
During a nearly two-hour conversation earlier this month, Cerrato’s blue eyes will often get teary as she reflects on her past year of service to 64,000 constituents in Horsham Township, Ambler, Upper Dublin Township, and Montgomery Township.
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“I’m a very emotional person,” said Cerrato, a 42-year-old mother of four daughters.
She also can be found throughout the year in her legislative office on Horsham Road near the intersection with Norristown Road.
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This is where Cerrato is most comfortable.
While her office is upstairs, Cerrato spends most of her time on the first floor of the building along with her handpicked team of four staffers, which includes Hatboro Councilman Alex Myers.
She poses for pictures with military members who drop by for a visit, helps constituents with services herself, and even vacuums the office and cleans the conference room.
“One time this older man was saying to me that he was going to meet his representatives in Harrisburg soon,” she said. “And his wife said, ‘You are talking to her right now.'”
Cerrato is a busy lady these days.
Before the House of Representatives goes back for budget hearings in February before sessions start up again in March, she’s celebrating her birthday and getting ready to launch her re-election bid since state representatives have two-year terms.
She’s holding a Re-Election Launch/Birthday Bash at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Horsham VFW.
It seems like yesterday that Cerrato defeated longtime Republican Todd Stephens to earn her first shot in politics. Her victory then gave Democrats control of the House.
“It seems like yesterday and it seems like a decade,” Cerrato said as her dog Cookie stood nearby. “It’s exciting. I love it. But it can be exhausting. You have to have a proper balance between legislative, political, and family life.”
Cerrato often has to commute between her Horsham home and Harrisburg and usually averages about six to eight days a month in the state capital with more time spent in June for state budget sessions.
“It’s two jobs,” she said. “There’s my job in the district and understanding the needs of the constituents. Then there’s the legislation with bills and committee meetings.”
During her year tenure, Cerrato has voted on more than 350 bills, was the lead sponsor on seven of them, and had two of them approved in the House of Representatives.
The first bill focused on the importance of helping families financially with home care services. A constituent had come to her office seeking to notarize divorce documents because the system didn’t allow spouses to be reimbursed as caretakers for loved ones.
Her second bill focused on creating an associate license for marriage and family therapists and counselors. It passed the committee unanimously.
The credential enhances access to mental health services by increasing employment opportunities for new marriage and family therapists with a master’s and/or doctorate training who have yet to meet the 3,000 hours of clinical supervision required for full licensure as a licensed marriage and family therapist.
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Cerrato said her first year was about getting established. She had to select a staff, set up her office, and get her name out there.
“When I ran, it was the chance to prove myself,” she said. “I feel that I’ve kept that promise. I couldn’t work harder than I am. My focus is on reaching more people.”
Cerrato said her office provided 9,319 services to constituents during her first year.
Cerrato tries to make her office setting as comfortable and clean as possible. With the state providing a small monthly budget for rent and office upkeep, Cerrato often does the cleaning. She picked up some used furniture and created a breakroom upstairs.
She also does her public relations, writing emails that highlight her work over the past week.
Over the past week, Cerrato has been out in her district collecting signatures for residents that will place her on the April 28 primary election ballot.
During her first campaign, Cerrato knocked on 10,000 doors when she said that most candidates running for office might knock on the doors of between 1,000 and 2,000 residents.
And while she’s running for re-election, Cerrato said that this time is different.
“I’m less worried about the campaign and more worried about doing the job. I’m out there doing everything I can,” Cerrato said. “We can’t make miracles. But we can make things easier for people.”
151st Legislative District Office
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