State Rep. Amy Mah Sangiolo, a Democrat, is running for reelection to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 11th Middlesex District. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
Sangiolo has represented the district since 2025, according to the Massachusetts Legislature. She has lived in Newton for more than 30 years, according to her campaign website. She and her husband, John, raised three children in Newton, all of whom attended Newton Public Schools.
Candidate information
Sangiolo was born and raised in Weehawken, New Jersey, according to her campaign website. She is the daughter of George Mah, a Chinese-American U.S. Air Force veteran who became a banker, and Yuriko Sugie, a Japanese immigrant.
She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Barnard College in 1986 and a juris doctor from Rutgers University in 1991, according to BallotReady. She also studied ballet at the School of American Ballet and classical piano at Juilliard's Pre-College Division, according to her campaign website.
Experience and public service
Sangiolo served on the Newton City Council from 1998 to 2017, according to BallotReady. She held the at-large seat for Ward 4 and served as vice president of the council, according to her campaign website. She said she first won her seat by unseating an incumbent and prevailing in a recount by 12 votes.
Before taking office as state representative, Sangiolo worked as a supervising consumer specialist at the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General from 2020 to 2024, according to BallotReady. Her earlier career included work as a legal extern at the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and as an environmental advocate at the Container Recycling Institute and National Wildlife Federation, according to her campaign.
In the legislature, Sangiolo serves on the Joint Committees on Public Health, Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Racial Justice and Equity, according to her campaign website. She has sponsored a bill (H.3938) to establish the Massachusetts Flood Management and Mitigation Authority, according to the Massachusetts Legislature.
She also co-founded Fig City News, a civic publication, in 2022, according to her campaign. She serves on the Dow Fund, which provides assistance for legal service providers in the Asian community, and OCA-APAA-NE, which provides mentorship and scholarships for Asian American youth, she said.
On the issues
Housing: Sangiolo said she supports giving cities and towns the ability to adopt rent control, authorizing real estate transfer fees to fund affordable housing, legalizing accessory dwelling units statewide, requiring mediation before foreclosures, and increasing funding for wrap-around services to help tenants stay housed.
Climate and energy: Sangiolo said she supports banning new fossil fuel hookups in all new construction, repairing leaky gas lines instead of replacing them, requiring emission reporting from existing buildings, and expanding the bottle bill.
Criminal justice: Sangiolo said she supports increasing the emphasis on restorative justice, limiting solitary confinement, decriminalizing minor offenses, and raising the age of incarceration to 21 for certain offenses.
Transportation: Sangiolo said she supports expanding and electrifying the MBTA bus fleet and rail system. She said she would work to include bike and pedestrian trails in state infrastructure projects.
Education: Sangiolo said she would direct more resources toward social and emotional learning, mental health support, and competitive wages for teachers and aides.
Sources: Public campaign materials, published candidate profiles and the public records linked above. Policy statements are attributed to the candidate; funding or implementation details are included where available.
The Newton Record did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.
