Representative Leigh Davis Democrat - 3rd Berkshire

Leigh Davis is the first woman elected State Representative for the 3rd Berkshire District. In her first year, she was named a “Lawmaker to Watch” by The Boston Globe, a “Politician to Watch in 2025” by MassLive, and was featured in State House News.

A strong supporter of unions and workers, she was previously a proud member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700) and the Teachers' Union of Ireland.

Her legislative work centers on strengthening economic development and essential services, improving schools, supporting farmers, expanding housing opportunities, advancing environmental sustainability, and ensuring rural communities are heard on Beacon Hill. She has filed legislation to modernize the state’s EMS system, prevent educator sexual misconduct, accelerate rural bridge repairs, expand microtransit, support school regionalization, establish peer-run respite centers, and launch a farm-to-institution pilot program.

She is a member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators.

Before joining the Legislature, Representative Davis served two terms as vice chair of the Great Barrington Selectboard and chaired the town’s housing subcommittee. As Director of Development for the Eagle Mill Redevelopment, she helped secure multimillion-dollar funding to transform an 1808 paper mill into mixed-use housing and commercial space. She also supported the expansion of rural microtransit in South Berkshire County and advanced arts and economic activity through leadership roles with the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Berkshire Busk!, Saint James Place, and 1Berkshire.

Her earlier career includes work as a film and television editor in Los Angeles for Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Sony, Amblin, and DreamWorks. She later spent ten years in higher education as a tenured lecturer and Chair of the Department of Film and Television at the Galway–Mayo Institute of Technology in Ireland, while mentoring emerging filmmakers through the Galway Film Centre (now Ardán).

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in a biracial family rooted in public service, she is the daughter of Mary Kay, longtime assistant to Peace Corps founder Sargent Shriver, and Lloyd Davis, a Korean War veteran and senior HUD advisor widely recognized as the architect of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday.

A solo parent of three, Representative Davis understands the challenges facing working families. Her youngest daughter is a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy, her son works for a Berkshire-based pharmaceutical company, and her eldest daughter is a graduate of George Washington University. She holds a B.S. from Ithaca College and an M.A. from the National University of Ireland, Galway.