Josh Cutler, 39, is a Duxbury native who's lived in the Sixth Plymouth District for more than two decades. He is running as a Democratic candidate for the Mass. State Legislature to protect our quality of life and bring a fresh approach to the economic, environmental and educational challenges we face.

Josh grew up on Bay Ridge Lane in Duxbury and attended Alden Elementary School.

He graduated from Skidmore College with a B.A. in political science and earned a law degree at night from Suffolk Law School.

Josh's experience includes a stint as Legislative Aide in the Mass. House of Representatives, where he worked on regional government, health care reform and land conservation issues, including the creation of the Cape Cod Land Bank. Prior to that he served as a legislative intern for State Senator Mark Montigny of New Bedford.

He also worked as an account executive for a high-tech public relations firm in Boston, working with clients such as Texas Instruments and Cisco Systems.

For ten years Josh served as editor of the Duxbury Clipper, a family-run newspaper established by his grandparents sixty years ago. In 2001, Josh launched the Hanson Express, a weekly newspaper covering Hanson. The success of the Express later led to editions in Whitman and Pembroke.

Josh has earned journalism awards from the New England Press Association, the National Newspaper Association and the International Society for Weekly Newspaper Editors. During his tenure, the papers earned national recognition for spotlighting efforts to find a missing Hanson woman, covering the opening of a school for girls in Afghanistan and bucking the tide of corporate mergers in the newspaper industry.

Josh stepped down from his role as publisher to run for the legislature. He remains publisher of the Pet Gazette, a regional monthly newspaper devoted to pet fans all over Southeastern, Mass. 

Josh is currently an elected member of the Duxbury Planning Board and an appointed member of the South Shore Coalition and the Duxbury Alternative Energy Committee. Prior to moving back to his hometown of Duxbury, Josh served for three years as a Selectman in the Town of Hull. During his tenure the town successfully passed a major school renovation project without a property tax override and also erected one of the first municipal wind turbines in the state.

Josh is active in his community with local business and environmental organizations as well as the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society and the War Memorial project. He is also a volunteer driver for the Pembroke Meals on Wheels program.

Josh currently lives in West Duxbury with his wife, Leslie, a mental health counselor with a private practice in Pembroke; their adorable three-year old son Charlie; and three rambunctious labs. In his spare time, Josh enjoys spending time with his family, fishing with his father and writing mystery novels.

Josh’s family has deep South Shore roots. His mother, Suzanne, the former head of South Shore NOW, works for the National Consumer Law Center. His father, David, a decorated Marine Corps veteran, was active with the Duxbury War Memorial Fund and was the founder of Mariner Newspapers, including the Pembroke Mariner.  His step-mother, Catherine, is the minister at First Parish Church in Duxbury and past president of the Interfaith Council.

Josh and his wife, Leslie, and son, Charlie.