Andy Vargas serves in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 3rd Essex District, his home city of Haverhill. Formerly a Haverhill City Councilor, elected at age 22, Andy rose to the State House winning a special election in 2017. In the legislature, Andy serves as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, and has championed issues of education, public health, housing, inclusive entrepreneurship, climate justice, and public safety. 

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Andy grew up on Arlington Street in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Born less than an hour away in Cambridge, when Andy was six his mother and father moved the family to Haverhill for its more affordable housing costs, and have remained a proud Merrimack Valley family for decades since. Andy’s is a family of immigrants, his father and each of his grandparents moving to the United States from the Dominican Republic.

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In 2015, just months after graduating from Boston University, Andy was elected to the Haverhill City Council as one of it’s youngest-ever members. As a member of the council, Andy focused on investing in education, funding public safety through capital improvements and staffing for the police and fire departments, and ensuring city government was transparent and accessible to Haverhill's taxpayers, so they knew how their money was being spent. After one term on the council, Andy won a hotly-contested special election to represent the city in the state legislature. 

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As a state representative, Andy has fought for better education throughout the Commonwealth, affordable housing opportunities for people in the Merrimack Valley, and more resources to fight the opioid crisis. Andy’s leadership and dedication brought major benefits to his community, including securing nearly $3,000,000 in funding for his district in his first nine months in office alone. He has served on a number of committees, including Ways and Means, Education, Public Health, and is the Vice Chair of the Economic Development committee. He has successfully led and passed legislation on civics education, substance abuse, gun violence prevention, housing and more. 

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Andy’s involvement in public service began long before his first election. While attending Haverhill’s public schools Andy was a youth leader as part of the Haverhill Violence Intervention and Prevention program, founded a charity at fourteen years old to get baseball equipment to underprivileged kids, and as part of Teens Leading The Way drafted a civics education bill which received bipartisan support in the legislature. In 2018, as a state representative, Andy helped push similar civics education legislation that was signed into law. While studying at BU Andy remained consistently engaged in public service, interning first in the state house, and finally, the White House. Later, Andy worked at Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) which works across the Commonwealth to help under-resourced individuals start a business. 

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Andy lives in downtown Haverhill with his wife Rikelma — a Yankees fan — and their lovable and rapidly growing puppy, Merengue. His parents, grandmother, and younger brother and sister still live nearby.