WEEI’s Alex Reimer is leaving sports radio to work in politics
The Natick native is joining Massachusetts state Sen. Eric Lesser's office.
WEEI host and writer Alex Reimer is headed to the State House.
After nearly three years providing a liberal point of view on the largely more conservative Boston sports radio station, Reimer is switching to the field of politics to take a job as communications directer for Massachusetts state Sen. Eric Lesser. The 26-year-old announced the move, which was first reported on Aug. 8 by the State House News Service, in a column Monday on WEEI’s website.
In addition to radio appearances, Reimer blogged and wrote a regular sports media column for WEEI.com. In 2018, he earned national attention — and local notoriety — for being suspended by the station for calling Tom Brady’s daughter a “pissant” during a show shortly before the Super Bowl.
Reimer wrote Monday that he grew up aspiring to work in sports talk radio. As a 12-year-old, the Natick native was even profiled by The Boston Globe for building a following on his precocious sports blog.
However, his interests have recently shifted further toward politics.
“At this stage in my life, I am more apt to live-tweet Rachel Maddow than tomorrow night’s Red Sox game,” Reimer wrote Monday. “Those of you who are misfortunate enough to follow me on Twitter could’ve already guessed that.”
I am* beyond* excited to getting started in the State House, where I will serve as @EricLesser’s Communications Director. He is a big proponent of East-West Rail. My hero @AOC would be proud of me.
— Alex Reimer (@AlexReimer1) August 19, 2019
Reimer said that his “hero,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, would be “proud” and noted that Lesser has been a consistent advocate for high-speed passenger rail linking Boston to Springfield. The 34-year-old Longmeadow Democrat, who worked for President Barack Obama’s administration before his 2014 election, tweeted Monday that he was honored to have Reimer join the office.
“There’s lots of exciting work ahead,” he wrote.
Lesser’s previous communications director, Ryan Migeed, announced earlier this month that he was leaving the senator’s office to go to law school.
Reimer wrote Monday that he was “amazingly” leaving WEEI on good terms, adding that “this probably isn’t the last you’ll hear from me in this space.”
“Most of my friends don’t understand why I am so sentimental about leaving WEEI,” he wrote. “After all, I am in perpetual conflict with seemingly most of our audience, and my Twitter feed is more toxic than Tiger Woods’ love life. But it is weird to leave something you have always wanted to do. I was able to work my dream job; few people are able to say that.”
Before being hired as a full-time WEEI employee in 2017, Reimer also wrote for Forbes, Boston magazine, SB Nation, and the Boston Herald. According to his WEEI bio, he is “the only man in Boston who owns a J.D. Drew jersey.”
