Stephen Lynch (politician)
Encyclopedia
Stephen F. Lynch is the U.S. representative
for . He is a member of the Democratic Party
who has served since 2001. Lynch was previously an ironworker
and lawyer
, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court
.
Born and raised in South Boston, Lynch is the son of an ironworker. He went into the trade after high school, working in an apprenticeship and later joining his father's union. He became the union's youngest president at age 30 while attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology
. He received his J.D.
from Boston College Law School
in 1991. For several years he worked as a lawyer, primarily representing housing project residents and labor unions.
Lynch was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
, unseating an incumbent Democratic lawmaker, in 1994. His social views and advocacy for the South Boston neighborhood led him to the Massachusetts Senate
in 1995, when he won a special election to succeed state Senator William M. Bulger
. He won a special election to represent the 9th district in the United States House of Representatives
in 2001, and has been re-elected ever since. Lynch has a reputation of being the most socially conservative member of Massachusetts' ten-member House delegation, and often votes independently of his party leadership. He sits on the Financial Services Committee
and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
. His father, Francis Lynch, was an ironworker who had dropped out of school in the eighth grade. His mother, Anne Lynch, was a night-shift post office worker. Both parents came from fourth-generation South Boston families. He attended St. Augustine Elementary School and South Boston High School. During high school vacations he began working in construction alongside his father. After graduating from high school in 1973, Lynch became an apprentice ironworker
. For the next six years he worked on high-altitude structural ironwork throughout the United States for various companies, including General Motors
and U.S. Steel
.
He was arrested in 1977 for smoking marijuana at a Willie Nelson
concert at the Illinois State Fair
, leading to a $50 misdemeanor
fine. He was again arrested in 1979 for assault and battery of six Iran
ian students at an anti-American protest in Boston, a charge which was later dropped. Around this time, he developed "a problem with alcohol", leading him to join Alcoholics Anonymous
. (He reportedly stopped after meeting his future wife several years later, although he continued to attend occasional meetings through the 2000s.)
Having personal experience with worker safety concerns, Lynch found himself with aspirations beyond his trade. When a 1979 blizzard forced his project in Wisconsin
to shut down, he spent the extra time taking courses at the University of Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, his father was diagnosed with cancer, and so Lynch returned to Boston. In the early 1980s Lynch was elected to the executive board of the Iron Workers Local 7
union. At age 30 he was elected president of the board, the youngest in the local's history. During this time he spent his nights and weekends attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology
, from which he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree
in construction management in 1988.
That year he led a three-week labor strike, refusing to sign a contract with the Associated General Contractors, despite pressure from within his union. The union international ultimately signed the contract without Lynch's approval, causing him to file suit against them. He would later remark, with regard to his political career, "Nothing I ever do will be as volatile as being union president during those times." This debacle forced him to miss the first three weeks of classes at Boston College Law School
, where he had enrolled. Despite the setback, he graduated with a J.D.
in 1991. After graduating he joined the law office of Gabriel O. Dumont, Jr., representing labor unions and unemployed workers.
Throughout law school and the following years, he often worked pro bono, representing housing project residents at Boston Housing Authority
(BHA) hearings. In one high-profile 1994 case, Lynch provided free legal services to 14 teenagers, all white, who were accused of physically attacking a Hispanic teenager and harassing the family of his white girlfriend over a period of six months. Lynch, who claimed the youths had been "overcharged", helped some of the teenagers to avoid criminal charges and eviction by the BHA.
Lynch was a one-time tax delinquent. In the mid-1980s the city of Boston placed liens on four properties he owned due to several thousand dollars of unpaid property taxes. He owed $2,000 in overdue taxes to the state of Massachusetts from 1985 to 1998, and for several years owed $4,000 to the federal IRS
.
, the Democratic state representative
from the 4th Suffolk district, to announce a run against him. While both candidates were labor advocates with similar backgrounds, Lynch described himself as "the conservative candidate". He criticized Gannon for not supporting the Veterans Council, which had prevented a gay rights group from marching in the local St. Patrick's Day Parade. Lynch's base of supporters in the projects allowed him to win the Democratic primary by 600 votes, and he continued to a victory in the November 1994 general election. As a state representative, he was a vocal advocate for his neighborhood. He opposed a plan by Governor William Weld
and New England Patriots
owner Robert Kraft
to construct a $200 million football
stadium by the publicly owned South Boston waterfront. He led the opposition to a proposed asphalt plant in South Bay, and sponsored an amendment to a state bond bill which banned the plant's construction.
When the President of the Massachusetts Senate
, William M. Bulger
, announced his resignation from his 1st Suffolk seat in late 1995, Lynch filed nomination papers for the special election to replace him. He ran in the Democratic primary against attorney William M. Bulger, Jr., son of the former senator, and lawyer Patrick Loftus. The race grew from the grassroots of South Boston, with neighborhood issues such as development, crime, and education ruling the debate. The candidates declared their mutual respect.
Lynch won the Democratic primary in March 1996 by a 20-point margin. He easily defeated a Republican challenger several weeks later and was inaugurated May 1, 1996.
As a state senator, Lynch continued to lead opposition to the proposed football stadium and was a vocal opponent of a proposal to sell the publicly owned Marine Industrial Park. He opposed a hate-crimes bill which would make racially charged language a felony, and harkened back to the 1994 racial violence case as an example. He charged that the bill "attacks merely words" and "prosecutes young people who, in my opinion, haven't developed the responsibility and wisdom to measure their words." On the Senate Transportation Committee, he cosponsored a bill in June 1996 to allow certain Boston residents unlimited access to the Ted Williams Tunnel
. In 1997 he was named Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. In response to a budget crisis in the state's nursing home
s, due primarily to Medicaid
shortfalls, he filed an unsuccessful bill in April 2001 to increase Medicaid funding by $200 million.
While in the Senate, Lynch enrolled in Harvard University
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
, from which he graduated with a Master's Degree in 1999.
Lynch announced his candidacy for the 9th district seat in 2001, when longtime incumbent U.S. Representative Joe Moakley
, stricken with leukemia
, decided not to seek a 17th term the following year. This was a departure from Lynch's previous plan to run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Moakley died in May 2001, before his term ended, and Lynch announced a run for the special election to succeed him. The early frontrunner of the race was lawyer Max Kennedy
, son of Democratic U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy
. Political missteps dragged Kennedy down in the polls, and his abrupt departure in June 2001 put Lynch in the lead. The remaining candidates included eight Democrats and two Republicans, all with similar political positions; according to The Boston Globe
, the candidates "struggled to find areas of conflict" when debating.
In the September Democratic primary, Lynch's main opponents were state Senators Cheryl Jacques
, Brian Joyce and Marc Pacheco. During the campaign, Lynch faced criticism as his past improprieties were uncovered, including two arrests, defaulting on student loans, and a long history of tax delinquency. He was attacked by gay rights advocates for "a history of supporting anti-gay legislation". Despite these setbacks, Lynch maintained strong local support going into the primary. As Lynch pulled ahead in polls and fundraising, Jacques and Joyce attacked his 1994 racial violence case and subsequent positions on hate crime as evidence that he was not supportive of civil rights.
On September 11, 2001, Lynch won the Democratic primary with about 40 percent of the vote. The same day, the September 11 attacks took place, which dampened the ensuing general election campaign between Lynch and the Republican nominee, state Senator Jo Ann Sprague
. As both sides turned to similar themes of patriotism and defense, Lynch benefited from the demographics of his district, heavily Catholic, Democratic and urban, allowing him to defeat Sprague by 65 to 33 percent in the October 16 election. He was sworn into the 107th Congress
on October 23, 2001. The ceremony had been delayed for a weekend, as the 2001 anthrax attacks
had led to a shutdown of Congressional office buildings. In a press conference after his swearing-in, Lynch remarked on the unlikelihood of his career path, comparing himself to Jed Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies
.
Lynch is a conservative Democrat by Massachusetts standards, but a moderately liberal
one by national standards. He generally votes conservative on social issues and liberal on economic and environmental issues. "Calling me the least liberal member from Massachusetts is like calling me the slowest Kenyan in the Boston Marathon", he remarked in 2010. "It's all relative." He is strongly pro-labor and has focused on bringing manufacturing jobs to his district. He is a co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus.
since his first term. According to CQ
, Lynch supported President George W. Bush
's agenda one-third of the time, which was average for Democratic House members. For instance, he supported the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
, which addressed the subprime mortgage crisis
, but opposed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
which created the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He has supported President Barack Obama
's economic agenda, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Lynch has focused on trade policy as a congressman. In 2002 he voted against fast track
bills which gave the president the authority to negotiate trade deals without amendments by Congress. In 2007 he voted in favor of the United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement despite some Democratic opposition.
Lynch is an advocate for health care reform
but split with his party on Obama's health care reform efforts. He voted in November 2009 to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act
(AHCAA), the House's health care reform bill. This bill was scrapped by Congressional leaders in favor of the Senate's bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(PPACA). Despite pressure from Obama and Democratic leaders, Lynch stated that he would oppose the PPACA until "they put reform back in the health reform bill." He described the Senate bill as a "surrender" to insurance companies, putting too little pressure on insurance companies to reduce costs, and that did not represent meaningful reform. He explained, "There's a difference between compromise and surrender, right? And this is a complete surrender of all the things that people thought were important to health care reform." When the PPACA came to a House vote in March 2010, he was the only U.S. representative from New England to vote against it.
On social issues, Lynch is considered a conservative to moderate Democrat. He opposes abortion
and has been attacked by pro-choice
group NARAL. He sided with conservatives in the 2005 Terri Schiavo case
, voting for federal court intervention to maintain the life-support of a vegetative woman. He has sided with Democratic leaders on gay rights issues, however, opposing a Federal Marriage Amendment
and supporting granting medical benefits to domestic partners of federal employees.
. Lynch sat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee
for his first term. Lynch, who has several Veterans's Affairs (VA) hospitals in his district, sponsored legislation to increase nurse staffing and to allow private physician prescriptions to be filled at VA hospitals.
A supporter of American intervention in the Middle East
, Lynch has made twelve trips to Iraq
and a total of ten trips to Afghanistan
and Pakistan
. Part of the purpose of these visits was to ensure accountability in reconstruction projects. He voted for the Iraq War authorization in 2002, against the Democratic House leadership, and later voted to continue funding the war. He has since supported Obama's drawdown of troops in Iraq throughout 2010 and 2011. He also supports Obama's renewal of the War in Afghanistan
, and was the only Massachusetts representative to vote for funding for Obama's Afghanistan initiative. Lynch voted for increased foreign aid to Pakistan
in 2009, but along with Oversight Chairman John F. Tierney
, he pushed for strict oversight of the aid's distribution.
Lynch supports lifting the United States' economic sanctions on Cuba. Moakley, his predecessor, was heavily involved in Latin America
n affairs, and Lynch has made an effort to continue this work. He joined five other congressmen on a 2002 visit to Cuba
, where they met with President Fidel Castro
.
s endorsement of D'Alessandro.
Ted Kennedy
, Massachusetts state law triggered a special election
to be held in January 2010. On September 4, 2009, a representative for Lynch took out nomination papers to run in the special election. After speaking with his family and citing the short time frame in which to conduct a campaign, Lynch decided against seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat.
, was from another South Boston family, one of seven children, and majored in graphic design at the Massachusetts College of Art
. She had gone to high school with Lynch's sisters, and she and Lynch were members of the South Boston Residents Group. , Stephen and Margaret Lynch live in South Boston with their daughter Victoria Bailey Lynch and a niece, Crystal Shaughnessy.
Along with his wife, Lynch is a Roman Catholic, which he says "sets the moral compass" for his political beliefs. He prefers not to publicize his faith politically, saying, "I don't want to appear as someone who's preaching, or come off as ... 'Holier than thou.'"
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for . He is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
who has served since 2001. Lynch was previously an ironworker
Ironworker
Ironworker is a class of machines that can shear, notch, and punch holes in steel plate. Ironworkers generate force using mechanical advantage or hydraulic systems. Modern systems use hydraulic rams powered by a heavy alternating current electric motor. High strength carbon steel blades and dies...
and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
.
Born and raised in South Boston, Lynch is the son of an ironworker. He went into the trade after high school, working in an apprenticeship and later joining his father's union. He became the union's youngest president at age 30 while attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wentworth Institute of Technology
The Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, technical design and engineering college located in Boston, Massachusetts...
. He received his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.With approximately 800 students and...
in 1991. For several years he worked as a lawyer, primarily representing housing project residents and labor unions.
Lynch was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
, unseating an incumbent Democratic lawmaker, in 1994. His social views and advocacy for the South Boston neighborhood led him to the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
in 1995, when he won a special election to succeed state Senator William M. Bulger
William M. Bulger
William Michael "Billy" Bulger is a retired American Democratic Party politician, lawyer, and educator from South Boston, Massachusetts, who for many years was President of the Massachusetts Senate and president of the University of Massachusetts...
. He won a special election to represent the 9th district in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 2001, and has been re-elected ever since. Lynch has a reputation of being the most socially conservative member of Massachusetts' ten-member House delegation, and often votes independently of his party leadership. He sits on the Financial Services Committee
United States House Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries...
and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Early life, education, and career
Lynch, the fourth of six children, was born March 31, 1955, in the neighborhood of South Boston. He was raised with his five sisters in the Old Colony Housing ProjectOld Colony Housing Project
The Old Colony Housing Project is a housing project located in South Boston, Massachusetts on East Ninth Street. Built in 1941, it is one of Boston Housing Authority's oldest developments....
. His father, Francis Lynch, was an ironworker who had dropped out of school in the eighth grade. His mother, Anne Lynch, was a night-shift post office worker. Both parents came from fourth-generation South Boston families. He attended St. Augustine Elementary School and South Boston High School. During high school vacations he began working in construction alongside his father. After graduating from high school in 1973, Lynch became an apprentice ironworker
Ironworker
Ironworker is a class of machines that can shear, notch, and punch holes in steel plate. Ironworkers generate force using mechanical advantage or hydraulic systems. Modern systems use hydraulic rams powered by a heavy alternating current electric motor. High strength carbon steel blades and dies...
. For the next six years he worked on high-altitude structural ironwork throughout the United States for various companies, including General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
and U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
.
He was arrested in 1977 for smoking marijuana at a Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
concert at the Illinois State Fair
Illinois State Fair
The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 1853. In 2008 there were more than 700,000 visits, up five percent from 2005,...
, leading to a $50 misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
fine. He was again arrested in 1979 for assault and battery of six Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian students at an anti-American protest in Boston, a charge which was later dropped. Around this time, he developed "a problem with alcohol", leading him to join Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
. (He reportedly stopped after meeting his future wife several years later, although he continued to attend occasional meetings through the 2000s.)
Having personal experience with worker safety concerns, Lynch found himself with aspirations beyond his trade. When a 1979 blizzard forced his project in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
to shut down, he spent the extra time taking courses at the University of Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, his father was diagnosed with cancer, and so Lynch returned to Boston. In the early 1980s Lynch was elected to the executive board of the Iron Workers Local 7
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers is a union in the United States and Canada, which represents primarily construction workers, as well as shipbuilding and metal fabrication employees.-Origins:...
union. At age 30 he was elected president of the board, the youngest in the local's history. During this time he spent his nights and weekends attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wentworth Institute of Technology
The Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, technical design and engineering college located in Boston, Massachusetts...
, from which he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in construction management in 1988.
That year he led a three-week labor strike, refusing to sign a contract with the Associated General Contractors, despite pressure from within his union. The union international ultimately signed the contract without Lynch's approval, causing him to file suit against them. He would later remark, with regard to his political career, "Nothing I ever do will be as volatile as being union president during those times." This debacle forced him to miss the first three weeks of classes at Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.With approximately 800 students and...
, where he had enrolled. Despite the setback, he graduated with a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1991. After graduating he joined the law office of Gabriel O. Dumont, Jr., representing labor unions and unemployed workers.
Throughout law school and the following years, he often worked pro bono, representing housing project residents at Boston Housing Authority
Boston Housing Authority
The Boston Housing Authority is a public agency of the city of Boston, Massachusetts that provides subsidized public housing to low- and moderate-income families and individuals....
(BHA) hearings. In one high-profile 1994 case, Lynch provided free legal services to 14 teenagers, all white, who were accused of physically attacking a Hispanic teenager and harassing the family of his white girlfriend over a period of six months. Lynch, who claimed the youths had been "overcharged", helped some of the teenagers to avoid criminal charges and eviction by the BHA.
Lynch was a one-time tax delinquent. In the mid-1980s the city of Boston placed liens on four properties he owned due to several thousand dollars of unpaid property taxes. He owed $2,000 in overdue taxes to the state of Massachusetts from 1985 to 1998, and for several years owed $4,000 to the federal IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
.
State legislature career
With numerous cases under his belt, Lynch developed a reputation in the community, and was encouraged by friends to run for office. In early 1994 he phoned Paul J. GannonPaul J. Gannon
Paul J. Gannon is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He is a South Boston Democrat who represented the 4th Suffolk district from 1991 to 1995. He is an attorney who graduated from Providence College and The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of...
, the Democratic state representative
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
from the 4th Suffolk district, to announce a run against him. While both candidates were labor advocates with similar backgrounds, Lynch described himself as "the conservative candidate". He criticized Gannon for not supporting the Veterans Council, which had prevented a gay rights group from marching in the local St. Patrick's Day Parade. Lynch's base of supporters in the projects allowed him to win the Democratic primary by 600 votes, and he continued to a victory in the November 1994 general election. As a state representative, he was a vocal advocate for his neighborhood. He opposed a plan by Governor William Weld
William Weld
William Floyd Weld is a former governor of the US state of Massachusetts. He served as that state's 68th governor from 1991 to 1997. From 1981 to 1988, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Justice Department...
and New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
owner Robert Kraft
Robert Kraft
Robert K. Kraft is an American business magnate. He is the Chairman and was the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio...
to construct a $200 million football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium by the publicly owned South Boston waterfront. He led the opposition to a proposed asphalt plant in South Bay, and sponsored an amendment to a state bond bill which banned the plant's construction.
When the President of the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
, William M. Bulger
William M. Bulger
William Michael "Billy" Bulger is a retired American Democratic Party politician, lawyer, and educator from South Boston, Massachusetts, who for many years was President of the Massachusetts Senate and president of the University of Massachusetts...
, announced his resignation from his 1st Suffolk seat in late 1995, Lynch filed nomination papers for the special election to replace him. He ran in the Democratic primary against attorney William M. Bulger, Jr., son of the former senator, and lawyer Patrick Loftus. The race grew from the grassroots of South Boston, with neighborhood issues such as development, crime, and education ruling the debate. The candidates declared their mutual respect.
Lynch won the Democratic primary in March 1996 by a 20-point margin. He easily defeated a Republican challenger several weeks later and was inaugurated May 1, 1996.
As a state senator, Lynch continued to lead opposition to the proposed football stadium and was a vocal opponent of a proposal to sell the publicly owned Marine Industrial Park. He opposed a hate-crimes bill which would make racially charged language a felony, and harkened back to the 1994 racial violence case as an example. He charged that the bill "attacks merely words" and "prosecutes young people who, in my opinion, haven't developed the responsibility and wisdom to measure their words." On the Senate Transportation Committee, he cosponsored a bill in June 1996 to allow certain Boston residents unlimited access to the Ted Williams Tunnel
Ted Williams Tunnel
The Ted Williams Tunnel, also known as the Williams Tunnel, is the name of the third highway tunnel under Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts, the Sumner and Callahan Tunnels being the other two...
. In 1997 he was named Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. In response to a budget crisis in the state's nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
s, due primarily to Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
shortfalls, he filed an unsuccessful bill in April 2001 to increase Medicaid funding by $200 million.
While in the Senate, Lynch enrolled in Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
, from which he graduated with a Master's Degree in 1999.
U.S. House of Representatives election, 2001
Joe Moakley
John Joseph "Joe" Moakley was a Democratic congressman from the Ninth District of Massachusetts, a seat held two years earlier by Speaker John William McCormack. Moakley was the last chairman of the U.S...
, stricken with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, decided not to seek a 17th term the following year. This was a departure from Lynch's previous plan to run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Moakley died in May 2001, before his term ended, and Lynch announced a run for the special election to succeed him. The early frontrunner of the race was lawyer Max Kennedy
Max Kennedy
Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy – also known as Max Kennedy – is an American author and the ninth child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy, and a member of the Kennedy family.-Early years:...
, son of Democratic U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. Political missteps dragged Kennedy down in the polls, and his abrupt departure in June 2001 put Lynch in the lead. The remaining candidates included eight Democrats and two Republicans, all with similar political positions; according to The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, the candidates "struggled to find areas of conflict" when debating.
In the September Democratic primary, Lynch's main opponents were state Senators Cheryl Jacques
Cheryl Jacques
Cheryl Ann Jacques is a United States politician who, beginning in January 2004, served for 11 months as president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, advocacy organization...
, Brian Joyce and Marc Pacheco. During the campaign, Lynch faced criticism as his past improprieties were uncovered, including two arrests, defaulting on student loans, and a long history of tax delinquency. He was attacked by gay rights advocates for "a history of supporting anti-gay legislation". Despite these setbacks, Lynch maintained strong local support going into the primary. As Lynch pulled ahead in polls and fundraising, Jacques and Joyce attacked his 1994 racial violence case and subsequent positions on hate crime as evidence that he was not supportive of civil rights.
On September 11, 2001, Lynch won the Democratic primary with about 40 percent of the vote. The same day, the September 11 attacks took place, which dampened the ensuing general election campaign between Lynch and the Republican nominee, state Senator Jo Ann Sprague
Jo Ann Sprague
Jo Ann Sprague is a former Massachusetts State Representative and State Senator from Walpole. In the Massachusetts Senate she represented the Norfolk, Bristol, and Plymouth district, but moved in 2003 to the Bristol and Norfolk district. Previously she was a State Representative from the 9th...
. As both sides turned to similar themes of patriotism and defense, Lynch benefited from the demographics of his district, heavily Catholic, Democratic and urban, allowing him to defeat Sprague by 65 to 33 percent in the October 16 election. He was sworn into the 107th Congress
107th United States Congress
The One Hundred Seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 2001 to January 3, 2003, during the final...
on October 23, 2001. The ceremony had been delayed for a weekend, as the 2001 anthrax attacks
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
had led to a shutdown of Congressional office buildings. In a press conference after his swearing-in, Lynch remarked on the unlikelihood of his career path, comparing himself to Jed Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
.
Congressional career
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
one by national standards. He generally votes conservative on social issues and liberal on economic and environmental issues. "Calling me the least liberal member from Massachusetts is like calling me the slowest Kenyan in the Boston Marathon", he remarked in 2010. "It's all relative." He is strongly pro-labor and has focused on bringing manufacturing jobs to his district. He is a co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus.
Economy and finance
Lynch has been a member of the House Financial Services CommitteeUnited States House Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries...
since his first term. According to CQ
Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
, Lynch supported President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's agenda one-third of the time, which was average for Democratic House members. For instance, he supported the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 designed primarily to address the subprime mortgage crisis. It authorized the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed rate mortgages for subprime borrowers if lenders write-down principal loan balances to 90...
, which addressed the subprime mortgage crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
, but opposed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
which created the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He has supported President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's economic agenda, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
of 2009 and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Lynch has focused on trade policy as a congressman. In 2002 he voted against fast track
Fast track (trade)
The Fast track negotiating authority for trade agreements is the authority of the President of the United States to negotiate agreements that the Congress can approve or disapprove but cannot amend or filibuster. Fast-track negotiating authority is granted to the president by Congress...
bills which gave the president the authority to negotiate trade deals without amendments by Congress. In 2007 he voted in favor of the United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement despite some Democratic opposition.
Domestic policy
Lynch has sat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee (formerly the Government Reform Committee) throughout his House career. He chaired the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2010. On this subcommittee he has dealt with federal employee recruitment, salary, and benefits.Lynch is an advocate for health care reform
Health care reform in the United States
Health care reform in the United States has a long history, of which the most recent results were two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which amended the PPACA and...
but split with his party on Obama's health care reform efforts. He voted in November 2009 to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act
Affordable Health Care for America Act
The Affordable Health Care for America Act was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States' health care system...
(AHCAA), the House's health care reform bill. This bill was scrapped by Congressional leaders in favor of the Senate's bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
(PPACA). Despite pressure from Obama and Democratic leaders, Lynch stated that he would oppose the PPACA until "they put reform back in the health reform bill." He described the Senate bill as a "surrender" to insurance companies, putting too little pressure on insurance companies to reduce costs, and that did not represent meaningful reform. He explained, "There's a difference between compromise and surrender, right? And this is a complete surrender of all the things that people thought were important to health care reform." When the PPACA came to a House vote in March 2010, he was the only U.S. representative from New England to vote against it.
On social issues, Lynch is considered a conservative to moderate Democrat. He opposes abortion
Abortion in the United States
Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973...
and has been attacked by pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
group NARAL. He sided with conservatives in the 2005 Terri Schiavo case
Terri Schiavo case
The Terri Schiavo case was a legal battle in the United States between the legal guardians and the parents of Teresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo that lasted from 1998 to 2005...
, voting for federal court intervention to maintain the life-support of a vegetative woman. He has sided with Democratic leaders on gay rights issues, however, opposing a Federal Marriage Amendment
Federal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
and supporting granting medical benefits to domestic partners of federal employees.
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Foreign policy and veterans
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee had oversight of airport security and some elements of the United States' War in AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. Lynch sat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee
United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and disability pensions, life insurance, education , vocational...
for his first term. Lynch, who has several Veterans's Affairs (VA) hospitals in his district, sponsored legislation to increase nurse staffing and to allow private physician prescriptions to be filled at VA hospitals.
A supporter of American intervention in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Lynch has made twelve trips to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and a total of ten trips to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Part of the purpose of these visits was to ensure accountability in reconstruction projects. He voted for the Iraq War authorization in 2002, against the Democratic House leadership, and later voted to continue funding the war. He has since supported Obama's drawdown of troops in Iraq throughout 2010 and 2011. He also supports Obama's renewal of the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, and was the only Massachusetts representative to vote for funding for Obama's Afghanistan initiative. Lynch voted for increased foreign aid to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 2009, but along with Oversight Chairman John F. Tierney
John F. Tierney
John F. Tierney is the United States representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate for liberal policies and government oversight. A former attorney, he has served since 1997....
, he pushed for strict oversight of the aid's distribution.
Lynch supports lifting the United States' economic sanctions on Cuba. Moakley, his predecessor, was heavily involved in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n affairs, and Lynch has made an effort to continue this work. He joined five other congressmen on a 2002 visit to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, where they met with President Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
Re-election
Lynch was unopposed in his bid for a full term in 2002 after defeating a nominal challenger in the Democratic primary. He has been reelected four times since then, running unopposed in 2004 and 2008, and defeating a nominal Republican challenger in 2006. Lynch was challenged by Mac D'Alessandro New England political director of SEIU in the 2010 Democratic primary, and Independent Phil Dunkelbarger (who challenged Lynch in 2006 and 2010), and Republican Vernon Harrisson in the November General Election. Lynch won the Democratic Primary Election of 2010 in spite of The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
s endorsement of D'Alessandro.
U.S. Senate special election, 2010
Upon the death of U.S. SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, Massachusetts state law triggered a special election
United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013...
to be held in January 2010. On September 4, 2009, a representative for Lynch took out nomination papers to run in the special election. After speaking with his family and citing the short time frame in which to conduct a campaign, Lynch decided against seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat.
Personal life
Lynch dated Margaret Shaughnessy (born c. 1962) for 10 years before the two married in 1992. Shaughnessy, an aide to state Senator Marian WalshMarian Walsh
Marian Walsh was born in Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts. She was a State Senator representing several cities and towns in Suffolk and Norfolk counties. She served six terms in the Massachusetts State Senate and was promoted to the position of Assistant Majority Leader in early 2003...
, was from another South Boston family, one of seven children, and majored in graphic design at the Massachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a publicly-funded college of visual and applied art, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest art schools, the only publicly-funded free-standing art school in the United States, and was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree...
. She had gone to high school with Lynch's sisters, and she and Lynch were members of the South Boston Residents Group. , Stephen and Margaret Lynch live in South Boston with their daughter Victoria Bailey Lynch and a niece, Crystal Shaughnessy.
Along with his wife, Lynch is a Roman Catholic, which he says "sets the moral compass" for his political beliefs. He prefers not to publicize his faith politically, saying, "I don't want to appear as someone who's preaching, or come off as ... 'Holier than thou.'"
External links
- U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch's official U.S. House webpage
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...