The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when the colonial assembly, in addition to making laws, sat as a judicial court of appeals. Before the adoption of the state constitution in 1780, it was called the Great and General Court, but the official title was shortened by John Adams, author of the state constitution. It is a bicameral body. The upper house is the Massachusetts Senate which is composed of 40 members. The lower body, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has 160 members; until 1978, the state house had 240 members. It meets in the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill in Boston.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Americas, with a recognized history dating to the establishment of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature in 1692 under the charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His, or Her, Honor.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is governed by a set of political tenets laid down in its state constitution. Legislative power is held by the bicameral General Court, which is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The governor exercises executive power with other independently elected officers: the Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Auditor. The state's judicial power rests in the Supreme Judicial Court, which manages its court system. Cities and towns act through local governmental bodies to the extent that they are authorized by the Commonwealth on local issues, including limited home-rule authority. Although most county governments were abolished during the 1990s and 2000s, a handful remain.
Frank S. Giles Jr. was a politician who was a Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Public Safety Commissioner.
Lawrence Francis Bretta was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as the Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts. He was regional director of the General Service Administration until his resignation in February, 1984 while under investigation on corruption charges. He pleaded guilty to a federal indictment alleging solicitation and acceptance of bribes on connection with the location of a federal Social Security office in the Mystic Mall in Chelsea, Massachusetts and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in 1988.
George Fingold was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1958.
Clarence Alfred Barnes was an American politician who served as attorney general of Massachusetts from 1945 to 1949.
Joseph Aloysius Melley was a Massachusetts attorney and politician who served as the thirty ninth Mayor of Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA, and in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature.
The 1960 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1960. John A. Volpe was elected Governor of Massachusetts to replace Foster Furcolo. Volpe defeated Democrat Joseph D. Ward in the race. Also running were Henning A. Blomen of the Socialist Labor Party of America and Guy S. Williams of the Prohibition Party.
The 1958 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958. Democrat Foster Furcolo was elected Governor of Massachusetts for a second term, defeating Republican Charles Gibbons, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.
The 1956 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956. Democrat Foster Furcolo was elected Governor of Massachusetts to replace incumbent Christian Herter, who did not run for re-election. Furcolo defeated Republican Sumner G. Whittier, Socialist Labor candidate Henning A. Blomen, and Prohibition candidate Mark R. Shaw.
The 1954 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954. Republican governor Christian Herter was re-elected, defeating Democrat Robert F. Murphy, Socialist Labor candidate Lawrence Gilfedder, and Prohibition candidate Guy S. Williams.
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 8th Hampden district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of the city of Chicopee in Hampden County. Democrat Joseph Wagner of Chicopee has represented the district since 1991.
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 2nd Middlesex district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of Middlesex County. Democrat Jim Arciero of Westford has represented the district since 2009.
The 158th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1953 and 1954 during the governorship of Christian Herter. Richard I. Furbush served as president of the Senate and Charles Gibbons served as speaker of the House.
The 154th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1945 and 1946 during the governorship of Maurice J. Tobin. Arthur W. Coolidge served as president of the Senate and Frederick Willis served as speaker of the House.
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 13th Bristol district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of the city of New Bedford in Bristol County. Since 1991, Antonio Cabral of the Democratic Party has represented the district.
Mary B. Newman was an American politician and state government official who was elected to her first term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1953. A moderate Republican, she represented the 2nd Middlesex District from 1953 to 1954 and, again, from 1957 to 1970. Appointed to the Massachusetts Parole Board in 1955 after her initial legislative term ended, she held that parole board post until 1957 when she returned to the Massachusetts House. During the early part of that second term, she served on the House's Labor and Industries and Water Supply committees.
Carl A. Sheridan was an American attorney and government official who was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Governor's Council and served as commissioner of administration and finance and commissioner of public works.
