President of the Massachusetts Senate | |
---|---|
Government of Massachusetts | |
Status | Presiding Officer |
Member of | General Court |
Residence | None official |
Seat | State House, Boston, Massachusetts |
Nominator | Majority party of the chamber |
Appointer | The Senate |
Term length | Two Years, no term limit |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of Massachusetts |
Inaugural holder | Thomas Cushing |
Formation | October 25, 1780 |
Deputy | President Pro Tempore |
The president of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer. Unlike the United States Congress, in which the vice president of the United States is the ex officio president of the United States Senate, in Massachusetts, the president of the Senate is elected from and by the senators. The president, therefore, typically comes from the majority party, and the president is then the de facto leader of that party.
The current president of the Massachusetts Senate, since July 26, 2018, is Karen Spilka, a Democrat from Ashland. Democrats have had a majority in the Senate since 1959. [1] Notable former presidents of the Massachusetts Senate include U.S. president Calvin Coolidge.
# | President | Picture | Term | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Thomas Cushing | October 25, 1780 – November 4, 1780 [2] | Cushing was elected as the first president of the Massachusetts Senate, he resigned on November 4, 1780 because he was elected the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. [2] | ||
2nd | Jeremiah Powell | November 4, 1780 [2] – 1782 | |||
3rd | Samuel Adams | 1782–1785 | |||
4th | Samuel Phillips | 1785–87 1788–1801 1801–02 | F | ||
5th | Samuel Adams | 1787–1788 | |||
6th | David Cobb | 1801–02 1802–05 | F | Served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's at-large congressional seat from March 4, 1793 – March 4, 1795. | |
7th | Harrison Gray Otis | 1805–06 | F | ||
8th | John Bacon | 1806–1807 | DR | ||
9th | Samuel Dana | 1807–1808 | DR | ||
10th | Harrison Gray Otis | 1808–1811 | F | ||
11th | Samuel Dana | 1811–1813 | DR | ||
12th | John Phillips | 1813–1823 | Served as the first Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. | ||
13th | Nathaniel Silsbee | 1823–1826 | F | ||
14th | John Mills | 1826–1828 | |||
15th | Sherman Leland | 1828–1829 | |||
16th | Samuel Lathrop | 1829–1831 | F | ||
17th | James Fowler | 1830–1831 | |||
18th | Leverett Saltonstall | 1831 | W | ||
19th | William Thorndike | 1832 | |||
20th | Benjamin T. Pickman | 1833–1835 | |||
21st | George Bliss | 1835 | |||
22nd | Horace Mann | 1836–1837 | W | ||
23rd | Myron Lawrence | 1838–1839 | W | ||
24th | Daniel P. King | 1840–1841 | W | ||
25th | Josiah Quincy Jr. | 1842 | W | ||
26th | Phineas W. Leland | 1843 | D | ||
27th | Frederick Robinson | 1843 | D | ||
28th | Josiah Quincy Jr. | 1844 | W | ||
29th | Levi Lincoln Jr. | 1845 | DR | ||
30th | William B. Calhoun | 1846–1847 | W | ||
31st | Zeno Scudder | 1848 | W | ||
32nd | Joseph M. Bell | 1849 | W | ||
33rd | Marshall Pinckney Wilder | 1850 | W | ||
34th | Henry Wilson | 1851–1852 | FS | Was the 18th Vice President of the United States (1873–1875) and a Senator from Massachusetts (1855–1873). | |
35th | Charles Henry Warren | 1853 | Whig | ||
36th | Charles Edward Cook | 1854 | |||
37th | Henry W. Benchley | 1855 | A | ||
38th | Elihu C. Baker | 1856 | A | ||
39th | Charles W. Upham | 1857–1858 | W | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 6th district from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855. | |
40th | Charles Abner Phelps | 1859–1860 | R [3] | Also served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1856. | |
41st | William Claflin | 1861 | R | Also served as the 27th Governor of Massachusetts from 1869–1872, and as a member of the United States Congress from 1877–1881. | |
42nd | John Henry Clifford | 1862 | R | Also served as the Massachusetts Attorney General and, from 1853 to 1854, as the 21st Governor of Massachusetts. | |
43rd | Jonathan E. Field | 1863–1865 | R | ||
44th | Joseph Adams Pond | 1866 – October 28, 1867 | Died in office at age 40. | ||
45th | George O. Brastow | 1868–1869 | Also served as a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and as the first Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts. | ||
46th | Robert Carter Pitman | 1869 | Resigned | ||
47th | George O. Brastow | 1869 | Also served as a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and as the first Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts. | ||
48th | Horace Hopkins Coolidge | 1870–1872 | |||
49th | George B. Loring | 1873–1876 | R | ||
50th | John B. D. Cogswell | 1877–1879 | R | ||
51st | Robert R. Bishop | 1880–1882 | R | ||
52nd | George Glover Crocker | 1883 | R | ||
53rd | George A. Bruce | 1884 | R | Also served as the fourth Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts. | |
54th | Albert E. Pillsbury | 1885–1886 | R | Served as the Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1891 to 1894. Drafted original bylaws of the NAACP. | |
55th | Halsey J. Boardman | 1887–1888 | R | ||
56th | Harris C. Hartwell | 1889 | R | ||
57th | Henry H. Sprague | 1890–1891 | R | ||
58th | Alfred S. Pinkerton | 1892–1893 | R | ||
59th | William M. Butler | 1894–1895 | R | Also served as United States Senator from Massachusetts from November 13, 1924 to December 6, 1926 and was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1924 to 1928. | |
60th | George P. Lawrence | 1896–1897 | R | ||
61st | George E. Smith | 1898–1900 | R | ||
62nd | Rufus A. Soule | 1901–1902 | R | ||
63rd | George R. Jones | 1903–1904 | R | ||
64th | William F. Dana [4] | 1905–1906 | R | ||
65th | William D. Chapple | 1907–1908 | R | ||
66th | Allen T. Treadway | 1909–1911 | R | Served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1913 until January 3, 1945. | |
67th | Levi H. Greenwood | 1912–1913 | R | ||
68th | Calvin Coolidge | 1914–1915 | R | Later served as the 30th President of the United States (1923–1929). | |
69th | Henry Gordon Wells | 1916–1918 | R | ||
70th | Edwin T. McKnight | 1919–1920 | R | ||
71st | Frank G. Allen | 1921–1924 | R | Also was the 51st Governor of Massachusetts. | |
72nd | Wellington Wells | 1925–1928 | R | ||
73rd | Gaspar G. Bacon | 1929–1932 | R | ||
74th | Erland F. Fish | 1933–1934 | R | ||
75th | James G. Moran | 1935–1936 | R | Elected by 19 Democrats and 1 Republican. [5] | |
76th | Samuel H. Wragg | 1937–1938 | R | ||
77th | Joseph R. Cotton | 1939–1940 | R | ||
78th | Angier L. Goodwin | 1941 | R | ||
79th | Jarvis Hunt | 1942–1944 | R | ||
80th | Arthur W. Coolidge | 1945–1946 | R | ||
81st | Donald W. Nicholson | 1947 | R | ||
82nd | Harris S. Richardson | 1948 | R | ||
83rd | Chester A. Dolan Jr. | 1949 | D | ||
Harris S. Richardson | 1950 | R | |||
84th | Richard I. Furbush | 1951–1956 | R | ||
85th | Newland H. Holmes | 1957–1958 | R | ||
86th | John E. Powers | 1959–1964 | D | ||
87th | Maurice A. Donahue | 1964–1971 | D | ||
88th | Kevin B. Harrington | 1971–1978 | D | ||
89th | William Bulger | 1978–1996 | D | ||
90th | Tom Birmingham | 1996–2003 | D | ||
91st | Robert Travaglini | 2003–2007 | D | ||
92nd | Therese Murray | 2007–2015 | D | ||
93rd | Stan Rosenberg | 2015–2017 | D | ||
94th | Harriette L. Chandler | 2017–2018 | D | ||
95th | Karen Spilka | 2018– | D |
A = American, D = Democratic, R = Republican, W = Whig
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. The House of Representatives convenes at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, the state capital of Massachusetts.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in Massachusetts:
The 1911 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1911. Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge won election to a fourth term despite intense opposition within his own party. Lodge received only five votes more than the necessary minimum for a majority.
The 1905 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1905. Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge won election to a third term.
The 1899 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1899. Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge won election to a second term easily.
Chester A. Dolan Jr. was an American politician who served as President of the Massachusetts Senate in 1949. He was the first Democrat to hold this position in 106 years.
The 1887 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1887. Republican incumbent Henry L. Dawes was re-elected to a third term over opposition from within his own party, led by former Governor John Davis Long.
The 1857 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1857. Incumbent Charles Sumner was re-elected to a second term in office as a member of the Republican Party. Sumner was elected in 1851 by a single vote after twenty-five inconclusive ballots by a coalition of Free-Soil and Democratic legislators. He had since become a founding member of the Massachusetts Republican Party.
The 1877 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1877. Incumbent Republican Senator George S. Boutwell, who had won a special election for the remainder of Henry Wilson's term, was defeated by reformist U.S. Representative George Frisbie Hoar.
The 1883 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1883. Incumbent Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar was re-elected to a second term in office despite a serious challenge from Democrats and members of his own party.
The 1889 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1889. Incumbent Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar was re-elected to a third term in office with no serious opposition.
The 1895 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1895. Incumbent Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar was re-elected to a fourth term in office.
The 1901 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1901. Incumbent Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar was re-elected to a fifth term in office.
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Massachusetts House of Representatives' 4th Worcester district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers the city of Leominster in Worcester County. Democrat Natalie Higgins of Leominster has represented the district since 2017.
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 17th Essex 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 Essex County. Democrat Frank Moran of Lawrence has represented the district since 2013. Candidates for this district seat in the 2020 Massachusetts general election include Marianela Rivera.
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.
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 17th 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 Vanna Howard was elected to the position on November 3, 2020.
The 80th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1859 during the governorship of Nathaniel Prentice Banks. Charles A. Phelps served as president of the Senate and Charles Hale served as speaker of the House.
The 191st Massachusetts General Court was the meeting of the legislative branch of the state government of Massachusetts, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Boston at the Massachusetts State House, on January 2, 2019, and ended on January 6, 2021, during the fifth and sixth years of the governorship of Charlie Baker. Senate and House districts were drawn based on the 2010 Census.