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  Meehan, Martin T. "Marty"
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationDemocratic  
<-  2006-01-01  
 
NameMartin T. "Marty" Meehan
Address
Lowell, Massachusetts , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born December 30, 1956 (67 years)
ContributorBarack O-blame-a
Last ModifedRBH
Jan 29, 2020 09:39pm
Tags Irish - Catholic - Straight -
InfoMartin Thomas "Marty" Meehan

In nine years in Congress, Congressman Marty Meehan has emerged as a national leader on a variety of issues and a steadfast advocate for the people of his district. He has led the fight to reform our nation's campaign finance laws and the battle to protect our children from tobacco. Moreover, he has been a tireless advocate for economic development and smart growth strategies across the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts.

A resident of Lowell, Marty has represented the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. He is a member of both the House Armed Services and Judiciary Committees. In addition to reforming our campaign finance laws and protecting kids from tobacco, Marty's top priorities include maintaining a balanced federal budget, preserving Medicare and Social Security, supporting and strengthening our Armed Forces, working to make our communities clean and crime-free for families, and providing people -- both young and old -- the education they need to compete in a global workplace.

As the lead Democratic sponsor of the "Shays-Meehan-McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002," Marty is spearheading the effort to clean up our election system and reduce the influence of special interests on Capitol Hill. The Shays-Meehan-McCain-Feingold reform bill received the endorsement of Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, the American Association of Retired Persons, and other public interest organizations, as well as newspaper editorial boards across the country.

Marty is co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health and widely recognized as one of the tobacco industry's harshest critics. In December of 1994, he authored a 111-page prosecution memorandum outlining, for the first time, criminal violations by tobacco companies and their executives. Marty's detailed memo has served as the foundation for many of the U.S. Justice Department's investigations into and litigation against Big Tobacco. In the 105th Congress, Marty introduced the bipartisan "No Tobacco for Kids Act," which would establish a comprehensive national tobacco control policy aimed at protecting children, reducing tobacco use, and improving public health. In 1999, Marty was the co-author of the leading bipartisan legislation to allocate funds from the multi-state tobacco settlement towards programs to protect children from tobacco use.

Marty ran for Congress on a plan to eliminate the deficit -- a proposal that he updated in 1995. His fiscally responsible voting record has earned him praise from citizen watchdog groups, including a spot on the Concord Coalition's fiscal responsibility honor roll every year that he has served in Congress. In 1997, the Concord Coalition ranked Marty tops in the House for his voting record during the 104th Congress. Marty received a 100 percent rating from the Concord Coalition in 1999. Marty supports significant budget process reforms, including a line-item veto and the balanced budget amendment, and has voted for targeted cuts in wasteful programs and pork-barrel spending. Marty has an unwavering commitment to economic development. He founded the Manufacturing Task Force, a group of lawmakers concerned about the competitiveness of American manufacturing.

Moreover, Marty co-chairs the bipartisan Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition. The coalition has held hearings throughout the Northeast and the Midwest, producing a comprehensive package of legislative proposals responsive to the challenges facing these regions of our country.

Marty has provided critical leadership for local economic development and job creation efforts. For example, he helped obtain funds for a job training center and a prison at the closed Fort Devens Army Base, brought together the resources needed to help workers displaced by the Malden Mills fire, and spearheaded efforts to obtain millions in federal grants crucial for Lowell's redevelopment. In addition, Marty meets regularly with businesses in his district to assist their efforts to meet the demands of a changing regional economy. Marty uses his seniority on the House Armed Services Committee to assist defense firms and their employees in Massachusetts.

Marty believes that "smart growth" must be the hallmark of economic development. In the 106th Congress, he was named co-chair of the House Sustainable Development Caucus. On April 9, 1999, President Clinton signed into law Marty's legislation to designate portions of the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord rivers as components of the Wild and Scenic River system. Marty has shown environmental leadership by protecting open space through the federal "screening process" when the Army closed Fort Devens and through securing millions of dollars for the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge to purchase the O'Rourke Farm in Carlisle and the Watt Farm in Harvard.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Marty attended the University of Massachusetts at Lowell where he studied Education and Political Science and graduated cum laude in 1978. He received his Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University in 1981 and his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 1986. Marty was the First Assistant District Attorney of Middlesex County, supervising an office widely respected for aggressive prosecution of child abuse, domestic violence and other violent crimes. Marty supervised more than 150 people, including 80 prosecutors, and he established an innovative "priority prosecution" policy targeting hardened criminals.

Marty earned his reputation as a tough law enforcer as the Massachusetts Deputy Secretary of State for Securities and Corporations from 1986 to 1990. The Boston Globe reported, "During Meehan's four years as Deputy Secretary, the Securities Division [went] from being a frequent embarrassment to gaining a national reputation as hard-hitting and activist." The Boston Herald credited him with "changing the state securities and corporations division from what some called a nest of political influence into one of the nation's leading state securities investigators."

Marty is married to Ellen T. Murphy, a Vice President at Lawrence General Hospital. Ellen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from Simmons College, where she majored in International Relations and French. She received her Masters in Business Administration in 1992 from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. Marty and Ellen are the parents of two and a half year old Robert Francis and Daniel Martin, who was born on July 25, 2002



JOB APPROVAL POLLS

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor
May 10, 2007 04:00pm Announcement Dem resigns to be UMass chancellor  Article RP 
Mar 13, 2007 03:00pm News Meehan Leaving Congress For UMass Lowell  Article *crickets chirp* 
Feb 01, 2007 03:50pm News Meehan seen on short list at UMass  Article karin1492 
Jan 27, 2006 02:00pm News Rewriting history under the dome [Rep. Marty Meehan & Wikipedia]  Article Servo 

DISCUSSION
Importance? 7.50000 Average

FAMILY
Wife Ellen Murphy Meehan 00, 0000-

INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  11/07/2006 MA - District 05 Won 98.06% (+96.12%)
  11/02/2004 MA District 5 Won 67.06% (+34.13%)
  09/14/2004 MA District 5 - D Primary Won 98.59% (+97.19%)
  11/05/2002 MA District 5 Won 60.15% (+26.12%)
  11/07/2000 MA District 5 Won 98.02% (+96.03%)
  09/19/2000 MA District 5 - D Primary Won 73.40% (+54.36%)
  11/03/1998 MA District 5 Won 70.70% (+41.44%)
  11/05/1996 MA District 5 Won 99.08% (+98.15%)
  09/17/1996 MA District 5 - D Primary Won 84.86% (+69.79%)
  11/08/1994 MA District 5 Won 69.83% (+39.69%)
  09/20/1994 MA District 5 - D Primary Won 76.45% (+52.97%)
  11/03/1992 MA District 5 Won 52.17% (+14.67%)
  09/15/1992 MA District 5 - D Primary Won 65.15% (+30.37%)
SPECULATIVE, DID NOT RUN
  04/30/2013 MA US Senate - Special D Primary Lost 0.00% (-57.35%)
ENDORSEMENTS
MA Governor - D Primary - Sep 17, 2006 D Thomas F. Reilly