Stephen Lynch (politician)

Stephen Lynch
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts
Incumbent
Assumed office October 16, 2001
Preceded by	Joe Moakley
Constituency	9th district (2001–2013) 8th district (2013–present)
Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 1st Suffolk district
In office May 1, 1996 – October 16, 2001
Preceded by	William Bulger
Succeeded by	Jack Hart
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 4th Suffolk district
In office January 3, 1995 – May 1, 1996
Preceded by	Paul J. Gannon
Succeeded by	Jack Hart
Personal details
Born	Stephen Francis Lynch (1955-03-31) March 31, 1955 (age 69) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Margaret Shaughnessy ​ ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	1
Education	Wentworth Institute of Technology (BS) Boston College (JD) Harvard University (MPA)
Website	House website
Stephen Lynch's voice Stephen Lynch on his support for the National POW/MIA Remembrance Act of 2015 Recorded March 21, 2016

Stephen Francis Lynch^[1] (born March 31, 1955) is an American businessman, attorney and politician who has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts since 2001. A Democrat, he represents Massachusetts's 8th congressional district, which includes the southern fourth of Boston and many of its southern suburbs. 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.^[1] For several years, he worked as a lawyer, primarily representing housing project residents and labor unions. In 1994, Lynch was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During his tenure, his progressive views and advocacy for South Boston helped propel him to the Massachusetts Senate in 1995, when he won a special election to succeed state senator William Bulger.

Lynch won a special election to represent the state's 9th district in the United States House of Representatives in 2001, and has been reelected ever since. His district was redrawn into the 8th district in 2013. He sits on the Financial Services and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. Lynch ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2013 special election for the U.S. Senate, losing to Ed Markey.