| Growing up, Climbing the Iron
Stephen spent his early years with his five sisters growing up in the Old Colony public housing development in South Boston. His mom Anne was a postal clerk and his father Francis was an Ironworker with Local 7 in Boston.
While attending South Boston High School, he joined his father at Local 7 Ironworkers where he eventually became a journeyman Ironworker. He worked for 18 years helping to build the Boston skyline we see today. When work in Boston dried up, he traveled the country in search of work, sending money home to his family. His travels brought him to Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Mexico and New York. Working across the country helped to shape Stephen's views on job safety and collective bargaining. He saw that the strength of the local union corresponded directly to safety on the job and he became more active in worker's rights.
Back in Boston, he joined Local 7's Executive Board, then ran for President of Local 7, and was elected as the youngest President in the history of the 2000 member union.
Champion of the Working Class
Stephen went to school at night and on weekends and over the course of 8 years, earned his Engineering Degree in from Wentworth Institute of Technology.
It was during this time that Stephen became more involved in local events. He joined the South Boston Residents Group and became an active leader in efforts to stop the former Boston Edison Power Plant from burning coal. It was the first of many local environmental issues he became involved with over the years.
In 1991, he graduated from Boston College Law School where he earned a law degree, passed the bar, then began a second career as a labor attorney representing unions and workers. His pro-bono work took him back to South Boston's Old Colony public housing development where he represented tenants in their fight for better and safer living conditions.
Serving the people on Beacon Hill
In 1994, Stephen's experience in addressing the concerns of working people transformed into a career in public service when his neighbors elected him to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Fourteen months later, former Senate President William Bulger left the legislature, and, in a stunning special election result, Stephen was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate beating William Bulger Jr. in the primary. In the State Senate, he served as Chair of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor and led efforts to better safeguard worker rights, increase the minimum wage and promote responsible business development in the Commonwealth.
In 1999, while a member of the State Senate, he earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.
Representing the People in Congress
In October of 2001, following the passing of legendary Congressman John Joseph Moakley, Stephen was elected to Congress, winning a race against four fellow Senators. His primary election took place on September 11, 2001.
In Congress, Stephen is an active and engaged senior member. He serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, where he serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on National Security and is a member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations.
In Congress, he is recognized as a leader on foreign policy and national security with a focus on keeping Americans safe at home and abroad. He has traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan more than any other member of Congress, performing oversight duties and in support of our troops serving in the region.
Stephen is a senior member on the Committee on Financial Services where he is Chair of the Task Force on Financial Technology, and also serves on the National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy Subcommittees as well as the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
In addition, he is proud to have recently been appointed to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has primary jurisdiction over transportation and other aspects of our national infrastructure. Through his seat on the Committee, Stephen is focused on results that will make life better for every working family, which includes rebuilding America's transportation infrastructure, roads and bridges. And, as the only member of the Transportation Committee from Massachusetts, he is committed to seeing that every part of our state benefits from upcoming infrastructure legislation.
He also serves on the Transportation Committee's Aviation Subcommittee, the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee and the Water Resources and Environmental Subcommittees.
Stephen has always had a strong belief that government should work for the people it serves. He has an outstanding record of responding to the needs of his constituents and helping them to navigate through red tape.
Whether it's sourcing masks and personal protective equipment for health care workers during the Covid-19 epidemic; helping with a missing social security check or making sure our veterans received the benefits they deserve, he has earned a reputation as the person to go to when you need help.
Because of Stephen's core commitment to standing up for people, his constituents have sent him back to Congress in overwhelming numbers, with him consistently earning the highest number of votes of any member of Congress in Massachusetts.
Stephen has been a lifelong resident of his hometown of South Boston, where he and his wife Margaret raised their daughter Victoria and niece Crystal.
Though he works in Washington during the week, he prides himself on his commitment to get home to the district when his work in Congress is done, attends town meetings and stays in close touch with all of the cities and towns in the 8th district. |