George Rogers (August 2, 1933 – June 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

and as Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Early career

Born and raised in

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

, Rogers graduated from Providence College in 1958 and later taught at

Fairhaven High School Fairhaven High School and Academy is a public high school in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. Its main building, built in 1905, is known as the "Castle on the Hill" and it is part of the Fairhaven Public Schools district. The school was v ...

and

Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School (commonly referred to as GNB Voc-Tech, Voc-Tech, or Voc) is a vocational school, vocational high school located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States for students in grades 912. ...

. He began his career in elected office as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

, where he served from 1965 to 1970. In 1969, he was elected Mayor of New Bedford. In 1971, Rogers lost his reelection campaign to John A. Markey.

Return to the General Court

In 1974, Rogers returned to New Bedford politics as a Councilor-at-Large. Later that year, he was also elected to the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

. In 1978, Rogers was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery and was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $5,000. In 1980, Rogers was once again elected Councilor-at-Large, a position he held until 2003. From 1999 to 2003, he simultaneously held seats on the New Bedford City Council and in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Rogers was defeated in the 2002 Democratic primary by

Freetown, Massachusetts Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,206 at the 2020 census. Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the la ...

Selectman Mark A. Howland. Rogers's defeat came months after he was accused of showing pornography to a minor; he was eventually found not guilty.

Later career

Rogers lost re-election to the New Beford City Council in 2003. He ran for the Democratic nomination for his old House seat in 2004, finishing third behind Stephen Canessa and Mark A. Howland. In 2015, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the New Bedford School Committee. Rogers died in 2018 at age 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, George 1933 births 2018 deaths Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Mayors of New Bedford, Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives American politicians convicted of bribery American prisoners and detainees Providence College alumni Massachusetts politicians convicted of corruption Prisoners and detainees of Massachusetts