John M. "Pat" Lynch was an American politician who served and as the twenty third and twenty fifth Mayor of

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. He was the

Massachusetts Democratic Party The Massachusetts Democratic Party (MassDems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is chaired by Gus Bickford. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all nine of Massachusetts' U ...

Chair from 1956 to 1962.

Early life and career

Lynch grew up in Somerville and graduated from the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

in 1926. In 1929 he was elected to the Somerville Board of Aldermen by seven votes. He would serve a total of three terms as Alderman.

Mayor of Somerville

In 1938, Lynch became Mayor of Somerville. He remained in office until 1943, when he resigned to join the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as a lieutenant commander in the Caribbean. From 1950 to 1953 he once again served as mayor. He became the first five-term mayor in the history of Somerville.

Chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party

Lynch supported

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

during his first run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. In 1956, at Kennedy's request, Lynch ran for and was elected to the position of state party chairman. Kennedy supported John M. Lynch for the position of chairman because he, like Kennedy, supported Adlai Stevenson for the party's presidential nomination in 1956, but was not too close to Kennedy. Kennedy felt that if someone who was close to him personally was chosen as chairman, it would appear that chairman William H. Burke, Jr. was removed for personal gain and not to better the party. Lynch defeated Burke by 47 votes to 31 at the 1956 convention. As chairman, Lynch, he laid much of the groundwork for Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign in Massachusetts and traveled with him throughout most of the primary states.

Customs collector

In 1962, Lynch was appointed collector of customs in the Port of Boston. He was later offered the position of customs collector for all of New England by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

but declined and instead chose to retire.

Death

Lynch died on November 14, 1984, in Somerville.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, John M. 1984 deaths College of the Holy Cross alumni Massachusetts Democrats Mayors of Somerville, Massachusetts Massachusetts Democratic Party chairs Year of birth missing Collectors of the Port of Boston