John D. Shea was a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Democratic politician who represented District 2 in the New Hampshire Executive Council from 2006 to 2010. Shea was elected to the Council in 2006, defeating 12-term incumbent Peter Spaulding. He benefited from robust support for the Democrats in New Hampshire's 2006 elections, which saw the party take both of the state's

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

seats and win control of both houses of the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

. The victory came as a surprise to Shea, who put his name forward mainly so that there would be a Democratic name on the ballot, and did not expect to win. He departed on election night for a two-week vacation in Belgium, only learning of his victory after arriving at his hotel the following day. He was reelected in 2008 and lost his re-election bid in 2010 to Dan St. Hilaire. Shea, a graduate of

Burdett College Burdett College, also known as Burdett Business College or Burdett College of Business and Shorthand, was an educational institution primarily located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1879, it focused on business and shorthand and operated as ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, was a Keene city councilor and state representative in the 1960s. He resided in

Nelson, New Hampshire Nelson is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 629 at the 2020 census, down from 729 at the 2010 census. Nelson includes the village of Munsonville. History Originally named "Monadnock No. 6", the town ...

References

External links

Official page on NH.gov
People from Keene, New Hampshire Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Members of the Executive Council of New Hampshire Living people People from Nelson, New Hampshire Year of birth missing (living people) {{NewHampshire-politician-stub