Elizabeth A. "Liz" Malia (born September 30, 1949) is an American politician from the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she has served in 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 ...

since March 1998. She represents the Eleventh Suffolk district, which includes parts of the

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 ...

neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain,

Roslindale Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan. It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby J ...

, Roxbury and Dorchester. In the legislature, she serves as Assistant Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Malia graduated from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

in 1971 with a BA in Education and English, returning in 1989 to complete the graduate certificate program at the Center for Women in Politics and Government. She worked in human services, healthcare, community organizing and labor advocacy before becoming chief of staff to state representative John E. McDonough in 1990. In late 1997, McDonough retired mid-term to take up an associate professorship at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

and Malia jumped into the race to succeed him. She won the special preliminary election easily and went on to win 67% of the special general election vote. She was re-elected in November 1998 and has won biennial re-election ever since. Malia, a lesbian, co-founded the Bay State Gay and Lesbian Democrats in the mid-1980s. She is one of five openly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

members of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

, alongside Sarah Peake (D– Provincetown), Kate Hogan (D–

Stow Stow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Stow, Lincolnshire or Stow-in-Lindsey, a village * Stow of Wedale or Stow, Scottish Borders, a village * Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, a small town * Stow, Shropshire or Stowe, a village * Stow ...

), and Denise Andrews (D– Orange), as well as Senator

Stan Rosenberg Stanley C. Rosenberg (born November 12, 1949) is an American politician who served as President of the Massachusetts Senate from January 2015 until December 2017. Rosenberg was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1986 and ser ...

(D–

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

References

External links

Legislative homepage
Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston Living people Lesbian politicians LGBT state legislators in Massachusetts Boston College alumni Brandeis University faculty Women state legislators in Massachusetts 1949 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub

See also

References

External links