Michael Joseph Connolly (born April 20, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts) is a former politician who served as

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the government of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The Secretary of the Commonwealth oversees the Corporations Division, the Elections Division, the ...

from 1979 to 1994. An attorney by profession, Connolly was first elected to public office in 1973 when he won a seat 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 ...

. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Edward Brooke's

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat in 1978, but he dropped out of the race and instead ran for and was elected Secretary of the Commonwealth. Connolly ran for the Senate again in 1984, losing the nomination to

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

. Connolly is currently involved in real estate development.

Family

Connolly is married to Lynda M. Connolly, former Chief Justice of the

Dedham District Court The Massachusetts District Court (also known as the District Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court in Massachusetts that hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases. Distri ...

. They have four children, including former

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

member

John R. Connolly John Ronan Connolly (born July 6, 1973) is an American politician, former lawyer, and educator from Massachusetts. He served from 2008 to 2014 as an at-large member of the Boston City Council, and was the runner-up in the 2013 Boston mayoral elec ...

References

Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston Boston Latin School alumni College of the Holy Cross alumni New England Law Boston alumni 1947 births Living people People from Roslindale {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub