Peter I. Blute (born January 28, 1956) is a former American politician who served as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
member of 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 ...
. He served two terms, between January 3, 1993, and January 3, 1997, representing
Massachusetts' 3rd congressional district
Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district is located in northeastern and central Massachusetts.
Massachusetts congressional redistricting after the 2010 census has greatly changed the borders of this congressional district, largely dividing it ...
. As of 2022, Blute and colleague
Peter G. Torkildsen remain the last Republicans elected to serve in the United States House delegation from Massachusetts.
Early life and career
Blute was born in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, one of 11 siblings. He grew up and currently lives in
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Shrewsbury (/ˈʃruzberi/ ''SHROOZ-bury'') is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Shrewsbury, unlike the surrounding towns of Grafton, Millbury, Westborough, Northborough, Boylston, and West Boylston did not become a ...
, where he attended
St. John's High School. He earned his B.A. at
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 1978. He was the owner of a sports promotion and marketing firm, and then a marketing representative for The Burdett School.
Blute was elected to 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 ...
in 1986 and served until 1993 when he was elected as a Republican to the
103rd Congress and then reelected to the
104th Congress
The 104th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...
. A Republican, he defeated 9-term incumbent
Joseph Early
Joseph Daniel Early (January 31, 1933 – November 9, 2012) was an American politician. He represented the third district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993.
Early was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on J ...
, who is also a
St. John's High School alumnus, in
1992 to become the first Republican to represent this district since 1947. After two terms in the House, Blute was defeated by current
Congressman James P. McGovern in 1996 in a reelection bid for the
105th Congress. Since Blute's defeat, no other Massachusetts Republican has been elected to the House.
After Congress
From 1997 to 1999, Blute served as executive director of the
Massachusetts Port Authority
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals i ...
(MassPort). His tenure at MassPort came to an end following revelations of a workday "booze cruise", originally paid for with Massport funds and billed as a "survey" of
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
...
, during which a female passenger, actress Gidget Churchill, aboard the vessel with Blute exposed her breasts to a ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
'' photographer. Questions remain as to why Churchill exposed herself and who notified the local media as to the time and date of the cruise.
Blute was then a radio talk show host for
WRKO
WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by iHeartMedia, WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portio ...
Boston from 5:30 to 9 am, co-hosting with Andy Moes from 1999 to 2001,
John Osterlind
Rebecca Pratt (March 10, 1967 – December 31, 2022) was an American radio broadcaster.
Life and career
Pratt was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, on March 10, 1967. She graduated from Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 198 ...
from 2001 to 2003, and
Scott Allen Miller
Scott Allen Miller (also known as Scotto) has worked in radio since 1992, doing stints as a disc jockey, a producer, and a talk radio host in such places as Kansas City, Tulsa, Los Angeles, and Albany, New York. He was most recently the morning d ...
from 2003 until he left WRKO on October 3, 2005. He moved on to AM 830
WCRN
WCRN is an AM radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts, owned by Carter Broadcasting. The station broadcasts at 830 AM with a transmitter power output of 50,000 watts and can be heard from Maine to Providence, Rhode Island, and from Boston to S ...
Worcester in early 2006, and hosted the station's 6 to 9 am drive-time program until leaving WCRN on May 27, 2011.
On December 21, 2011, Blute was named deputy chairman of the
Massachusetts Republican Party
The Massachusetts Republican Party (MassGOP) is the Massachusetts branch of the U.S. Republican Party.
In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 52, the party is governed by a state committee which consists of one man and one woma ...
.
Family
Blute is the son of Dr. Robert Blute and Ann-Marie Blute, a
Dame of Malta
Dames of Malta are female members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The male counterparts of these Dames are the Knights of Malta.
Prominent living Dames of Malta include:
* Anne M. Burke
*Bernadette Castro
*Janne Haaland Matláry
*Fred ...
.
Blute is one of eleven siblings. One of his sisters, Paula Ebben, is a news anchor for
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (ch ...
.
Blute's grandfather, Paul H. Hines, served as state representative and as an aide to Mayor
John Hynes. His uncle,
Peter F. Hines
Peter Francis Hines (November 30, 1927 – October 9, 1984) was an American attorney and politician who served on the Boston City Council from 1958 to 1968. He was the council president in 1963.
Hines joined the council in 1958 after the resignat ...
, served on the
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 ...
from 1958 to 1968 and was a candidate for
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
in
1967.
In 2005,
''Boston'' magazine ranked the Blute family the 10th out of 50 families "that run
oston.
Electoral history
*1992 Race for 3rd Massachusetts US Congressional District
**Rep.
Joseph Early
Joseph Daniel Early (January 31, 1933 – November 9, 2012) was an American politician. He represented the third district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993.
Early was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on J ...
(D), 44.3%
**Peter Blute (R), 50.4%
**Others, 5.3%
*1994 Race for 3rd Massachusetts US Congressional District
**Rep. Peter Blute (R), 54.6%
**Kevin O'Sullivan (D), 44.2%
**Others, 1.2%
*1996 Race for 3rd Massachusetts US Congressional District
**Rep. Peter Blute (R), 45.4%
**
James P. McGovern (D), 52.9%
**Others, 1.7%
References
External links
2001-11-16 Episode of WGBH's "Greater Boston"detailing the MassPort "booze cruise" incident.
"Blute says he won't challenge Kennedy"Boston Globe, 2006-02-24
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blute, Peter
1956 births
Living people
American talk radio hosts
Boston College alumni
Radio personalities from Massachusetts
Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts
People from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
Massachusetts Port Authority people