Shaunna O'Connell is an American politician from

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...

. A Republican, she currently serves as the 51st Mayor of Taunton, having served in office since January 2020. O’Connell was previously a member of 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 ...

, serving in that office from 2011 until 2020 and representing the Third Bristol District.

Early life and education

O'Connell grew up in Taunton to divorced parents who ended up on

housing assistance Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housin ...

to meet family expenses. She worked her way through college by working two jobs. She worked in the food service department of the Morton Hospital and Medical Center, working her way up to a supervisory position. O'Connell attended the

Massachusetts Bay Community College Massachusetts Bay Community College (MassBay) is a public community college in Norfolk and Middlesex Counties. Founded in 1961, MassBay currently serves more than 4,400 full-time and part-time students on its three locations: Wellesley, Ashlan ...

( Wellesley, Massachusetts) and Massasoit Community College ( Brockton, Massachusetts).

Political career

O'Connell launched her first State Representative campaign against incumbent Democratic State Representative James Fagan in June 2009, citing comments Fagan made in 2008 during a debate on a child sexual assault bill as her inspiration to run. She defeated Fagan in the 2010 General Election by 44 votes on election day, prompting a recount. She held on in the recount, with her margin of victory narrowing by only 13 votes and winning by 31 votes. O'Connell won re-election in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018, facing a Democratic opponent in each election. In 2019, O'Connell ran for Mayor of Taunton and won, becoming the 50th Mayor and first female Mayor in Taunton's history. She faced controversy at the start of her mayoral campaign, with ''CommonWealth'' Magazine reporting that Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito had given O'Connell notice that incumbent Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye would not run for re-election.

References

1970 births Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts Women state legislators in Massachusetts Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Mayors of Taunton, Massachusetts Women mayors of places in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub