William David Delahunt (born July 18, 1941) is an American lawyer and politician from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. He is a former
U.S. Representative
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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for , serving from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the
Democratic Party. Delahunt did not seek re-election in 2010, and left Congress in January 2011. He was replaced by Norfolk County District Attorney
Bill Keating. He is currently an attorney with the firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott.
Early life, education, and early career
Born in
Quincy, Massachusetts, Delahunt was educated at
Thayer Academy,
Middlebury College and
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
With approximately 800 stud ...
and later served as a
radarman (RD3) in the
United States Coast Guard Reserve
The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for ...
. He served a term 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 ...
(1973–75) before serving as
district attorney of
Norfolk County for more than 20 years.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 1996, Democratic Congressman
Gerry Studds
Gerry Eastman Studds (; May 12, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay member of Congress. In 1983 he was censured by the House of Re ...
decided to retire. Delahunt decided to run for
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district. On September 17, 1996, Delahunt won the Democratic
primary election with a plurality of 38% of the vote. He won the
Plymouth County portion of the district, while losing the
Norfolk County portion. He narrowly defeated state legislator
Philip W Johnston
Philip W. Johnston (July 21, 1944 in Chelsea, Massachusetts) is an American businessman, politician and former Secretary of Human Services in Massachusetts and Regional Administrator of Health and Human Services for New England.
Johnston receive ...
of
Marshfield by just 119 votes after a
recount
An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...
, which was conducted in a handful of contested towns. Following the recount, Delahunt sought judicial review in the
Massachusetts Superior Court
The Massachusetts Superior Court (also known as the Superior Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court department in Massachusetts.
The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $50,000, and in matters where equit ...
.
After reviewing about 900 ballots, Judge Elizabeth B. Donovan declared Delahunt the victor.
The case was appealed to the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which upheld the lower court ruling. The case is also noteworthy for the issue of "
hanging chad
Chad refers to fragments sometimes created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar synthetic materials, such as computer punched tape or punched cards. The word "chad" has been used both as a mass noun (as in "a pile of chad") and as ...
s" in punch-card voting machines.
[ On November 5, 1996, Delahunt defeated Republican state Representative Edward B. Teague III 54%–42%.
He won re-election six times with at least 32 percentage points. His retirement was confirmed on March 4, 2010, by '']The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. Shortly before the announcement of his retirement, it was discovered that Delahunt, while serving as district attorney for Norfolk County, Massachusetts, had refused to file charges against Amy Bishop
On February 12, 2010, three people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. During a routine meeting of the biology department attended by approxim ...
for shooting and killing her brother in 1986. On February 12, 2010, Bishop murdered three of her colleagues at the University of Alabama in Huntsville after being denied tenure.
Tenure
As one of his first initiatives in Congress, he created the bipartisan caucus on the United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
, which he co-chaired with two other Coast Guard veterans, Reps. Howard Coble
John Howard Coble (March 18, 1931 – November 3, 2015) was an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all or portions of ten counties in ...
( R- NC) and Gene Taylor ( D- MS). This benefited his district through getting the problems of outpaced resources and security recognized at the ports of Massachusetts.
In November 2005, he met with Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n President Hugo Chavez
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...
to arrange an assistance program in which Venezuela would supply winter home heating oil at a 40 percent price reduction to thousands of low-income Massachusetts residents. The program, which has since been expanded to help 500,000 people across the U.S., was carried out via the Venezuelan owned Citgo, and brought accusations that Delahunt was assisting an anti-American leader. Delahunt, however, has sometimes criticized Chavez, such as in a September 2006 letter expressing "profound disgust" at a speech given by Chavez to the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, in which he personally attacked President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. In the letter he urged that Chavez express disagreements "in a more constructive manner."
In the 110th Congress, Delahunt served as Chairman of the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight.
He was a consistent opponent of the war in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
Other armed conflicts involving Iraq
* Wars during Mandatory Iraq
** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921
* Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
. However, on March 10, 2010, he voted against a measure to bring troops home from Afghanistan.
Committee assignments
* Committee on Foreign Affairs
** Subcommittee on Europe(Chairman 111th Congress)
** Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight (Chairman 110th Congress)
* Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean:
* United States House Committee on the Judiciary
* United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...
** Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
** Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
** Task Force on Judicial Impeachment
Caucus memberships
* Co-chair of the bipartisan Coast Guard Caucus
* Co-chair of the House Older Americans Caucus
* Co-chair of the Congressional Working Group on Cuba
Delahunt was a member of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee; Judiciary Committee; and also served as co-chair of the bipartisan
Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...
Coast Guard Caucus, House Older Americans Caucus, and the Congressional Working Group on Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
Post-congressional career
Lobbying
Upon Delahunt's retirement, he formed the Delahunt Group, a lobbying firm ("multi-service consulting firm focused on Government Affairs, International Market Entry Strategies, Corporate and Development Advisory, Federal and State Funding, and Appropriations, Regulatory and Permitting Assistance, Public Policy Strategies and Public Relations"). Delahunt told the ''Cape Cod Times
The ''Cape Cod Times'' is a broadsheet daily newspaper serving Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, which encompasses 15 towns on Cape Cod with a year-round population of about 230,000. It is owned by Gannett, which also owns several ...
'' that he viewed it as an extension of his work in Congress. As a legislator, he explained, he set policy at a macro level. Now, he said: "we're taking that and bringing it down here to the communities, to encourage implementation. We're working with the private sector and the public sector in a way that's a win-win for everyone." He told the ''Times'' he is particularly interested in work that encourages regional tourism and economic development."
Less than two months after leaving Congress, Delahunt lobbied on behalf of the Wampanoag people in Massachusetts to help them secure Indian gaming rights with the state legislature. Delahunt filled a gap left by the Wampanoag's previous lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
following his conviction associated with the renowned Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal. Delahunt received over $15,000 in campaign contributions from the Wampanoag and Abramoff prior to leaving office sparking criticisms from good government advocates and casino opponents. While Delahunt is precluded by law from lobbying the Congress for at least one year, rules do not preclude him from lobbying state legislatures.
Delahunt formally announced his retirement from Congress in March 2010. Between March and December 2010, he made over $10,000 in campaign contributions to Massachusetts state legislators from his federal congressional PAC – a 500 percent increase from previous years' contributions.
Delahunt has also established a lobbying partnership with the Washington, DC-based Prime Policy Group on ways American companies can establish themselves in foreign countries while helping foreign businesses with connections to in United States markets. Prime Policy Group's clients include companies like Accenture, which have been criticized for moving offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes. This partnership dovetails with Delahunt's work on behalf of the Wampanoag as their primary backers are the Malaysian gambling giant Genting Group
The Genting Group is a company headquartered in the Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It comprises the holding company Genting Berhad (), its listed subsidiaries Genting Malaysia Berhad (), Genting Plantations Berhad (), Genting Singapore ...
. Genting is seeking to establish a foothold in the United States with ventures in New York, Miami and Massachusetts. The Wampanoag venture, if approved, would give Genting a tax-free foothold in Indian gaming in the United States.
Medical marijuana
Delahunt, the President of Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts Inc., has applied for three medical marijuana dispensary
A cannabis shop, cannabis dispensary, or cannabis cooperative, is a location at which cannabis is sold for recreational or medical use. In the Netherlands these are called coffeeshops. In the United States they exist as an outlet for both recr ...
licenses from the Massachusetts state Department of Public Health. The businesses would be located in Mashpee, Plymouth and Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
. The locations would all be in separate counties, so they will not compete with each other in the selection process.
Delahunt supports the creation of medical marijuana dispensaries to thwart the rise in prescription drug abuse. He will also be significantly involved in the operations of any of the dispensaries
A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...
that Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts opens.
Harvard Institute of Politics
In late May 2017, Delahunt became the acting director of the Harvard Institute of Politics
The Institute of Politics (IOP) is an institute of Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, as well as to inspire Harvard undergraduates to consider careers in politi ...
.
Diplomacy
In 2013, Delahunt helped free a U.S. citizen who was imprisoned by the Venezuelan government.
Personal life
Delahunt's paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Canada and his paternal grandmother's family was Irish.
He and his wife, Katharina E. Delahunt, divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
d in 1986. They have one daughter, Kristin, and adopted another, Kara Mai (''née'' Nguyen Mai Tai Trang), from Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
in 1975. While Congress was in session, Delahunt lived in a rented house with fellow Democratic politicians George Miller, Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
, and Richard Durbin.
He is currently engaged to Julie Pagano.
References
External links
*
Leader Pelosi's "30 Something" Working Group
speeches
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delahunt, Bill
1941 births
Living people
American lobbyists
American people of Canadian descent
American people of Irish descent
Middlebury College alumni
Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
District attorneys in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
United States Coast Guard enlisted
Politicians from Quincy, Massachusetts
Thayer Academy alumni
Boston College Law School alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
21st-century American politicians
United States Coast Guard reservists