William M. Straus (born June 26, 1956 in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

) is 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 ...

. He represents the 10th Bristol District comprising the towns of Fairhaven; New Bedford: Ward 3: Precinct A, Ward 4: Precincts D, E; Marion; Mattapoisett; and Rochester.

Education and early career

Representative Straus received his B.A. degree from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

in 1978 and his J.D. degree from the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

in 1982. He received a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. From 1978 to 1981 he worked for former U.S. Senator

John Culver John Chester Culver (August 8, 1932 – December 26, 2018) was an American politician, writer and lawyer who was elected to both the United States House of Representatives (1965–1975) and United States Senate (1975–1981) from Iowa. A memb ...

(D-Iowa). From 1982 to 1988 he was an Assistant District Attorney in

Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...

. He later served as a member of the Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facilities Site Safety Council and the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission.

State representative

Representative Straus currently serves as the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation. In the 2009-2010 legislative term Representative Straus serves as the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Environment and Agriculture. During the 2005-2006 term of the Massachusetts Legislature he was a member of the Joint Committees on the Environment, Consumer Protection and Bonding-Capital Expenditures. In prior sessions of the Legislature he has served as Vice Chairman of the Transportation Committee and as Chairman of the Committee on Election Laws. Straus has been very involved in the

South Coast Rail South Coast Rail is a project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The line has been planned to restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton, ...

project through his work on the Joint Committee on Transportation. He has also filed legislation to make public the MBTA pension system finances. Representative Straus also vote in favor of the 2011 law that authorized casino gambling in Massachusetts.

References

External links

William Straus' Campaign Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, William M. Massachusetts lawyers Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Middlebury College alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni People from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts 1956 births Living people 21st-century American legislators Politicians from East Orange, New Jersey 21st-century Massachusetts politicians

Education and early career

State representative

See also

References

External links