Matthew Francis "Matt" McHugh (born December 6, 1938) is an American lawyer and former Democratic 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, serving from 1975 to 1993.

Biography

Early life and education

McHugh was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, but spent most of his adult life in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He attended

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of ...

and

Mount St. Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Ar ...

, from which he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1960. He then attended the

Villanova University School of Law Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associa ...

, earning his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

in 1963.

Political career

After several years of private practice in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

, he became the district attorney of

Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice Preside ...

from 1969 until 1973. For the next two years, he was a member of the state Democratic Committee. McHugh was elected to the U.S. House in 1974, defeating his opponent, then-

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

Mayor

Al Libous Alfred J. "Al" Libous (September 24, 1928 – June 30, 2016) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Binghamton, New York for three consecutive terms from 1969 until 1981. Biography Libous began his political as a Binghamton City ...

, a Republican, in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. McHugh won the 1974 election with 83,562 votes, while Libous placed second with 68,273 votes. He became the first Democrat to represent this district since 1915. McHugh served in the House from January 3, 1975, until January 3, 1993. Although he was an avid civil rights supporter and member of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, McHugh was known for his bipartisanship. McHugh was a member of the House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and FamiliesChildren, youth, and families: Beginning the assessment. Hearing before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families; House of Representatives, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session
''United States House of Representatives'', Washington, DC, 28 April 1984, Original document retrieved 19 January 2014 from ERIC at Ed.gov: Institution of Education Sciences. during his final ten years in Congress. He had previously served on the Veterans' Affairs, Agricultural, and Interior Committees. In 1992, McHugh chose not to run for reelection. McHugh is currently a resident of Ashburn, Virginia. After retiring from the House, he originally worked as the vice president of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. He is employed by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. He also served on the board of directors of free-enterprise advisory services firm, FTI Consulting.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Matthew F. 1938 births Living people Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Cornell University people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Mount St. Mary's University alumni New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Ithaca, New York Politicians from Philadelphia Villanova University School of Law alumni People from Ashburn, Virginia