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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. 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 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 The 103rd 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 ...

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'' 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 from 2001 to 2003, and Scott Allen Miller from 2003 until he left WRKO on October 3, 2005. He moved on to AM 830 WCRN 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. 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 ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. 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.

(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