Richard J. Ross (born July 6, 1954) is a former

Massachusetts State Senator The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

for the former Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex district, which included parts of

Attleboro Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461. Attleboro is ...

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Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

, and Wellesley, and all of North Attleboro, Ross's home town of Wrentham, Plainville,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Millis, Sherborn, Wayland, and Needham. He is 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 ...

, and served as the Senate

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Background

Ross grew up in Wrentham, Massachusetts. He attended

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. After the sudden death of his father, Ross returned to Massachusetts and assumed the family business, R. R. Ross Funeral Home, in Wrentham. Ross attended the New England Institute of Anatomy, Science & Embalming, and graduated with highest honor in 1975. Prior to serving in the Massachusetts legislature, he served on the Wrentham Board of Health and the Wrentham Board of Selectmen.Member Profile – Richard J. Ross
/ref>Ross wins Brown’s state Senate seat in victory for GOP – The Boston Globe
/ref> He still resides in Wrentham, where he is the owner of R. J. Ross Funeral Home.

Political offices

Ross has served in the state senate since May 2010, when he won a special election to succeed

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. This was the third time Ross was elected to a political office to succeed Brown. From 2005 to 2010, Ross was 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 ...

for the 9th Norfolk district. 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 ( ...

of November 2018, Ross was defeated by Democratic challenger

Becca Rausch Rebecca Lynne Rausch (born August 31, 1979) is an American attorney and politician from the Commonwealth (U.S. state), commonwealth of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she represents the Massachuse ...

by approximately a two percent margin.

S787 Controversy

In 2013, state senator Ross filed S787,Text of S787
/ref> which would restrict the dating and sex lives of people going through a divorce if they have children:

In divorce, separation, or 209A proceedings involving children and a marital home, the party remaining in the home shall not conduct a dating or sexual relationship within the home until a divorce is final and all financial and custody issues are resolved, unless the express permission is granted by the courts.

In Massachusetts, divorces are not finalized until 120 days after the final paperwork is signed. On March 24, 2014, Ross defended his submission of the bill in a

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post, "This was a free petition that I filed at the request of a constituent. I am not the sponsor of this legislation, nor have I ever endorsed or spoken in favor of it." The Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance defines a 'free petition' as: "In Massachusetts all citizens have the right to petition the state legislature. This procedure is called the right of free petition. A citizen drafts and files a Petition and accompanying Bill. A legislator sponsors the Bill in the General Court. If a legislator disagrees with the contents of the Bill, he/she may indicate this by placing the phrase 'By request' after his/her name."https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elect-Richard-J-Ross-for-State-Senate/286890596340 The text of S787 specifies that it was filed by "Richard J. Ross, (BY REQUEST)".

Committees

•Joint Committee on Rules •Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies •Joint Committee on Education •Joint Committee on Higher Education •Joint Committee on the Judiciary •Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse •Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government •Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security •Joint Committee on Ways and Means •Senate Committee on Ethics and Rules •Senate Committee on Ways and Means

References

External links