Timothy J. Toomey Jr. (born June 7, 1953) was the Massachusetts State Representative for the 26th Middlesex District, which comprises East Cambridge and East Somerville, and a member of the

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is the local authority for Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in the United Kingdom, city status in Cambridgeshire, England. The council has been under Labour Party (UK), Labour majority control since ...

. He served as a state representative from 1993 to 2017 and has served as a city councillor since 1990. Toomey has also served as a member of the Cambridge School Committee and vice mayor of Cambridge. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has run as a Democrat for the office of state representative; Cambridge City Council elections are, however, non-partisan.

Early life

Toomey is a graduate of

Matignon High School The Cambridge Matignon School (originally Father Matignon High School) was a private, co-educational Roman Catholic college-preparatory school in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The school was under the auspices of the ...

in Cambridge and holds a bachelor's degree from

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...

Boston, MA Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Political career

Toomey began his career in government in 1985 when he was elected to the Cambridge School Committee and served two terms as a committee member.

City council

In 1989, Toomey ran for a position on the Cambridge City Council and was elected. He has won re-election every two years since, with his most recent victory coming in 2019. In 2006, Toomey was elected by the city council to a two-year term as vice mayor of Cambridge.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

In 1992, Toomey ran for the State Representative seat vacated by Peter Vellucci. He earned 48% of the vote in the Democratic primary, defeating Karen Uminski by a nine-point margin and securing the party nomination. Toomey earned 72% of the vote in the general election, and was sworn in as a State Representative in January 1993. In 2004, Toomey handily defeated author David R. Slavitt.Peguero, Robin M. (3 November 2004)
Harvard Affiliates Lose in Local Races
''

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

''Beam, Alex (19 December 2006)
'Blue State' author has a blue past
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' In 2016, Toomey was defeated in the Democratic primary by local environmental activist and attorney opponent Mike Connolly. The primary was held on September 8, 2016. Toomey had previously served as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Joint Committee on Public Service, as well as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue.

Political views

Immigration

Toomey has described himself as a supporter of policies that benefit immigrants. As a State Representative he supported legislation that would allow immigrants without legal status who were brought to Massachusetts as children to receive in-state tuition rates at state schools. In August 2010, Toomey submitted a resolution to the Cambridge City Council in support of the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for illegal immigrants who entered the Unite ...

, which was adopted by the membership.

Transportation

Toomey has voiced opposition to the State's proposal to expand

MBTA commuter rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

service to

North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...

via the

Grand Junction Railroad The Grand Junction Railroad was an long railroad in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, connecting the railroads heading west and north from Boston. The western portion between Beacon Park Yard in Boston and the Inner Belt District in Somervill ...

. The line, which was purchased by the

Massachusetts Department of Transportation The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Sessio ...

, runs through residential areas of Toomey's district. Toomey is an avid supporter of the Grand Junction Multi-Use Path proposal that would bring a walk/bike route to eastern Cambridge, connecting with Boston on the southern end and Somerville on the north. He won a substantial investment from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

to fund a partial feasibility study and construction of a section of the Grand Junction Path during a Fall 2013 zoning negotiation.

Gun control

In 2009, Toomey filed legislation that would limit Massachusetts residents to purchasing one firearm per month.

Abortion and reproductive rights

In 2016, in the Democratic Party primary, Toomey's opponent Mike Connolly was endorsed by NARAL Prochoice Massachusetts. NARAL stated that Rep. Toomey has called abortion an "act of violence" on the House floor, and voted to restrict abortion access on a bill to codify in Massachusetts law a woman's right to choose. In 2014, Toomey was noted as "100% pro-life" by the Mass Citizens for Life.

Casino gambling

Toomey was the only member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Cambridge to vote for expanded casino gaming in Massachusetts. He reasoned that casinos would provide an economic benefit to the state, and released the following statement: " he expanded gaming billwould increase revenue and create jobs while mitigating community impacts and implementing a comprehensive regulatory structure..."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toomey, Timothy J. Jr. Living people Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council members 1953 births Suffolk University alumni 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court