Stephen Lynch (politician)

Stephen Lynch (politician)

Stephen F. Lynch (born March 31, 1955) is the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district. He is a member of the Democratic Party who has served since 2001. Lynch was previously an ironworker and lawyer, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court.

Born and raised in South Boston, Lynch is the son of an ironworker. He went into the trade after high school, working in an apprenticeship and later joining his father's union. He became the union's youngest president at age 30 while attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology. He received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1991. For several years he worked as a lawyer, primarily representing housing project residents and labor unions.

Lynch was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, unseating an incumbent Democratic lawmaker, in 1994. His social views and advocacy for the South Boston neighborhood led him to the Massachusetts Senate in 1995, when he won a special election to succeed state Senator William M. Bulger. He won a special election to represent the 9th district in the United States House of Representatives in 2001, and has been re-elected ever since. Lynch has a reputation of being the most socially conservative member of Massachusetts' ten-member House delegation, and often votes independently of his party leadership. He sits on the Financial Services Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.