State Legislature Career
With numerous cases under his belt, Lynch developed a reputation in the community, and was encouraged by friends to run for office. In early 1994 he phoned Paul J. Gannon, the Democratic state representative from the 4th Suffolk district, to announce a run against him. While both candidates were labor advocates with similar backgrounds, Lynch described himself as "the conservative candidate". He criticized Gannon for not supporting the Veterans Council, which had prevented a gay rights group from marching in the local St. Patrick's Day Parade. Lynch's base of supporters in the projects allowed him to win the Democratic primary by 600 votes, and he continued to a victory in the November 1994 general election. As a state representative, he was a vocal advocate for his neighborhood. He opposed a plan by Governor William Weld and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to construct a $200 million football stadium by the publicly owned South Boston waterfront. He led the opposition to a proposed asphalt plant in South Bay, and sponsored an amendment to a state bond bill which banned the plant's construction.
When the President of the Massachusetts Senate, William M. Bulger, announced his resignation from his 1st Suffolk seat in late 1995, Lynch filed nomination papers for the special election to replace him. He ran in the Democratic primary against attorney William M. Bulger, Jr., son of the former senator, and lawyer Patrick Loftus. The race grew from the grassroots of South Boston, with neighborhood issues such as development, crime, and education ruling the debate. The candidates declared their mutual respect.
Lynch won the Democratic primary in March 1996 by a 20-point margin. He easily defeated a Republican challenger several weeks later and was inaugurated May 1, 1996.
As a state senator, Lynch continued to lead opposition to the proposed football stadium and was a vocal opponent of a proposal to sell the publicly owned Marine Industrial Park. He opposed a hate-crimes bill which would make racially charged language a felony, and harkened back to the 1994 racial violence case as an example. He charged that the bill "attacks merely words" and "prosecutes young people who, in my opinion, haven't developed the responsibility and wisdom to measure their words." On the Senate Transportation Committee, he cosponsored a bill in June 1996 to allow certain Boston residents unlimited access to the Ted Williams Tunnel. In 1997 he was named Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. In response to a budget crisis in the state's nursing homes, due primarily to Medicaid shortfalls, he filed an unsuccessful bill in April 2001 to increase Medicaid funding by $200 million.
While in the Senate, Lynch enrolled in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, from which he graduated with a Master's Degree in 1999.
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