Chris Walsh

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Chris Walsh
Chris Walsh.jpg
Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sixth Middlesex District
Incumbent
Tenure
2011 - present
Term ends
January 2, 2019
Years in position 6
PartyDemocratic
Report an officeholder change
Compensation
Base salary$60,032.60/year
Per diem$10-$100/day
Elections and appointments
First elected2010
Term limitsN/A
Personal
Date of birthMay 20, 1951
Place of birthNew York, New York
ProfessionArchitect, business owner
ReligionAgnostic
Websites
Office website
CandidateVerification
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Chris Walsh (b. May 20, 1951)  is a Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the Sixth Middlesex district. He was first elected to the chamber in 2010.

Walsh has been active on many planning boards and has belonged to the Framingham Town Meeting. A past president of the Framingham Historical Society, Walsh has also chaired the Historic District Commission for the town.

Biography

Walsh earned his B.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1982. His professional experience includes working as an architect at his own firm, Chris Walsh & Co.

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Walsh served on the following committees:

Massachusetts Committee Assignments, 2015
• Public Service Joint, Vice Chair
• Ways and Means Joint
• Financial Services Joint
• Transportation Joint
• Ways and Means

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Walsh served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Walsh served on the following committees:

Issues

Campaign themes

2010

Walsh's website highlighted a campaign platform involves translating experience with historical preservation and town planning into revitalizing the town, including bringing in businesses to raise assessed property values.

Citing the high proportion of small businesses in Framingham, Walsh noted a desire to see incentives for business and economic development. One area he specifically pointed out was arts and culture, something he said was underrepresented in the town.

Walsh called for all mandated state programs to have both an economic impact assessment and a budget proposal and for towns and communities to be given more flexibility in implementing programs than state law allowed at the time. He also recommended direct tax incentives to home owners to incentivize renewing blighted areas.

Walsh advocated for cleaning contaminated sites over abandoning them or building new structures and said, "I believe that open space land is its highest and best use and that it should be valued as such."[1] Additionally, he expressed a desire to see unused rail tracks redeveloped into a support route for mass transit.

Speaking on social policy, Walsh drew attention to the economy's effect on Framingham's ability to provide services and continue the tax-free status afforded to nonprofits. Massachusetts' Dover Amendment exempted nonprofits from zoning laws, a clause that Walsh argued was detrimental to property values for private home owners.

Walsh also called for greater financial support for Framingham's public schools from the state and the issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

The following table lists bills sponsored by this legislator. Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.


Elections

2016

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 8, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.

Incumbent Chris Walsh ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Sixth Middlesex District general election.[2][3]
Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sixth Middlesex District General Election, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Chris Walsh Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth



2014

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the office of Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Chris Walsh was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Michael J. Coombes (L) in the general election.[4]

Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sixth Middlesex District General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngChris Walsh Incumbent 83.6% 9,763
     Libertarian Michael Coombes 16.4% 1,909
Total Votes 11,672
He will face libertarian challenger Michael Coombes in the general election.[5]

2012

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2012

Walsh won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts House of Representatives Sixth Middlesex District. Walsh was unopposed in the September 6 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]

2010

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2010

Walsh won election to the Sixth Middlesex seat in 2010. He defeated incumbent Pamela Richardson in the September 14 Democratic primary. He defeated Jim Rizoli (I) and Jim Pillsbury (I) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[8] Walsh was the only challenger in a 2010 Massachusetts House race to unseat an incumbent in the primary.[9]

Massachusetts House of Representatives General Election, Sixth Middlesex District (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Chris Walsh (D) 9,062
Jim Rizolo (I) 1,226
Jim Pillsbury (I) 2,657

2008

Walsh first challenged Pam Richardson in 2008; that year, the Democratic primary for the seat was a three-way race. Walsh lost to Richardson. by 138 votes that year.

Walsh had run on a platform of strong advocacy for open government and transparency, which was questioned over a Town Meeting in May of 2008. According to others in attendance at the meeting, Walsh spoke in favor of a bill that favored owners of historic homes in development and land use without disclosing that his own home would be affected by the bill.[10]

2010 Race for 6th Middlesex District Representative in General Court - Democrat Primary
Candidates Percentage
Pam Richardson (D) 47.06%
Chris Walsh (D) 52.94%
Total votes 3,557

Of the 35,000 registered voters in the District, slightly more than 6,500 voted in the primary, for a 19% rate. The night of his victory, Walsh celebrated clinching the nomination with reservations about voter enthusiasm. Speaking to local press at his victory party, he commented that, "Quite honestly, 209 votes in my view is squeaking."[11]

Campaign donors

2010

In 2010, Walsh raised $18,321 in contributions.[12]

His largest contributor was the Committee for a Democratic House, which donated $1,000 to his campaign.

Scorecards

State-Legislative Scorecards-Badge.png

Click here to contribute!

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Massachusetts

Legislative scorecards are used to evaluate elected public officials based on voting record. Some scorecards are created by political advocacy groups with a focus on specific issues; others are developed by newspapers and are broad in scope. Scorecards are meant to be used as a tool for voters to have a quick picture of whether their views align with a particular legislator's record.

Because scorecards can be specific to particular issues or general to a state’s legislative term, each report should be considered on its own merits. Each entity that publishes these reports uses different methodologies and definitions for the terms used.

An overview for scorecards in all 50 states can be found on this page. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].

2015-2016

  • Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization advocating economically conservative policy.
  • Legislators are rated on "voting record and co-sponsorship history, public statements, and other factors."[13]
Legislators are scored on their votes on key conservative issues.

2013-2014

In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31. In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.

  • Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization of employers.
  • Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization advocating economically conservative policy.
  • Legislators are scored on environmental issues.
  • Legislators are scored on bills selected by a "statewide, grassroots [organization] for progressive change in Massachusetts."[14]
  • Legislators are scored on environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on key conservative issues.

2011-2012

In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 November 16. In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session starting January 4 through July 31.

  • Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization of employers.
  • Legislators are scored on environmental issues.
  • Legislators are scored on votes on issues including health care costs, consumer protection, recycling, transportation and democracy.
  • Legislators are scored on bills selected by a "statewide, grassroots [organization] for progressive change in Massachusetts."

Personal

Walsh and his wife, Cindy, have two children.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Chris + Walsh + Massachusetts + Legislature

Chris Walsh News Feed

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See also

External links

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ Elect Chris Walsh, "Chris Walsh on the Issues," accessed September 17, 2010
  2. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 State election candidates," accessed October 3, 2016
  3. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Election data lookup," accessed December 20, 2016
  4. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
  5. ↑ Libertarian Party Massachusetts "Current candidates," accessed September 16, 2014
  6. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2012 State Primary Results," accessed February 13, 2014
  7. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 13, 2014
  8. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 13, 2014
  9. ↑ Wicked Local Amesbury, "Walsh says 6th Middlesex race is still up for grabs," September 16, 2010
  10. ↑ Wicked Local Framingham, "July 2, 2008
  11. ↑ Wicked Local Framingham, "Walsh tops Richardson in 6th Middlesex Democratic primary," September 15, 2010
  12. ↑ Follow the Money, "2010 contributions," accessed December 23, 2013
  13. ↑ Planned Parenthood, "2015 Legislative Scorecard," accessed November 2, 2015
  14. ↑ Progressive Massachusetts, "Scorecards and Roll Calls," accessed September 17, 2014
Political offices
Preceded by
Pamela Richardson 		Massachusetts House of Representatives Sixth Middlesex District
2011–present 		Succeeded by
NA
v • e
Democrat majority Current members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
House Speaker: Robert DeLeo (D) • Majority Leader: Ronald Mariano (D) • Minority Leader: Bradley Jones, Jr. (R)
   
Democratic Party (125) • Republican Party (35) • Massachusetts House of Representatives • Massachusetts State Senate
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