Maura A. Hennigan (born 1952) is an American politician who currently serves as the Clerk Magistrate of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Superior Court Criminal/Business Division.[1] She is a former member of the Boston City Council and was a mayoral candidate in 2005. From 1987 to 1993, she was known as Maura Hennigan Casey.
Early life
Hennigan graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy, an all-girls, Catholic college preparatory school in Boston. She attended Salve Regina College, but did not graduate. She later earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[2]
After college she became a registered dietician, interning at Boston Lying-In Hospital.[2] She was a teacher in the Boston Public School system for seven years until she lost her job as a result of cuts following the implementation of Proposition 2½.[3]
Political career
From 1982 through 2005, Hennigan was a member of the Boston City Council. She was first elected in November 1981, the final election when all seats were at-large. She was subsequently re-elected to nine two-year terms as the representative for District 6 (Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury). In November 2001, she successfully ran for an at-large position, and was re-elected in November 2003. She was the first woman to chair Boston's Ways and Means Committee.[3]
In 1986 she was a candidate for Massachusetts Auditor. She finished second in a three way Democratic primary to A. Joseph DeNucci.[4] In 1997, she lost the party primary for the Democratic Party nomination in the special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat in the Suffolk and Norfolk District -placing third behind Brian A. Joyce and Maureen Feeney. In both 1984 and 1996, she was elected to the Massachusetts Democratic Party State Committee.[5] She unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Boston in November 2005, being defeated by incumbent Thomas Menino (who garnered 67% of the vote).[6]
In 2006, Hennigan was elected clerk of the Criminal/Business Court of Suffolk County, defeating assistant clerk of court Robert Dello-Russo. She became the ninth elected official to hold this position, as well as the first female official.[3] She was reelected in 2012, 2018, and 2024.[5][7]
Personal life
As of 2007, Hennigan hosted a weekly television show on Boston Neighborhood Network.[3] She is the daughter of former register of probate, state senator, state representative, and Boston School Committee member James W. Hennigan Jr. She has a brother, James W. Hennigan III and a sister Helen. Her grandfather James W. Hennigan Sr. was a state senator and the namesake of the James W. Hennigan School in Jamaica Plain. She is the grandniece of William O. S. Hennigan, a member of the Boston Common Council in 1900.[3]
References
- ^ "Suffolk County Superior Court". mass.gov. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ a b Rivas, Maggie (November 5, 1981). "Hennigan: Too Much Patronage". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2011 – via pqarchiver.com.
- ^ a b c d e Zagastizábal, Andy (January 19, 2007). "Hennigan 1st female clerk". Jamaica Plain Gazette. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1986. 1986.
- ^ a b "PD43+ » Candidate Profile: Maura A. Hennigan (D)". electionstats.state.ma.us. PD43+ (Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "City of Boston Municipal Election - November 8, 2005: Mayor" (PDF). City of Boston. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- "Maura Hennigan Wins Reelection as Suffolk County Clerk of Court for Criminal Business". Jamaica Plain, MA Patch. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- "Maura Hennigan". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
Further reading
- Wangsness, Lisa (August 29, 2005). "In Hennigan's run, father sees clan destiny". The Boston Globe.
- "Candidates for the City Council – Maura A. Hennigan". The Boston Globe. September 16, 1981 – via pqarchiver.com.
External links
- Hennigan election records at ourcampaigns.com