Chris Walsh
Chris Walsh (b. May 20, 1951) was a Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the Sixth Middlesex district. He was first elected to the chamber in 2010. Walsh passed away on May 2, 2018, from cancer.[1]
Walsh was active on many planning boards and belonged to the Framingham Town Meeting. A past president of the Framingham Historical Society, Walsh 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 included working as an architect at his own firm, Chris Walsh & Co.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint |
| • Education Joint, Vice chair |
| • Financial Services Joint |
| • Public Safety and Homeland Security Joint |
| • Public Service |
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:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Global Warming and Climate Change, Vice chair |
| • Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Joint |
| • Transportation Joint |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Walsh served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Joint |
| • Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Joint |
| • Transportation Joint |
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."[2] 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.
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the 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.[3][4]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sixth Middlesex District General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Chris Walsh Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth | ||
Incumbent Chris Walsh ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Sixth Middlesex District Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sixth Middlesex District Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Chris Walsh Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the 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.[7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chris 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.[8]
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.[9][10]
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.[11] Walsh was the only challenger in a 2010 Massachusetts House race to unseat an incumbent in the primary.[12]
| Massachusetts House of Representatives General Election, Sixth Middlesex District (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Chris Walsh (D)
|
9,062 | |||
| Jim Rizoli (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.[13]
| 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."[14]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Massachusetts General Court was in formal session from January 3 to July 31. The legislature was in informal session from August 1 to December 31.
- Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes."
- Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through November 15. The legislature held an informal session from November 16 to January 2.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 6 through July 31.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 7, 2015, through January 5, 2016.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through July 31.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 through November 16.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Walsh and his wife, Cindy, had two children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Chris + Walsh + Massachusetts + Legislature
See also
- Massachusetts House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Joint Committees
- Massachusetts state legislative districts
- Massachusetts State Legislature
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ WBUR News, "Framingham State Rep. Chris Walsh Dies From Cancer," May 3, 2018
- ↑ Elect Chris Walsh, "Chris Walsh on the Issues," accessed September 17, 2010
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 State election candidates," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Election data lookup," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidates (Democratic)," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonweath of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Election Statistics," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Libertarian Party Massachusetts "Current candidates," accessed September 16, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2012 State Primary Results," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes - For Massachusetts State Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Wicked Local Amesbury, "Walsh says 6th Middlesex race is still up for grabs," September 16, 2010
- ↑ Wicked Local Framingham, "July 2, 2008
- ↑ Wicked Local Framingham, "Walsh tops Richardson in 6th Middlesex Democratic primary," September 15, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pamela Richardson |
Massachusetts House of Representatives Sixth Middlesex District 2011–2018 |
Succeeded by Maria Robinson (D) |
