Massachusetts Rep. Tierney’s Primary Defeat is One More Loss of Seniority for the MA Congressional Delegation

Over the past five years, Massachusetts Congressional seniority has been in free-fall, going from one of the most senior delegations to one of the least. Representative John Tierney’s primary loss is the latest iteration of that evolution.

Between 2009 and 2014, Massachusetts’ contribution to the federal government has undergone a rapid and unchangeable reconfiguration. Due to deaths,  joining the presidential Cabinet, and regular old losing elections, the composition of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation has transformed – into one much less senior. Representative John Tierney’s (D-MA06) not-so-shocking primary loss to newcomer Seth Moulton now typifies what has become a new normal in Massachusetts.

Book Review – “Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World” by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

An engaging, energetic, emotional call to action for all women to get in the game and help shape the world.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand burst into national politics when she was chosen to fill the New York Senate seat Hillary Clinton left to become Secretary of State in 2009. A surprise pick, Senator Gillibrand – then a young, relatively new representative for New York’s northern 20th District – was faced with immense expectations, negative assumptions about her character, and challenges aplenty. Since then, she has more than proven that she can rise to the occasion. Winning both a special and full election within four years – all well breaking state records for percentage of votes received – Senator Gillibrand has adopted a number of campaigns that she says will “give voices to the voiceless”.

Her new book, “Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World”, documents her evolution from young girl, to corporate lawyer, all the way to New York’s junior Senator. Though she claims her life started as ordinarily as possible, she recognizes that her call to public service was in her soul long before she first considered running for Congress. Her childhood dreams of being a Senator were encouraged by her family, especially her great-grandmother and grandmother, who were deeply embedded in Albany politics, even in the early 1900’s.

With strong female role models – her family, her squash coach who taught her a hard lesson in both humility and perseverance, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – it is no wonder that Senator Gillibrand frames her book as a call to arms for women engagement in the civil process. From the first page in her autobiography, she frames her ultimate goal: by recounting her story, she attempts to dispel that numerous, subtle pressures that stifle female progress and embrace a resurgence in the feminist movement.