Massachusetts House of Representatives' 1st Essex district

Map of Massachusetts House of Representatives' 1st Essex district, based on the 2010 United States census.

Massachusetts House of Representatives' 1st Essex district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of Essex County.[1] Republican James Kelcourse of Amesbury served the district from 2015-2022. Following Kelcourse's resignation in late-June 2022, the seat remained vacant until the election of Democrat Dawne Shand of Newburyport. Rep. Shand took office on January 4, 2023.

Following redistricting efforts in 2021, the 1st Essex shifted slightly west. The district now includes the towns of Merrimac and Salisbury; the city of Newburyport; and part of the city of Amesbury. Previously, the 1st Essex District included all of the city of Amesbury.

Towns represented

The district includes the following localities:[2]

The current district geographic boundary overlaps with those of the Massachusetts Senate's 1st Essex and Middlesex and 2nd Essex and Middlesex districts.[3]

Former locales

The district previously covered the following:

Representatives

  • Winthrop O. Evans, circa 1859 [6]
  • Elbridge M. Morse, circa 1859 [6]
  • Charles Goss, circa 1888 [7]
  • John C. Risteen, circa 1888 [7]
  • George L. Briggs, circa 1920 [8]
  • Henry M. Duggan, circa 1951 [9]
Member Party Years Legis. Electoral history District towns

David E. Harrison

(Gloucester)

Democratic 1965 –
1971 		165th
166th
167th 		Redistricted from 16th Essex district.
Re-elected in 1964.
Re-elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Lost re-election in 1970.

Richard R. Silva

(Gloucester)

Republican 1971 –
1979 		168th
169th
170th
171st 		Elected in 1970.
Re-elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Re-elected in 1976.
Redistricted to 5th Essex district.

1973–79: Rockport and part of Gloucester


Nicholas J. Costello 		Democratic 1979 –
1983 		172nd
173rd
174th 		Elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Re-elected in 1982.
Elected to State Senate in 1983.

Barbara Hildt

(Amesbury)

Democratic 1983 –
1993 		174th
175th
176th
177th
178th 		Elected in 1983.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Ran for U.S. House in 1992.

Frank Cousins

(Newburyport)

Republican 1993 –
1997 		179th
180th 		Elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Elected Essex County Sheriff in 1996.

Kevin L. Finnegan

(Newburyport)

Republican 1997 –
2001 		181st
182nd 		Elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Retired.
Paul Tirone

(Amesbury)

Democratic 2001 –
2003 		183rd
 Elected in 2000.
Lost Democratic primary in 2002.
Michael A. Costello[10](Newburyport) Democratic 2003 –
September 15, 2014 		184th
185th
186th
187th
188th
189th 		Elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Resigned September 15, 2014.

2013–21: Amesbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury

James Kelcourse[11][12](Amesbury) 		Republican 2015 – June 29, 2022 190th
191st
191st
192nd 		Elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020
Resigned June 29, 2022.
2021–present: Merrimac, Newburyport, Salisbury, and part of Amesbury

Dawne Shand

(Newburyport)

Democratic January 4, 2023 – present 193rd Elected in 2022.

See also

Images

  • Samuel Porter
    Samuel Porter
  • Albert Wadleigh
    Albert Wadleigh
  • George Briggs
    George Briggs
  • George Pettengill
    George Pettengill
  • Colin Cameron
    Colin Cameron
  • Henry Duggan
    Henry Duggan

References

  1. ^ "Massachusetts Representative Districts". Sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  2. ^ Massachusetts General Court, "Chapter 153. An Act Relative to Establishing Representative Districts in the General Court", Acts (2011)
  3. ^ David Jarman (July 30, 2019), "Upper legislative district ↔ lower legislative district correspondences: MA", How do counties, House districts, and legislative districts all overlap?, Daily Kos, State House Districts to State Senate Districts
  4. ^ a b Massachusetts General Court (October 17, 1973), "1973 Chap. 0326. An Act Establishing Representative Districts", Acts and Resolves, hdl:2452/26842 – via State Library of Massachusetts
  5. ^ "Representative Districts". Massachusetts Register. Boston: Sampson, Davenport, & Company. 1872.
  6. ^ a b Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Manual for the Use of the General Court. Boston. 1859 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ a b Geo. F. Andrews, ed. (October 17, 1888). "Representatives: Essex County". 1888 State House Directory. Official Gazette, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Lakeview Press.
  8. ^ Public Officials of Massachusetts: 1920. Boston Review. October 17, 2023.
  9. ^ 1951–1952 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Boston.
  10. ^ Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elections Division. "State Representative general election statistics". PD43+. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "The Contested Legislative Races In Massachusetts", Wbur.org, November 4, 2016
  12. ^ "Two-Thirds Of State Legislators Are Unopposed In The General Election", Wbur.org, November 1, 2018, Most of the incumbent Republicans are facing a challenge