Preceded by District Created | Name Robert Travaglini Succeeded by Diane Modica | |
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Preceded by Michael LoPresti, Jr. | ||
Robert Edward Travaglini (born July 20, 1952) is an American politician and lobbyist. From 2003 through 2007, he served as President of the Massachusetts Senate. He represented the first Middlesex and Suffolk senate district, encompassing portions of Boston, Revere, Winthrop, and Cambridge.
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Career
Travaglini began his venture into politics as an executive assistant to then Massachusetts Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti from 1975-1981 followed by a three-year stint as administrative assistant to Boston's Mayor Kevin White.
After earning experience as an assistant, Travaglini entered the political world in the 1984 election for the Boston City Council. He was successfully nominated as Boston's District 9 City Councilor. He served at this post until 1992, when he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate. In 1999, he moved up in rank to Majority Whip of the Senate.
Travaglini reached the pinnacle of his political career in 2003 when he was elected as President of the Massachusetts Senate. He was the first Italian American to lead either legislative branch in Massachusetts.
He resigned from the Massachusetts Senate position on March 19, 2007 in order to start his own lobbying firm, Travaglini Eisenberg Kiley LLC.
Education
Travaglini attended Savio Preparatory High School in East Boston and then continued on to Boston State College, where he earned a B.S. in Political Science in 1974.
Personal life
Travaglini a lifetime resident of East Boston, now resides in Winthrop, Massachusetts. He is married to Kelly (née Holtz) and has three children, Taylor, Jennifer, and Andrew.
In 2008, Travaglini spent $30,000 on an oil-on-canvas portrait by Boston-based artist Thomas Ouellette, which now hangs in the Senate Reading Room of the Massachusetts State House alongside former Senate Presidents such as Calvin Coolidge and Horace Mann. Only eleven Senate Presidents have portraits in the State House.