Antonio F. D. "Tony" Cabral is the current member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 13th Bristol district. He is of Portuguese descent.

Early life

In 1969, when Cabral was 14 years old, he and his family emigrated from

Pico Island Pico Island (''Ilha do Pico,'' ) is an island in the Central Group, Azores, Central Group of the Portugal, Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Mount Pico, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the A ...

in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...

. When he first came to the United States, no one in his family spoke English. He attended school during the day, and worked at night to help support his family. Cabral graduated from

Bristol Community College Bristol Community College (Bristol) is a public community college with four campuses in Southeastern Massachusetts. History The college was originally established in December 1965 when it was instituted by the Massachusetts Board of Regional C ...

and

Southeastern Massachusetts University The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth or UMassD) is a Public university, public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the southernmost campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Formerly "Southeas ...

(now UMass Dartmouth) and began a career as a public school teacher. Cabral taught languages and social studies in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in and the county seat of Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River, which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. As of the 2020 United States ...

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

, and

Carver, Massachusetts Carver is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,645 at the 2020 census. It is named for John Carver (Mayflower passenger), John Carver, the first governor of the Plymouth Colony. The town features two po ...

before entering politics.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Cabral was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1990. He is the current chairman of the House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets and also serves on the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting. As a State Representative, Cabral worked to extend historic tax credits, pass anti-bullying legislation, secure education funds for New Bedford, and strengthen registration requirements for sex offenders. He is also a supporter of New Bedford's fishermen and the South Coast Rail. He has also supported a proposal that would allow for hearings to be held in cases involving certain types of gun crime.

2011 mayoral campaign

On June 6, 2011, Cabral announced that he was running for Mayor of New Bedford. He ran against City Councilor Linda M. Morad and Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

Jon Mitchell. Incumbent Mayor Scott W. Lang did not run for re-election. On November 8, 2011, Cabral was defeated in the mayoral race by Mitchell 52%-48%, taking a total of 9,039 votes to Jon Mitchell's 9,878 votes.

Honours

Cabral has received the ''Collar of the

Order of Timor-Leste The Order of Timor-Leste () is the highest Order (honour), honour currently awarded by Timor-Leste. Established in 2009, the order was created after the original honours granted by Timor-Leste. It is of a more general and broader nature than the ...

'' in 2017.Government of Timor-Leste
''Tony Cabral receives Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste'', 24 May 2017
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References

1955 births Portuguese emigrants to the United States American people of Azorean descent Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives University of Massachusetts Dartmouth alumni Politicians from New Bedford, Massachusetts Living people 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub

Early life

Massachusetts House of Representatives

2011 mayoral campaign

Honours

See also

References