Michael Joseph "Mike" Harrington (born September 2, 1936) is an American politician, lawyer and a former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.
Life and career
Harrington is the son of former State Senator,
Salem mayor, and judge
Joseph B. Harrington. Harrington graduated from
St. John's Preparatory School, in
Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beach ...
, in 1954, then earned a B.A. at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1958 and a
J.D. at
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1961.
After serving on the
Salem City Council from 1960 to 1963, Harrington was elected to the
Massachusetts State Legislature in 1964, serving until 1969. On September 30, 1969, he won a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of U.S. Representative
William H. Bates. Harrington defeated
Republican state Senator
William L. Saltonstall with 52% of the vote. Running in opposition to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, he became the first
Democrat to win the
6th Congressional district since 1875. He was subsequently re-elected to four full terms as a Congressman before retiring in 1978.
On July 8, 1975, Rep. Harrington called on House Speaker
Carl Albert
Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a ...
to convene the Democratic party committee to examine a secrecy system which he said has covered up "grotesque violations of the law" abroad by the CIA.
At a news conference the Massachusetts Democrat also released three other letters countering efforts in the House to censure him for his role in surfacing the disclosure in 1974 that the CIA spent 11 million dollars (1974 dollars not inflation adjusted) to influence Chilean politics.
Following his retirement from Congress, he became a real estate developer. After a brief run for the Democratic nomination for
Massachusetts State Treasurer in 1990, Harrington was charged in 2000 for making false statements to financial institutions, banks, and the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...
. As a result, his law licence was suspended for three years and he was fined $100,000.
Harrington is a resident of
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Sho ...
.
He is also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of
Issue One
Issue One is an American nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influence of money ...
.
See also
*
The Harrington family
References
*
Footnotes
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Michael J.
1936 births
Harvard Law School alumni
Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Living people
Massachusetts city council members
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
St. John's Preparatory School (Massachusetts) alumni
20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives