Paul V. Shaughnessy was an American politician who served as Mayor of

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

Early life

Shaughnessy was a graduate of St. Mary's High School,

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

, and the

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Shaughnessy served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Political career

Shaughnessy began his political career in 1941 when he was elected to the Waltham School Committee. He was the youngest person ever elected to the position. In 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1953, Shaughnessy was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Waltham. In 1950 he finished third in the Democratic primary for

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth The secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Originally appointed under authority of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Eng ...

. In 1952 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Southern Middlesex Registrar of Deeds. In 1954 he ran for Middlesex County District Attorney. He lost the Democratic primary to Joseph V. Carroll 23,289 votes to 23,093. In 1955, Shaughnessy defeated incumbent Henry A. Turner to become Mayor of Waltham. During his tenure, Shaughnessy fired several city officials, clashed with the city council, banned government employees from leaving City Hall for coffee breaks, and commandeered the police chief's car after the city council refused to appropriate funds for a new mayoral vehicle. Elected the age of 36, he was the youngest Mayor in the city's history. He was succeeded by the city's oldest mayor, Austin D. Rhodes, after the 72 year old retired business executive defeated Shaughnessy in 1957. In 1958, Shaughnessy was appointed to the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission by Governor Foster Furcolo. In 1959, Peabody Mayor Philip C. O'Donnell was appointed to succeed Shaughnessy. According to Furcolo's office, Shaughnessy resigned from the position on November 15, 1958. Shaughnessy, however, contended he was forced to sign a letter of resignation before he could receive the appointment and therefore his resignation was invalid. State Attorney General Edward J. McCormack advised the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

that "there is a presumption of regularity that in fact a resignation was submitted by Shaughnessy and acted upon by the governor" and the Council approved O'Donnell's nomination. In 1962, he was appointed legal adviser to the

Federal Housing Administration The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a Independent agencies of the United States government, United States government agency founded by Pr ...

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. In 1965 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Waltham. Shaughnessy died on April 7, 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaughnessy, Paul V. 2001 deaths Boston University School of Law alumni Massachusetts Democrats Massachusetts lawyers Mayors of places in Massachusetts Northeastern University alumni Politicians from Waltham, Massachusetts