Political Career
Bulger became interested in politics in 1959 and was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1961. After serving four terms, Bulger was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 1970 representing the First Suffolk District. He was elected President of the Massachusetts State Senate in 1978 and re-elected every two years to 1996, making his time as State Senate President the longest tenure in Massachusetts history.
Bulger joined other Irish American neighborhood leaders in opposition to court-ordered desegregated busing.
Like other Massachusetts politicians who were elected leaders of their legislative chambers, Bulger was frequently pilloried in the media, but remained very popular in his district. He won his district election every two years from 1961 to 1994 without ever facing a challenge more serious than he faced in the Democratic primary in 1988, when Stephen Holt, a neophyte liberal activist and bookstore owner from Dorchester won 31 out of 60 precincts, only to lose the district by a landslide due to the huge turnout of Bulger supporters in South Boston.
Read more about this topic: William M. Bulger
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