Representative Shawn Dooley Republican - 9th Norfolk

State Representative Shawn C. Dooley is a full time legislator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was first sworn into the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Governor Deval Patrick on January 29, 2014 after winning a Special Election on January 7th. Rep. Dooley replaced Dan Winslow who vacated the seat in September of 2013 and is now the 5th Republican in a row to represent the 9th Norfolk District, which consists of the towns of Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville, Walpole, and Wrentham. Prior to his election, he served as the Town Clerk for the Town of Norfolk as well as the Chairman of their School Committee. He also worked in the private sector for many years, operating a small construction company and serving as a financial consultant and planner.

 

Outside of the legislature, Representative Dooley is an on-call firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT) for the Town of Plainville. He resides in Norfolk with his wife CiCi Van Tine and their four children: Caroline (23), who attends the United States Naval Academy, Emma (14), Jack (13), and William (12). He is also an animal lover and has two dogs, Buddy and Aubie, and three cats, Bat; Cheshire; and Callie.

 

In the legislature, Representative Dooley is above all dedicated to superior constituent services, abiding by the mantra “service with a smile,” and is also sharply focused on leaning out the size of the government and the burden it places on his constituents. As such he serves as a member on the Financial Services Committee as well as the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. Currently, he has turned his efforts to reforming the state’s estate tax policy, which he hopes to improve to attract businesses and wealth to the state.

 

As a first responder Representative Dooley is also dedicated to strengthening the Commonwealth's trauma system of care through his legislation to require all public buildings in Massachusetts to house bleeding control kits and a person trained to use them in order to save many lives each year. In October 2019 Representative Dooley was awarded the John Collins Warren Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons for his leadership in this area and for his work to protect patient access to safe, high-quality surgical care.

 

Recently, Representative Dooley also made national headlines for his bill on preventing Chinese owned and other non-market economy nations from participating in the state bid process for critical infrastructure such as rail. The impetus for this bill was when the communist Chinese government owned CRRC gained the MBTA contract for manufacturing Orange Line cars. His original opinion piece sparked national coverage including Bloomberg, NPR, Washington Post, and NBC radio. Similar bills were filed in both the US House and Senate and passed in a bipartisan fashion.

 

Since day one, when he quoted from President Kennedy’s “City Upon a Hill” speech in his swearing-in address and called upon his fellow legislators to put people before politics, Representative Dooley has above all sought to foster a collaborative environment within the government where both parties can have a voice and work together for the betterment of society.  In the closing of his swearing-in remarks, he laid out this vision, offering that “Our Commonwealth should not only serve as a Beacon of Hope, but as the very definition of Liberty. Let us embrace our destiny and prove to the nation what greatness can be accomplished when we stand united.”