Barry Finegold is part of the next generation of Massachusetts leaders making the bold choices that will move our state and nation forward.

Barry Finegold is part of the next generation of Massachusetts leaders making the bold choices that will move our state and nation forward.

From the beginning of his career as an Andover Board of Selectmen at age 24, and then his election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives at 25, Barry Finegold has been an independent and principled voice, even when it wasn’t politically popular or it meant standing up to politics-as-usual.

Finegold is exactly the kind of leader we need to create a 21st century economy in the 5th Congressional District. He is working to revitalize the Merrimack Valley by attracting high technology businesses that create jobs and protect our environment. That’s why Barry Finegold helped create the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition and has proposed cutting-edge legislative initiatives to put the Merrimack Valley at the forefront of fuel cell technology.

During six and one half terms on Beacon Hill, Barry has earned a reputation for hard work, tenacity and results by taking the lead on critical issues such as:

• The "Massachusetts Renewable Energy Road Map," a package of policy ideas designed to invigorate our economy and protect the environment with research-and-development grants and tax incentives for Massachusetts companies developing fuel-cell technology. The legislation also creates a $1,500 state tax credit for consumers who purchase hybrid vehicles.
• The Safe Havens Act, made permanent as Massachusetts law in August 2007, establishes designated locations, such as emergency rooms or fire and police stations, where a parent can leave their newborn if they are unable to properly care for the child.
• Nursing home reforms to protect our seniors and securing funding to make Massachusetts one of the first states to establish a consumer report card on nursing homes.
• Representative Finegold helped fight for a comprehensive Rules package to improve our government, limit the power of entrenched interests and make it more responsive to our families.
• As co-chair of the North East Solid Waste Committee, Finegold secured $54 million to assist communities throughout the Merrimack Valley such as Dracut, Westford, and Tewksbury to address increasing costs of waste disposal. This funding helped towns and cities meet environmental regulations and implement clean air technology upgrades at power plants.
• In 2000, Barry authored the Holocaust Restitution Bill, which ensured that the 3500 Massachusetts holocaust survivors did not have to pay taxes or incur penalties on recovered assets from the Swiss Government.

In 1999, Finegold won the Kennedy School Fenn Award for Political Leadership for his leadership in bringing together legislators and officials from New Hampshire and Massachusetts to address the traffic problems on I-93. His efforts led to the opening of the breakdown lane during rush hours, which greatly reduced congestion during peak commuting hours.

Finegold learned the value of hard work and education from his parents: his mother taught for 33 years in the Andover Public Schools and his father taught 33 years at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill. Barry attended both the Andover and Tewksbury public schools and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College.

Taking classes at night, Representative Finegold graduated from the Massachusetts School of Law in Andover and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1998. He is presently a partner with the law firm of Dalton & Finegold, LLP. Finegold also holds a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

On Beacon Hill, Representative Finegold is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and was recently appointed to Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

Barry, his wife Amy, and two daughters live in Andover, MA.