Jim Shea | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Shea, c. 1969 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 12th Middlesex district | |
| In office January 8, 1969 – May 9, 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Felix Perrault |
| Succeeded by | Paul Guzzi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Herman James Shea Jr. December 10, 1939 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1970 (aged 30) Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | St. Joseph Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Anita Vesta McDonald
(m. 1967) |
| Relatives | Dennis J. Shea (grandfather) |
| Education | Tufts University (AB) |
| Signature |  |
Herman James "Jim" Shea Jr. (December 10, 1939 – May 9, 1970) was an American politician from the state of Massachusetts. A resident of Newton for most of his life, he graduated from Tufts University and, after dropping out of the University of Virginia School of Law, found employment as a civil engineer, real estate broker, and university instructor. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Newton Board of Aldermen as well as in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
From his election to the House in 1968, freshman legislator Shea engaged in activism against the Vietnam War and supported the burgeoning modern environmental movement. A bill he sponsored, which later bore his name, exempted Massachusetts residents from being conscripted into federal service in undeclared foreign conflicts. While it passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Francis Sargent, the Supreme Court declined to hear the state's challenge to the war's constitutionality in Massachusetts v. Laird.
Already feeling overworked soon after he entered the legislature, Shea was frequently asked to speak and floated as a candidate for higher office. Succumbing to what his wife described as "political pressures," he committed suicide by gunshot at the age of 30.