Eileen Donoghue

Eileen Donoghue
City Manager of
Lowell, Massachusetts
In office
April 11, 2018 – April 11, 2022
Preceded byKevin J. Murphy
Succeeded byThomas Golden Jr.
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
from the 1st Middlesex district
In office
January 5, 2011 – April 11, 2018
Preceded bySteven C. Panagiotakos
Succeeded byEdward J. Kennedy
Mayor of
Lowell, Massachusetts
In office
1998–2002
Preceded byEdward "Bud" Caulfield
Succeeded byRita Mercier
Personal details
BornHolyoke, Massachusetts United States
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJohn O’Connor
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst,
Suffolk University Law School

Eileen Donoghue (born 1954 in Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American politician who is the former city manager of Lowell, Massachusetts (2018–2022), a former member of the Massachusetts Senate, where she has represented the First Middlesex District from 2011 to 2018, as well as a former city councilor (1996–2008) and mayor (1998–2002) of Lowell.[1] She ran in the Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District special election in 2007 to fill the United States House of Representatives seat vacated by Marty Meehan, narrowly losing the Democratic primary to Niki Tsongas. In the Massachusetts Senate, Donoghue has been a staunch advocate for small businesses, economic development in gateway cities, and public higher education. She has spearheaded efforts to reduce student loan debt and create pathways to stable jobs.

  1. ^ John Laidler, “New state senator vows her focus will be on the economy”, “The Boston Globe”, November 14, 2010