John E. Powers

John E. Powers
Powers circa 1945
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
1959–1964
Preceded byNewland H. Holmes
Succeeded byMaurice A. Donahue
Minority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
1950–1959
Preceded byChester A. Dolan Jr.
Succeeded byFred I. Lamson
Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 4th Suffolk District
In office
1947–1964
Preceded byLeo J. Sullivan
Succeeded byJoe Moakley
Personal details
BornNovember 10, 1910
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedJuly 31, 1998(1998-07-31) (aged 87)
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
Powers circa 1939
Powers in the 1960s

John E. Powers (November 10, 1910 – July 31, 1998) was an American politician who served as President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1959 to 1964.

Powers, a former clam digger, messenger, and machine operator, served as a State Senator from Boston from 1940 to 1964 and Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County from 1964 to 1988.[1] He was twice a candidate for Mayor of Boston. He lost to incumbent John B. Hynes in the 1955 mayoral election.[2][3] Following Hynes's retirement, Powers became the front-runner for the mayorship, however he lost to Boston City Council member John F. Collins in the 1959 mayoral election,[4] despite having the most votes in the preliminary election amongst five candidates.[5]

Powers is remembered on the Boston Irish Heritage Trail.[6]

  1. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADDD375C083886&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM [bare URL]
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - Boston Mayor - Primary Race - Sep 27, 1955".
  3. ^ "Our Campaigns - Boston Mayor Race - Nov 08, 1955".
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - Boston Mayor Race - Nov 03, 1959".
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - Boston Mayor - Primary Race - Sep 22, 1959".
  6. ^ "South Boston". Irish Heritage Trail.