Dean Tran

Dean A. Tran is an American politician from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 2017 in a special election. He represented the Worcester and Middlesex District, and is a Republican. Before his election to the Massachusetts Senate, Tran was a member of the Fitchburg City Council.

Dean Tran
Massachusetts Senate Assistant Minority Whip
In office
2019 – March 26, 2020 [1]
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
from the Worcester and Middlesex district
In office
December 6, 2017 – January 2021
Preceded byJennifer Flanagan
Succeeded byJohn J. Cronin
Member of the Fitchburg City Council
In office
2005–2017
Personal details
BornHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Kathy
Children4
ResidenceFitchburg, Massachusetts
Alma materBrandeis University
Websitewww.deantran.com

Early life

Tran was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam into a successful business family. He emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 4. After fleeing Vietnam, Tran’s family spent two years in a refugee camp while waiting for their application for green cards to be approved. In 1980, he and his family were sponsored by a Catholic priest in Clinton, Massachusetts where he called his first real home. In 1986, his family relocated to Fitchburg, Massachusetts where he graduated from Fitchburg High School. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University.[2]

Political career

In 2005, Tran became the first person of color to be elected to the Fitchburg City Council. On December 5, 2017, after 12 years as a city councilor, won a special election to replace outgoing state senator Jennifer Flanagan. He defeated his Democratic opponent by nearly 700 votes.[3] He ran as an advocate for fiscal discipline and low taxes. He became the first Vietnamese American to hold an elected office in Massachusetts.

On December 20, 2017, Tran was officially sworn in to the State Senate. His senatorial district comprises Berlin, Bolton, Precincts 1 & 2 of Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, Sterling, Townsend and Westminster in north central Massachusetts.

Leadership and Committees
  • Former Assistant Minority Whip
  • Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security (ranking Minority member)
  • Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight
  • Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government
  • Joint Committee on Transportation
  • Joint Committee on Higher Education
  • Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy

Personal life

Tran is married to his wife Kerry. They have four children: Isabelle, Olivia, Madilyn, and Dean. In his spare time, Tran likes to spend time with his family and is a volunteer coach for youth soccer, basketball, and baseball.[2] Before being elected to the state senate, he served on the Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America, NVC, the Corporator Board for the Central Massachusetts YMCS, and the Board of Trustees for Mount Wachusett Community College.[2]

Scandal

Tran was stripped of his leadership post as assistant minority whip after the Senate Ethics Committee ruled he violated ethics and campaign rules by having staffers work on his 2018 re-election campaign while on state time.[4] Tran has also been reported to be connected in some way with a criminal investigation by the Fitchburg Police Department and the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, regarding a stolen firearm, however he has not as yet been charged with any criminal offense.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Senate Committee on Ethics finds that Sen. Dean Tran violated campaign regulations", Lowellsun.com, March 26, 2020
  2. "About Dean". Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  3. Burke, Amanda (December 5, 2017). "GOP's Dean Tran wins special election for state Senate seat by over 600 votes". Sentinel & Enterprise. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  4. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/21/metro/mass-senator-dinged-ethics-inquiry-forms-legal-defense-fund/
  5. https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/tran-linked-to-police-investigation/
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