Tom Birmingham

Thomas Francis Birmingham (born August 4, 1949) is the former President of the Massachusetts Senate. He is widely credited, along with Mark Roosevelt, with passage of a sweeping education bill, the Education Reform Act of 1993. He is a graduate of Austin Preparatory School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard College, and Harvard Law School, and he received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University after his 1972 graduation from Harvard College. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts governor in 2002, despite impressive fundraising. An avid cyclist, Birmingham biked across the state of Massachusetts in 2001.[1][2]

Tom Birmingham
Tom Birmingham at a roundtable organized by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University on 30 January 2009.
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office January 1996 – December 2002
Preceded by	William M. Bulger
Succeeded by	Robert Travaglini
Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex district
In office January 1991 – December 2002
Preceded by	Francis D. Doris
Succeeded by	Jarrett Barrios
Personal details
Born	Thomas Francis Birmingham August 4, 1949
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Selma Botman
Children	2
Alma mater	Harvard, Harvard Law

In 1999, his proposal to keep the home stadium of The New England Patriots in Massachusetts was accepted by Patriots owner Robert Kraft and passed by the state legislature.

Birmingham served as Senior Counsel at the law firm of Edwards Wildman Palmer, taught state and local government at Tufts University and education policy at Northeastern University in Boston. In March 2014, he joined Citizen Schools Massachusetts as Executive Director.[3] In early 2015, he left Citizen Schools Massachusetts to become a distinguished senior fellow in education at Pioneer Institute.[4] His is listed as a notable holder of the Birmingham coat of arms. His wife, Selma Botman, has a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University and served as the President of the University of Southern Maine. They have two daughters, Erica and Megan.[5]

See also

• 1997–1998 Massachusetts legislature
• 1999–2000 Massachusetts legislature
• 2001–2002 Massachusetts legislature

References

1. "Pedaling pol pumps up bicycling voters". TELEGRAM & GAZETTE. 2001-09-02.
2. "Sen. Birmingham's "Tour de Mass"" (PDF). MassBike Newsletter. 2001-11-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 20, 2012.
3. "PRESS RELEASE: Tom Birmingham Joins Citizen Schools Massachusetts as Executive Director". Archived from the original on 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
4. Former senate president Tom Birmingham departs Citizen Schools to join Pioneer Institute
5. An Acquaintance Gets Into the Act

External links

• Birmingham Family Crest
• Distinguished Senior Fellow in Education at Pioneer Institute