Shawn Dooley should not be confused with Shaun Dooley.
| Shawn Dooley | |
| Birth Name: | Shawn Clifford Dooley[1] |
| State House: | Massachusetts |
| District: | 9th Norfolk |
| Term Start: | January 29, 2014 |
| Term End: | December 27, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | Daniel Winslow |
| Successor: | Marcus Vaughn |
| Spouse: | Carolyn "Cici" Van Tine |
| Children: | 4 |
| Alma Mater: | Auburn University Anna Maria College |
| Party: | Republican |
| Nationality: | American |
| Residence: | Wrentham, Massachusetts |
Shawn C. Dooley is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 9th Norfolk district, succeeding Dan Winslow. The 9th Norfolk District constitutes all or parts of the Towns of Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville, Walpole, and Wrentham.[2] A member of the Republican Party, he was sworn in January 29, 2014.[3] In 2022, he vacated the seat to run for the Massachusetts State Senate, he was defeated by incumbent Becca Rausch.
Dooley received his bachelor's degree from Auburn University, and a master's degree from Anna Maria College. He is married to Family Law Attorney Carolyn (CiCi) Van Tine and they have four children.[4]
Prior to his election to the state house, he served as the elected Norfolk Town Clerk as well as the Chairman of the Norfolk School Committee.
Dooley was elected to the Norfolk School Committee at the May 11th, 2010 town election. That year he was also appointed to the town's zoning board of appeals by the select board.[5] In 2011 he elected as Norfolk's town clerk and was appointed to Norfolk's Board of Health and the School Building Committee. According to Norfolk's 2011 Annual Report, Shawn Dooley was also appointed a Justice of the Peace by Governor Deval Patrick and performed numerous marriage ceremonies in 2012, many of which were held at the gazebo on Town Hill. On Tuesday, April 30, 2013 he was reelected to the Norfolk School Committee. Upon his election to the state house, Dooley resigned his school committee seat.
Dooley made national headlines for his bill on preventing Chinese owned and other non-market economy nations from participating in the state bid process for critical infrastructure such as rail. The impetus of this bill was when China's government owned CRRC gained the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority contract for manufacturing orange lines cars. His original opinion piece sparked national coverage including Bloomberg, NPR, Washington Post and NBC radio. Similar bills were filed in both the U.S. House and Senate and passed in a bipartisan fashion.[6] [7]
In August 2020, the conservative website New Boston Post published an excerpt from Representative Dooley’s nightly Facebook post on the pandemic criticizing Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and calling him "King Charles" for implementing COVID-19 restrictions without consulting the legislature and issuing numerous executive orders under the guise of a state of emergency, after a spike of cases rose in Massachusetts.[8]
On January 3, 2021, Dooley challenged Trump supporter Jim Lyons for the Chairmanship of the Massachusetts Republican Party in an effort to "capture that middle ground as opposed to going far hard-right". Dooley lost to Lyons with a vote of the Republican State Committee 39-36.[9]
In 2022, Dooley ran for the Massachusetts State Senate. He was defeated by incumbent Democrat Becca Rausch, 55-45.[10] [11]
Rep. Dooley resigned from his seat on December 27, 2022 at 5:00pm,[12] a week before his term was set to expire. Following the resignation, outgoing Governor Charlie Baker appointed Dooley to the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission.[13] [14]
Dooley faced no opposition in the 2014 General Election.
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Dooley | 1,101 | 98.3 | ||
| align=left | Write-ins | 19 | 1.7 | |
| align=left | Blank votes | 452 | – | |
| align=left | Total | 1,527 | 100 |
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Dooley | 656 | 53.4 | ||
| Gail Bernardo | 571 | 46.5 | ||
| align=left | Write-ins | 1 | 0.1 | |
| align=left | Blank votes | 7 | – | |
| align=left | Total | 1,235 | 100 |
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Dooley | 1,132 | 99.0 | ||
| align=left | Write-ins | 11 | 0.96 | |
| align=left | Blank votes | 726 | – | |
| align=left | Total | 1,869 | 100 |