John F. Keenan (state senator)


John F. Keenan, is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate for the Norfolk and Plymouth district.
Prior to being elected to the Massachusetts State Senate he served on the Quincy City Council from 2003 to 2012. He finished his term on the Quincy City Council in January 2012 and did not seek re-election. He was sworn in to the State Senate on January 5, 2011. Senator Keenan ran unopposed in the general election in November 2012.

Early life

John was born the fourth of seven children of Philip and Loretta Keenan. His father worked in the mailing room of the Record American, and then the Boston Herald, while his mother worked at Filene’s department store and then CNA Insurance. John was raised in Quincy and attended the Quincy Public Schools, graduating in 1982 from North Quincy High School. He went to Harvard University, earning his way through by working in the athletic department equipment room. He also worked the Saturday overnight shift at the Herald. John graduated with honors from Harvard in 1986, with a government concentration. Three years later, he graduated from Suffolk University Law School.
After law school, John worked first as a litigator, then as a public defender, followed by work as an attorney combating insurance fraud. He is admitted to practice in all Massachusetts State Courts, the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal First Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
While in law school, John was appointed to serve as the Chairperson of the Quincy Mayor’s Commission on Handicapped Affairs, and was then appointed to the Quincy Zoning Board of Appeals, on which he served for seven years. In 1997 he was appointed Executive Secretary in the administration of Quincy Mayor Jim Sheets. As Executive Secretary he managed 22 municipal department heads and was responsible for the preparation and presentation of Quincy’s budget and the review of all financial matters. In 2001, John became Executive Director of the Norfolk County Retirement System, a public pension system with approximately 10,000 active and retired members, and assets of over $500 million.

Quincy City Council

In 2003, John was appointed to the Quincy City Council to fill a vacant seat, and was elected Councilor at Large in 2004. He was re-elected Councilor at Large four times, the last time topping the ticket. He served as Chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee for eight years.

Massachusetts State Senate

2010 elections

In 2010, John F. Keenan ran for the Massachusetts State Senate, for the Norfolk and Plymouth district. He beat a Democratic Party primary challenger, Arthur Steven Tobin, with 9,539 to Tobin's 8,146, well over 55% of the vote. In the general election, Keenan defeated Republican Daniel M. Dewey and Independent Laura Innis, 29,982 votes to 18,582 for Dewey and 5,152 for Innis.

2012 elections

In 2012, Keenan, running for reelection, was unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving all 5,309 votes cast. In the general election, he was unopposed, but garnered about 75% of the vote, with over 16,000 blank votes being submitted. His second term began in January, 2013.

2014 elections

In 2014, Keenan faced republican challenger Les Gosule. A resident of Quincy, Massachusetts who is the father of a murder victim and one of the 'Three Strikes Activists', who worked over a decade to pass "Melissa’s Law" since his daughter Melissa Gosule was murdered in 1999. On November 4, 2014, Senator Keenan won reelection to a third term which started in January 2015.
2016 and 2018 elections
John was re-elected to the State Senate in both 2016 and 2018. He was challenged by Alexander Mendez, Independent in 2016.. He was challenged again by Alexander Mendez in 2018.

Tenure

Since being elected to the Senate, John has served as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, and the Chair of the Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets. Now in his fifth term, John currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight and as vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.
He has focused on substance use and other public health issues.

Senate Committees

John is married with three children. He is a member of the Merrymount Association, the Ward One Democratic Committee, the Quincy City Club, Friends of the Thomas Crane Public Library, and the Harvard Club of Quincy. He served for seven years as a member of the Quincy Zoning Board of Appeals, and also coached in the Sacred Heart Youth Basketball Program for several years.
Keenan is also a practicing Catholic.