Benjamin Downing
| Benjamin Downing | ||
 | ||
| Massachusetts State Senate; Berkshire, Hampshire, and Franklin | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2007 - present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 7, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 6 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $61,133/year | |
| Per diem | $10-$100/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 2006 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Providence College, 2003 | |
| Master's | Tufts University, 2008 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | September 11, 1981 | |
| Place of birth | Great Barrington, Massachusetts | |
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Personal website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Biography
Downing earned his B.A. in Political Science from Providence College in 2003, and M.P.P. from Tufts University in 2008. His professional experience includes working as a legislative assistant for U.S. state representative John Olver from 2003 to 2005, and a communications director for the United Veterans of America from 2005 to 2006.[1]
Downing has been involved with a number of non-legislative committees, including the Governor's Advisory Commission on Local Government, the Joint Committee on Higher Education, the Joint Committee on Revenue, the Leadership Council to End Chronic Homelessness in Berkshire County, and the Pittsfield Democratic Committee.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Downing served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bills in the Third Reading, Chair | ||||
| • Global Warming and Climate Change | ||||
| • Post Audit and Oversight | ||||
| • Ways and Means | ||||
| • Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Joint | ||||
| • Higher Education Joint | ||||
| • Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy Joint, Chair | ||||
| • Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Joint, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Ways and Means Joint | ||||
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Downing served on these committees:
| Massachusetts Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Joint | ||||
| • Global Warming and Climate Change | ||||
| • Higher Education Joint | ||||
| • Housing Joint | ||||
| • Post Audit and Oversight | ||||
| • Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy Joint, Chair | ||||
| • Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Joint, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Ways and Means | ||||
| • Ways and Means Joint | ||||
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Downing served on these committees:
| Massachusetts Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Joint | ||||
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint | ||||
| • Higher Education Joint | ||||
| • Revenue Joint | ||||
| • Veterans and Federal Affairs Joint Committee Joint | ||||
| • Ways and Means | ||||
Election history
2012
Downing won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District. Downing was unopposed in the September 6 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[2]
2010
Downing won re-election to the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin District Seat in 2010. He had no opposition. He also faced no opposition in the general election on November 2, 2010.
| Massachusetts State Senate - Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin District | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Benjamin Downing (D)
|
41,627 | |||
| All Others | 264 | |||
| Blanks | 9,674 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Downing won re-election in the Senate election for the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district.[3] In this election he raised $137,388; of that total $126,823 (92.3%) was from in state contributions and $10,540 (7.7%) was from out of state contributions.[4]
| Massachusetts State Senate - Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Benjamin Downing (D)
|
63,559 | |||
| All Others | 671 | |||
| Blanks | 13,694 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006 Downing won the Senate election in the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district.[5] He raised $132,415; of that total $123,440 (93.2%) was from in-state contributions and $7,550 (5.7%) was from out of state contributions.[6]
| Massachusetts State Senate - Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Benjamin Downing (D)
|
37,763 | |||
| Matthew Kinnaman (R) | 13,595 | |||
| Dion Robbins-Zust (Green-Rainbow) | 1,988 | |||
| All Others | 25 | |||
| Blanks | 1,746 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
In 2010, Downing received $123,417 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.[7]
| Massachusetts State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Benjamin Downing's campaign in 2010 | |
| Massachusetts Credit Union League | $1,000 |
| Doherty, Gerard F | $1,000 |
| Boston Police Patrolmens Association | $1,000 |
| Song, Yongjun | $1,000 |
| Retired Public Employees | $1,000 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $123,417 |
2008
In 2008 Benjamin Downing collected $137,388 in donations. [8]
His four largest contributors in 2008 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Benjamin Downing | $2,500 |
| Massachusetts Credit Union League | $1,000 |
| Massachusetts Electrical Workers | $1,000 |
| Retired Public Employees | $1,000 |
Personal
Downing was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and raised in Pittfield, Massachusetts. He has served as a member of the Catholic Youth Center and part of the Advisory Council in the Mahiwe Performing Arts Center.
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Benjamin + Downing + Massachusetts + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Benjamin Downing News Feed
- Solar Industry Names Downing Legislator of 2013 - iBerkshires.com
- Mass. Senate Approves Bill To Create Rent Control Board For Berkshire County ... - WAMC
- Downing Sets Coffee & Conversation at Dalton CRA - iBerkshires.com
- Broadside: Debate of Mass. Senate surrogates - NECN
- State Sen. Downing receives 2013 Arts
- Downing honored by solar power group - Berkshire Eagle
- Treasurer, MSBA Director Present Award to First-Grader At Crosby - iBerkshires.com
- US Senate candidate Edward Markey to hold fundraiser in Northampton with ... - GazetteNET
- Remembering Former Mass. Gov. Paul Cellucci - WBUR
- GOP lawmakers fight for EBT photo ID - WWLP 22News
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
External links
- Downing's campaign website
- Senator Downing's website
- Official Massachusetts State Senate website
- Project Vote Smart policies
- Project Vote Smart senator biography
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006
- Senator Downing's Facebook
- Senator Downing's Twitter
- Senator Downing's Linkedln
- State Surge profile - legislative and voting track record
References
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Senator Downing
- ↑ 2012 State Primary Candidate List "Massachusetts Secretary of State," Acccessed June 26, 2012
- ↑ Return of Votes for Massachusetts State Election November 4, 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money 2008
- ↑ Return of Votes for Massachusetts State Election November 7, 2006
- ↑ Follow the Money 2006
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 Contributions
- ↑ 2008 contributors to Benjamin Downing
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate Berkshire, Hampshire, and Franklin 2007–present |
Succeeded by NA |
 |
State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
|---|---|
| Ballot Measures |
List of Massachusetts ballot measures | Local measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | Initiative laws | History of I&R | Campaign Finance Requirements | Recall process | |
| Government |
Massachusetts State Constitution | House of Representatives | Senate | |
| State executive officers |
Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Treasurer | State Auditor | Commissioner of Education | Commissioner of Insurance | Commissioner of Agriculture | Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs | Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development | Chair of Public Utilities | |
| Judiciary |
Massachusetts Supreme Court | Circuit Court of Appeals | District Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations | |
| Transparency Topics |
Public Records Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations | |
| Divisions |
State |
List of Counties |
List of Cities |
List of School Districts | |
- State legislative article missing donor information
- Current member, Massachusetts State Senate
- 2010 unopposed
- State senators first elected in 2006
- Massachusetts
- Democratic Party
- 2010 incumbent
- State Senate candidate, 2010
- 2010 winner
- 2010 candidate
- 2012 incumbent
- State Senate candidate, 2012
- 2012 primary (winner)
- 2012 general election (winner)
- 2012 unopposed
- 2012 unopposed primary and general election
