Brian Lees
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Brian P. Lees (b. July 25, 1953 in Amesbury, Massachusetts) is a Massachusetts politician, currently serving as the Clerk of Courts for Hampden County. Until 2007, he had been the State Senator from the First Hampden and Hampshire District and the Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader.
Lees represented the Massachusetts communities of Springfield, East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow and Wilbraham, in the county of Hampden; and Belchertown and Granby, in the county of Hampshire.
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[edit] Biography
Lees attended Amesbury High School (class of 1971) and graduated in Bachelor of Business Administration from Salem State College in 1975. Lees was an executive with MeadWestvaco Corporation.
Brian Lees is married to Nancy and they reside in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
[edit] Political life
Early in his career, he served as Staff Assistant to U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke.
In 1986 Lees ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress against Congressman Edward Boland, (D), Springfield, MA. Two years later he won an upset victory over Springfield City Council President Frank Keough for the State Senate seat he currently holds. Lees survived re-election in 1990 in a race against Democrat Edward Ryan and in 1992 against Timothy Rooke. Lees did not face serious competition after 1992 and had been unopposed in his two previous elections before deciding to retire in 2006.
The leader of the Massachusetts Republican caucus since 1993, Lees is just one of six Republicans in the State Senate, which is made up of forty senators.
[edit] Political alignment
A fiscal conservative and social moderate, Lees is considered pro-choice and tends to vote with the gun lobby[1].
Within the walls of the State House, Lees is known as a consensus builder by creating and sustaining debate in the Senate chamber. He is known for his ability to create compromises and successfully move legislation through the heavily Democratic controlled legislature[citation needed]. Lees was instrumental in the installation of television cameras inside the senate chamber, so that the proceedings could be viewed by the public.
His yearly "Senior Forum" event drew large crowds of senior citizens.
[edit] Committee memberships
Lees currently served on the Senate committee on Ethics & Rules, The Judiciary Committee, The Telecommunication Committee, Utilities & Energy Committee and the Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development Committee.
[edit] Future moves
He is not seeking a 10th term in the Senate and has endorsed his staffer, Jack Villamaino, a Republican candidate, to replace him in the senate.
Upon deciding to not seek reelection to the State Senate, speculation in Springfield and its suburbs grew over Lees' next move. He had suggested moving into Springfield proper and run for mayor. Ultimately, he ran for Clerk of Courts as a write-in during for the Republican primary. He went on to win the general in November.
[edit] Others
He is listed as being Corporator at Springfield YMCA, Springfield Library and Museums Association, Bright Side, and trustee of Willie Ross School for the Deaf
