| Vinny deMacedo | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 1st Plymouth district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Joseph Gallitano |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Viriato Manuel Pereira de Macedo October 16, 1965 Brava, Cape Verde |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jennifer de Macedo |
| Children | 3 |
| Religion | Christian; Catholic |
| Website | http://www.demacedo.org |
Viriato Manuel Pereira de Macedo (born October 16, 1965[1]), also popularly known as Vinny deMacedo, is a Cape Verdean American politician, and is the Massachusetts State Representative for the First Plymouth District, which comprises the precincts 2 to 10, 12 and 14 of the town of Plymouth, in Plymouth County. He is a Republican.
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deMacedo had no political experience prior to becoming a candidate for the elections on November 3, 1998 for a term as a Massachusetts State Representative, against the Democratic incumbent Joseph Gallitano. He won the election by a tight margin of 189 votes,[2] and since then he has been reelected every election. Vinny deMacedo opposed same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004 and co-sponsored an amendment to the state constitution to ban the practice.[3] He opposed a compromise amendment banning same-sex marriages and allowing civil unions.[4] He was a candidate for his sixth term in the elections of November 4, 2008.[5] Viriato has been named legislator of the year for 2008 by Massachusetts Town Clerks' Association. He is also a member of the Cedarville and Sagamore Business Association and the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce.
Macedo was born in Brava, Cape Verde, but traveled with his parents to New England in 1966, when he was 6 months old. First settled in Dorchester, three years later they moved to Kingston, where Vinny deMacedo was raised. He graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School in 1983. He then went to study in New York's The King's College, where he graduated with a BA in Business Administration in 1987.
After spending a few years working for his brother in the car business, in 1991 deMacedo was able to start his own gas station in Cedarville. He still owns, to the present date, the RWA Mobil Station in Route 3A.
deMacedo is married to Jennifer de Macedo, and is the father of three children.
He visited Cape Verde in January 2008, for the first time since moving to the United States, in a political mission,[6] and met several members of the Cape Verdean government, including the President Pedro Pires.[7]
| Preceded by Joseph Gallitano |
Massachusetts State Representative 1st Plymouth District 1999–present |
Succeeded by Current representative |
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