John F. Tierney
John F. Tierney (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from January 3, 1997 to January 3, 2015. He is a Democrat who represented the state's 6th district, which includes the state's North Shore and Cape Ann. Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Tierney graduated from Salem State College and Suffolk University Law School. He worked in private law and served on the Salem Chamber of Commerce from 1976 to 1997. Tierney first ran for the House of Representatives in 1994 against Republican incumbent Peter G. Torkildsen, losing by a small margin, but defeated Torkildsen in the subsequent election and was sworn in as a U.S. representative in 1997. A liberal member of Congress, Tierney has voted along with other Democratic Representatives from Massachusetts. He sits on the House Committee on Education and Labor, where his priorities include green energy and increased college access. He has co-authored several pieces of legislation, including the Green Jobs Act of 2007 and College Affordability and Accountability Act of 2008. He is the former chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, where he helped establish the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. From 1996 to 2012, Tierney won re-election in each term. He faced a tougher challenge after his wife Patrice was convicted of felony tax fraud in 2010. In 2014 he lost the Democratic nomination to Seth Moulton.