Sheila Harrington
{{short description|Massachusetts state representative}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| state_house = Massachusetts
| district = 1st Middlesex
| image = File:Sheila Harrington.jpg
| caption =
| term_start = January 5, 2011
| term_end = February 16, 2022
| predecessor = Robert Hargraves
| successor = Margaret Scarsdale
| children = 3
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|9|8}}
| birth_place = Salem, Massachusetts
| spouse = Steve Harrington
| website = {{ubl| {{URL|https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/SCH1|Government website}}| {{URL|https://repharrington.com/|Official website}}| {{URL|https://attorneyharrington.com/|Business website}}}}
| party = Republican
| profession = Attorney
| education = {{ubl|Providence College (AB)| New England Law Boston (JD)}}
}}
Sheila Curran Harrington (born September 8, 1960) is an American politician and attorney. She represented the 1st Middlesex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2011 until February 2022, when she resigned to take up the position of Clerk Magistrate of the Gardner District Court.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-19 |title=Baker taps GOP Rep. Shelia Harrington for court post |url=https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2022/01/19/baker-taps-gop-rep-shelia-harrington-for-court-post |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Sentinel and Enterprise |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Mass. Governor’s Council unanimously approve 2 first-degree murder commutations |url=https://whdh.com/news/mass-governors-council-unanimously-approve-2-first-degree-murder-commutations/ |access-date=2023-01-04 |language=en-US}} She is a member of the Republican party.{{cite web |title=About Sheila |url=http://www.repharrington.com/?page_id=11 |access-date=19 April 2015 |website=Sheila Harrington for Massachusetts State Representative |publisher=The Committee to Elect Sheila Harrington}}
Her district included the towns of Groton, Dunstable, Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby and a precinct in Ayer and Devens.
She served as Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee and as a member of both the Committee on Rules and the House Committee on Personnel and Administration. She had previously served as the Ranking Member on the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee and as a Member of the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee.
Early life and education
Sheila Harrington was born in Salem, Massachusetts and grew up in Danvers, Massachusetts. She attended high school in Peabody at Bishop Fenwick High School She then attended Providence College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work in 1982. Following college, she attended the New England School of Law and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1986.{{cite web|title=Sheila C. Harrington|url=https://malegislature.gov/People/Profile/SCH1|website=malegislature.gov|access-date=19 April 2015}}
Career
Sheila has been a practicing attorney in Massachusetts for over 30 years. She continues to have a law practice in Groton, Massachusetts along with two other attorneys.
One of Harrington's most notable positions is her stance on Transgender rights. In an op-ed from the Lowell Sun she documented how she came to change her position from opposition to support of transgender rights., how after "passionately protesting a bill on the Massachusetts House Floor", she came to realize, that was wrong in her own mind.
In an op-ed from the Lowell Sun, Harrington described how she came to change her position from opposition to support of transgender rights.{{cite web |date=10 July 2017 |title=My Journey from Opposing to Backing Transgender Rights |url=https://www.lowellsun.com/2017/07/10/rep-sheila-harrington-my-journey-from-opposing-to-backing-transgender-rights/ |work=Lowell Sun}}
Electoral history
class="wikitable" |
! colspan="4" |2010 Massachusetts House of Representatives General Election, 1st Middlesex District{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Sheila_Harrington|title = Sheila Harrington}} |
Party
|Candidate |Votes |% |
Republican
|Sheila Harrington |10,378 |62.5 |
Democrat
|Jesse Reich |6,222 |38.5 |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Massachusetts House of Representatives}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Sheila}}
Category:Providence College alumni
Category:New England Law Boston alumni
Category:Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Category:Women state legislators in Massachusetts
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:Politicians from Salem, Massachusetts
Category:People from Danvers, Massachusetts
Category:People from Groton, Massachusetts
Category:Bishop Fenwick High School (Peabody, Massachusetts) alumni
Category:21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court