There was no Lowell City Council meeting this week so in today’s newsletter I’ll write about some Lowell political history, specifically our representatives in Congress since 1960.

1960 – F. Bradford Morse – Republican Edith Nourse Rogers had represented Lowell’s Congressional District since 1925. When she died on September 10, 1960, her name was already printed on the ballot for the Republican Primary which was held just three days later. However, F. Bradford Morse, who had been a Lowell City Councilor but more recently had been a senior official in the Veterans Administration in Washington, mounted a successful write-in campaign and became the Republican nominee. In the November election, Morse (123,161) defeated Democrat William C. Madden of Lawrence (102,765).

1962 – F. Bradford Morse – Republican incumbent F. Bradford Morse defeated Democratic challenger Thomas J. Lane of Lawrence.

1964 – F. Bradford Morse – Republican incumbent F. Bradford Morse (137,735) defeated Democratic challenger George W Arvanitis of Lawrence (74,133). In the Democratic Primary, Arvanitis defeated Andrew L. Benson of Melrose and David G. Bloch of Billerica. In the Republican Primary, Morse was unopposed.

1966 – F. Bradford Morse – Republican incumbent F. Bradford Morse defeated Charles N. Tsapatsaris of Lowell.

1968 – F. Bradford Morse – Republican incumbent F. Bradford Morse defeated Robert Maguire. Both were unopposed in their respective primaries.

1970 – F. Bradford Morse – Republican incumbent F. Bradford Morse (116,666) defeated Democrat Richard Williams (67,646). Neither was opposed in their respective primaries.

1972 – Paul W. Cronin – In May 1972, incumbent F. Bradford Morse resigned from Congress when President Richard Nixon appointed him Under Secretary General for Political and General Assembly Affairs at the United Nations. In the general election, Republican Paul W. Cronin of Andover (110,970) defeated Democrat John F. Kerry of Lowell (92,847). In the Democratic Primary, Kerry defeated eight other candidates:

1. John F. Kerry – 20,771
2. Paul J. Sheehy – 15,641
3. Anthony R. DiFruscia – 12,222
4. John J. Desmond – 10,213
5. Robert B. Kennedy – 5,632
6. Frederick J. Finnegan – 2,558
7. Glenn M. Cooper – 2,282
8. Daniel P. Kiley Jr. – 2,221
9. Helen Gilbride Droney – 2,124

In the Republican Primary, Cronin prevailed over three others:

1. Paul W. Cronin – 10,812
2. Ellen A. Sampson – 4,330
3. Armand Morissette – 2,486
4. George P. Macheras – 790

1974 – Paul E. Tsongas – In the general election, Democrat Paul E. Tsongas (99,518) defeated Republican incumbent Paul W. Cronin (64,596). In Democratic Primary, Tsongas (45,655) defeated William C. Madden (17,215). Cronin was unopposed in the Republican Primary.

1976 – Paul E. Tsongas – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Paul E. Tsongas (144,217) defeated Republican Roger P. Durkin (70,036). Neither was opposed in their respective primaries.

1978 – James M. Shannon – Democratic incumbent Paul E. Tsongas ran for the U.S. Senate which left an open Congressional seat. In the general election, Democrat James M. Shannon (90,256) defeated Republican John J. Buckley III (48,685) and Independent James J. Gaffney III (33,835). In the Republican Primary, Buckley (11,772) defeated Nicholas D. Rizzo (9,881). In the Democratic Primary, Shannon defeated five other candidates:

1. James M. Shannon – 18,529
2. Raymond F. Rourke – 17,743
3. Robert F. Hatem – 16,359
4. John E. Markey – 14,046
5. Michael A. McLaughlin – 12,644
6. Ronald A. Burba – 3,524

1980 – James M. Shannon – In the general election, Democratic incumbent James M. Shannon (136,7580) defeated Republican William C. Sawyer (70,547). In the Democratic Primary, Shannon (41,207) defeated Robert F. Hatem (34,573). In the Republican Primary, Sawyer was unopposed.

1982 – James M. Shannon – In the general election, Democratic incumbent James M. Shannon (140,177) defeated Libertarian Angelo L. Laudani (25,224). Shannon was unopposed in the Democratic Primary.

1984 – Chester G. Atkins – Democratic incumbent James M. Shannon ran for U.S. Senate which left an open Congressional seat. In the general election, Democrat Chester G. Atkins (120,008) defeated Republican Gregory S. Hyatt (104,912). In the Democratic primary, Atkins (43,538) defeated Philip L. Shea (38,737). In the Republican primary, Hyatt (16,148) defeated Thomas Tierney (11,449).

1986 – Chester G. Atkins – Democratic incumbent Chester G. Atkins was unopposed in the general election and in the primary.

1988 – Chester G. Atkins – Democratic incumbent Chester G. Atkins was unopposed in the general election and in the primary.

1990 – Chester G. Atkins – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Chester G. Atkins (110,232) defeated Republican John McGovern (101,017). Atkins was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the Republican Primary, McGovern (26,940) defeated Doral T. Coleman (14,548).

1992 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democrat Martin T. Meehan (133,844) defeated Republican Paul W. Cronin (96,206). In the Democratic Primary, Meehan (50,300) defeated incumbent Chester G. Atkins (26,855). In the Republican Primary, Cronin (11,545) defeated Michael Conway (10,249).

1994 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan (140,725) defeated Republican David E. Coleman (60,734). In the Democratic Primary, Meehan (35,739) defeated Thomas J. Quinn (10,978). In the Republican Primary, Coleman was unopposed.

1996 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan was unopposed. In the Democratic Primary, Meehan (23,405) defeated Patrick Raymond (4,156).

1998 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan (127,418) defeated Republican David E. Coleman (52,725). Both candidates were unopposed in their respective primaries.

2000 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan was unopposed. In the Democratic Primary, Meehan (16,394) defeated Thomas P. Tierney (4,253) and Joseph F. Osbaldeston (1,687).

2002 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan (122,562) defeated Republican Charles F. McCarthy (69,337) and Libertarian Ilana Freedman (11,729). Both Meehan and McCarthy were unopposed in their respective primaries.

2004 – Martin T. Meehan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan (179,652) defeated Thomas P. Tierney (88,232). Neither faced opposition in their respective primaries.

2006 – Martin T. Meehan – Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan was unopposed in the general election and in the primary.

2007 – Nicola S. Tsongas – Democratic incumbent Martin T. Meehan resigned from Congress in March 2007 after being named Chancellor of University of Massachusetts Lowell. In the special election held to fill the seat, Democrat Nicola S. Tsongas (54,359) defeated Republican Jim Ogonowski (47,782), and unenrolled candidates Patrick O. Murphy (2,175) and Kurt Hayes (1,126). In the Special Republican Primary, Ogonowski (12,022) defeated Thomas P. Tierney (1,471). In the Special Democratic Primary, Tsongas defeated four other candidates:

1. Nicola S. Tsongas – 19,821
2. Eileen M. Donoghue – 17,385
3. James B. Eldridge – 8,042
4. Barry R. Finegold – 6,999
5. James R. Miceli – 3,297

2008 – Nicola S. Tsongas – Democratic incumbent Nicola S. Tsongas was unopposed in the general election and in the primary.

2010 – Nicola S. Tsongas – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Nicola S. Tsongas (122,858) defeated Republican Jonathan A. Golnik (94,646) and unenrolled candidates Dale E. Brown (4,387) and Robert M. Clark (1,991). In the Democratic Primary, Tsongas was unopposed. In the Republican Primary, Golnik (11,384) defeated Sam S. Meas (7,601), Thomas J. M. Weaver (6,143), and Robert L. Shapiro (4,351).

2012 – Nicola S. Tsongas – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Nicola S. Tsongas (180,928) defeated Republican Jonathan A. Golnik (91,559). Neither had opposition in their respective primaries.

2014 – Nicola S. Tsongas – Democratic incumbent Nicola S. Tsongas (139,104) defeated Republican Roseann Wofford (81,638). Neither faced opposition in their respective primaries.

2016 – Nicola S. Tsongas – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Nicola S. Tsongas (236,713) defeated Republican Ann Wofford (107,519). Both were unopposed in their respective primaries.

2018 – Lori Loureiro Trahan – Democratic incumbent Nicola S. Tsongas did not seek reelection which left an open seat. In the general election, Democrat Lori Loureiro Trahan (173,175) defeated Republican Rick Green (93,445) and unenrolled candidate Michael P. Mullen (12,572). In the Republican Primary, Green was unopposed. In the Democratic Primary, Trahan defeated nine other candidates:

1. Lori Loureiro Trahan – 18,580
2. Daniel Arrigg Koh – 18,435
3. Barbara A. L’Italien – 13,018
4. Juana B. Matias – 12,993
5. Rufus Gifford – 12,873
6. Alexandra E. Chandler – 4,846
7. Beej Das – 1,492
8. Jeffrey D. Ballinger – 1,381
9. Bopha Malone – 1,365
10. Leonard H. Golder – 584

2020 – Lori Loureiro Trahan – Democratic incumbent Lori Loureiro Trahan was unopposed in the general election and in the primary.

2022 – Lori Loureiro Trahan – In the general election, Democratic incumbent Lori Trahan (154,496) defeated Republican challenger Dean Tran (88,585). Both were unopposed in their respective primaries.

2024 – Lori Loureiro Trahan – Democratic incumbent Lori Trahan was unopposed in the general election and in the primary.

2026 – The 2026 state election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. For the office Representative in Congress, Democratic incumbent Lori Trahan is being challenged by Republican Gary Grossi of Acton, and unenrolled candidate Dennis Conlon of Hudson.

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This week in my Seen & Heard column, I commented on a New York Times article about home title theft; noted another Times article about two people who are trying to save old filmstrips from destruction; commented on the obituary of Gloria Steinem; reviewed the book Two Lives, One Russia by Nicholas Danilov; and recommended the YouTube channel, Moodi Foodi Berlin, which is about street food vendors in Berlin, Germany.

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Here’s some info on some Lowell Walks I’ll be leading this fall:

Saturday, September 26 & Sunday, September 27, 2026, both at 10am – Walking tour of Lowell Cemetery. The tour takes 90 minutes and begins at the Lawrence Street entrance to the cemetery. It is free and requires no registration. The same tour is offered on both days.

Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 10am – “Secrets of Lowell Cemetery” tour which is part of the of the Poe in Lowell Festival. Edgar Allan Poe came to Lowell at least three times to lecture but also to spend time with a female friend who is buried in Lowell Cemetery. Learn their story and the stories of others involved in their orbit. This tour is free and begins at the Knapp Avenue entrance of the cemetery (77 Knapp Avenue).