Marie St. Fleur

Marie P. St. Fleur (born May 4, 1962 in Grande-Rivière-du-Nord, Haiti^[1]) is a former Massachusetts State Representative who represented the Fifth Suffolk district from 1999-2011. Her district consisted of parts of the Boston neighborhoods Dorchester and Roxbury. She is the first Haitian-American to hold public office in Massachusetts. Representative St. Fleur was one of the most active supporters of John Kerry's presidential bid, often traveling to Florida to do outreach on his behalf. Representative St. Fleur was appointed Vice-Chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee by House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, a leadership position that has tremendous influence in the budget process. On January 30, 2006 Thomas F. Reilly, candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, selected St. Fleur as his running mate.^[2] Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately through the primary, then are joined as a single ticket for the election. The following day she withdrew after The Boston Globe reported that she was delinquent in tax debts and owed over $40,000 in student loans.^[3]

Personal life and education

St. Fleur emigrated from Haiti as a child and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Boston College Law School. She began practicing law in 1987. In 1999, she became the first Haitian immigrant to hold public office in Massachusetts by winning a special election to succeed Charlotte Golar Richie. She was the vice chair of the House Ways and Means committee.^[2] She has three children.^[4]

Political career

The issue of St. Fleur's withdrawal received additional media attention when it was mentioned in an exchange between Reilly and rivals for the Democratic nomination Deval Patrick and Chris Gabrieli during the gubernatorial debate on September 7, 2006. Reilly accused Gabrieli of having leaked a secret report about St. Fleur's finances to the Boston Globe.^[5] Later in the debate he asked Patrick, who has confessed to tax problems of his own:^[6] “If Marie St. Fleur can’t be lieutenant governor, how can you be governor?”^[7]

She supports charter schools and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants (for Undocumented Aliens).^[4] She is a practicing Catholic^[8] and supports same-sex marriage, despite the church's pronouncements on the issue.^[9] During the 2008 presidential primary campaign, St. Fleur initially supported Hillary Clinton for president.

In February 2010 she announced that she would not run for reelection and in April 2010 she accepted a job as director of intergovernmental relations for the City of Boston.

References

1. ↑ 2007–2008 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
2. 1 2 "Reilly chooses female Boston representative for running mate". The Boston Globe. January 30, 2006. 
3. ↑ "St. Fleur withdraws as Reilly's running mate". The Boston Globe. February 1, 2006. 
4. 1 2 "Local New: Marie St. Fleur". The Boston Globe. January 31, 2006. 
5. ↑ "Dems clash on leak of St. Fleur finances: Reilly offensive heats up debate". The Boston Herald. September 8, 2006. 
6. ↑ "Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick discloses past tax problems". whdh.com. February 1, 2006. 
7. ↑ "Democrats turn up heat Gubernatorial foes tangle over policy, personal wealth, records". The Boston Globe. September 8, 2006. 
8. ↑ Marie St. Fleur bio
9. ↑ Paulson, Michael (February 11, 2005). "Walsh, St. Fleur back gay marriage". The Boston Globe. 

External links

• Marie St. Fleur at the Massachusetts State Legislature website
• Marie St. Fleur, Famous Haitian Americans