H. James Shea Jr.

Shea was born on December 10, 1939 in Boston, Massachusetts, the first of three sons of Eileen (née Curtin; 1911–2002) and Herman James Shea Sr. (1911–1998).[1][2][3] His father, the son of National Football League treasurer Dennis J. Shea, was a civil engineer and member of the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[4][5][6]

He grew up in Newton and attended public schools there, including Newton High School, from which he graduated in 1957.[7][8][9] He then went on to Tufts University, where he earned a degree in political science, with a minor in economics; he attended the University of Virginia School of Law, following this, but left after completing 34 credit hours.[10][1] Before devoting himself to politics full-time, he was employed as civil engineer and real estate broker.[11] He also completed graduate work and served as a teaching assistant in political science at Northeastern University.[2][1]

In June 1967, Shea married the former Anita Vesta McDonald, an instructor of biology at Salem State College, at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Plainfield, New Jersey. L. James DeWolfe Jr. served as his best man. The couple settled in Newton after a honeymoon through New England and Canada.[12][13]

Shea sworn in as alderman by Newton mayor Monte Basbas

Shea first ran for an at-large seat on the Newton Board of Aldermen in 1963.[11] In a race for two spots from Ward 7, he ran on a progressive platform that included providing public records of board attendance and activities.[14][15] He placed a distant fourth among the candidates.[16]

In November 1965, he ran again, this time for the Ward 7 seat being vacated by incumbent William Carmen, and initially came in 8 votes behind Boston University professor Harry H. Crosby.[17] After a recount, Shea was given 961 votes to Crosby's 958.[18] The battle made its way to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which declared Shea the winner the following April, after more than five months of uncertainty.[19][20]

Two years later, in 1967, Shea ran for reelection unopposed.[21] He compiled a liberal voting record, earning himself a 100% rating – the highest of anyone on the Board of Aldermen – from the Massachusetts chapter of Americans for Democratic Action.[22]

Shea with Professor Steve Worth and Governor Francis Sargent at the Shea Bill's signing ceremony

In 1968, state representative Joseph G. Bradley decided against running for reelection in the newly drawn 12th Middlesex district and instead challenged longtime 3rd district congressman Philip J. Philbin in the September 17 Democratic Party primary. Philbin, the second highest ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, was perceived as being hawkish on Vietnam, while Bradley, one of the first politicians in the state to oppose the bombing of North Vietnam, aligned himself with the anti-war faction of the party.[23] Shea endorsed Bradley and mounted a campaign to succeed him in the state house.[24][25] While Bradley was not successful in his race, Shea was. He surprised poll watchers by ending up the top Democratic vote-getter in the district, receiving 277 more votes than Bradley's seatmate, Paul F. Malloy. Malloy and Shea bested Republican nominees Wigmore A. Pierson and Nelson M. Silk Jr. in the November general election.[26]

He was opposed to the Vietnam War, and he drafted a bill challenging its constitutionality, thus enabling Massachusetts residents to ignore the draft.[27][28][29][30]