About
Senator Steven A. Tolman
2nd Suffolk & Middlesex District
Steven Tolman was first elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1998 after two terms in the state House of Representatives. He understands the issues facing the Commonwealth and possesses the vision and leadership necessary to confront the challenges of the 21st Century.
While in the Massachusetts Legislature, Steven has been an outspoken advocate for better health care, quality public education, vigilant environmental protection, effective consumer safeguards, campaign finance reform, enhanced workers’ rights and the continued preservation of vital safety net programs for those in need.
Steven was born the sixth of eight children in Brighton; he was raised in Watertown where he attended public school. He graduated from the Harvard Trade Union Program and completed his Bachelor of Arts in Law and Labor studies at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Steven and his wife Susan live in Brighton with their daughters Victoria and Siobhan, and their son Steven, Jr.
Shortly after beginning work for Amtrak in 1972, Steven got involved in the labor movement. He rose through the ranks of the Transportation Communication International Union and ultimately became the Division Chairman of New England while he continued to work full time for the railroad.
Steven also got involved in his community. He is a past commissioner of the Watertown Housing Authority; he is a current member and the former chairman of the Ward 22 Democratic Committee; and he is an elected member of the Democratic State Committee. In addition, Steven serves on the board of several charitable organizations and he is an active member of several other community and fraternal organizations.
Steven has also been deeply involved in mental health and substance abuse issues, even after his term as the Senate Chair of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee ended. Steven has remained a particularly vocal advocate for adequate funding and for the diversion of low level offenders from jail and into treatment. Steven also continues to be a strong supporter of children’s mental health, mental health insurance parity, and smart environmental and transportation policy.
Steven was re-elected in November 2008 to a sixth term in the Senate and is a member of the Senate President’s leadership team, serving as the Assistant Majority Whip. He represents the 2nd Suffolk & Middlesex Senate District, which includes Allston-Brighton, portions of the Back Bay and the Fenway neighborhoods in Boston, northwest Cambridge, and the towns of Belmont and Watertown.