Will Brownsberger
American politician from Massachusetts
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William N. Brownsberger (born March 21, 1957) is an American politician and the President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate[1] representing the Suffolk and Middlesex District[2] which includes his hometown of Belmont, as well as Watertown, the Boston neighborhoods Allston and Brighton, part of Boston's Fenway–Kenmore area, and part of Cambridge. From 2007 to 2012, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2013 special election to succeed Ed Markey in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Will Brownsberger | |
|---|---|
| |
| President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate | |
| Assumed office March 20, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Marc R. Pacheco |
| Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the Suffolk and Middlesex district | |
| Assumed office January 24, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Steven Tolman |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 24th Middlesex district | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 24, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Anne Paulsen |
| Succeeded by | David Rogers |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 21, 1957 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
| Website | Official website |
Early life and education
Brownsberger was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in nearby Watertown. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in 1978 and then went on to obtain his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1985.[3]
He served three terms as a Belmont Selectman and as Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General for six years.[3]
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Brownsberger served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012, where he represented the 24th Middlesex district. He was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America while seeking reelection in 2010.[4]
Massachusetts Senate
A member of the Democratic Party, he ran uncontested in a January 2012 special election to replace Steven Tolman in the Massachusetts Senate, having won a crowded Democratic primary.[5] He was sworn in on January 24, 2012.[6] He was then re-elected in November 2012 to a 2-year term to the 188th General Court.
Union opposition
In 2022, Brownsberger joined Senate President Karen Spilka in opposing unionization effort by Senate staffers, stating "There would be a whole lot of conflict of interest issues if they're working with a union who has its own political agenda. You can't have people serving multiple masters, that’s just not acceptable."[7]
Electoral history
Brownsberger ran unsuccessfully in the 2013 special election to succeed U.S. Representative Ed Markey, who resigned in June 2013 to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.[8]
Massachusetts Senate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 14,027 | 99.4 | ||
| Total votes | 14,114 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 56,815 | 98.8 | ||
| Total votes | 57,500 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 15,977 | 99.4 | ||
| Total votes | 16,067 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 42,713 | 99.0 | ||
| Total votes | 43,150 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 30,358 | 99.4 | ||
| Total votes | 30,539 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 60,282 | 98.5 | ||
| Total votes | 61,181 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 15,990 | 99.5 | ||
| Total votes | 16,075 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 50,823 | 98.5 | ||
| Total votes | 51,581 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 5,156 | 98.5 | ||
| Total votes | 5,233 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 56,011 | 98.6 | ||
| Total votes | 56,815 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 10,194 | 98.9 | ||
| Total votes | 10,309 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 30,514 | 98.2 | ||
| Total votes | 31,080 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 6,156 | 99.1 | ||
| Total votes | 6,212 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 45,852 | 76.1 | ||
| Republican | Steven W. Aylward | 14,190 | 23.6 | ||
| Total votes | 60,042 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
Brownsberger won a special election in December 2011 to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by Steven Tolman.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger | 4,961 | 32.6 | ||
| Democratic | Jonathan Hecht | 3,899 | 25.6 | ||
| Democratic | Robert B. McCarthy | 3,437 | 22.6 | ||
| Democratic | Timothy N. Schofield | 2,887 | 19.0 | ||
| Total votes | 15,184 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger | 4,581 | 93.9 | ||
| Total votes | 4,880 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
U.S. House of Representatives
Brownsberger was a candidate in the special election Democratic primary held on October 15, 2013, to fill the United States House of Representatives seat vacated by Ed Markey.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Katherine M. Clark | 21,983 | 31.5 | ||
| Democratic | Peter J. Koutoujian | 15,303 | 21.9 | ||
| Democratic | Carl M. Sciortino Jr. | 11,160 | 16.0 | ||
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger | 10,163 | 14.6 | ||
| Democratic | Karen E. Spilka | 9,088 | 13.0 | ||
| Democratic | Paul John Maisano | 1,520 | 2.2 | ||
| Democratic | Martin Long | 398 | 0.6 | ||
| Total votes | 69,615 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
Massachusetts House of Representatives
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 3,108 | 99.2 | ||
| Total votes | 3,134 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 12,732 | 77.5 | ||
| Unenrolled | Lalig Musserian | 3,656 | 22.3 | ||
| Total votes | 16,388 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 3,467 | 98.8 | ||
| Total votes | 3,509 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger (incumbent) | 15,863 | 98.9 | ||
| Total votes | 16,039 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger | 5,991 | 94.4 | ||
| Total votes | 6,344 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William N. Brownsberger | 11,167 | 68.5 | ||
| Republican | M. Elizabeth Firenze | 5,127 | 31.4 | ||
| Total votes | 16,294 | 100.0 | |||
| Source: "Election Statistics". Massachusetts Elections Division. Retrieved September 2, 2026. | |||||
Personal life
Brownsberger resides in Belmont, Massachusetts. He is married with three daughters. He is also a marathoner, triathlete, and cyclist.[3] Amidst the Pride parades of June 2023, he came out as bisexual while explaining that his announcement would not change his married lifestyle.[9]