Eugene O’Flaherty, former Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston and former state representative for Chelsea and Charlestown, is joining Ballard Partners, one of the top lobbying firms in the United States.
In his role as Corporation Counsel, O’Flaherty was the chief legal officer for former Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, President Biden’s newly confirmed Secretary of Labor.
O’Flaherty joins the firm’s roster of former high-ranking Democratic officials in its Washington office, including Congressman Robert Wexler, President Clinton’s State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin and Congressman Al Lawson’s Chief of Staff Tola Thompson.
“Gene’s leadership role with the City of Boston, his knowledge of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation and his outstanding service as a top legislator in the Massachusetts House of Representatives significantly expands our firm’s reach and capabilities,” said Brian Ballard, the firm’s President and Founder. “We are honored to have Gene join our exceptional team of professionals and are eager to provide our clients with his wisdom and guidance.”
“I am delighted to join Ballard Partners and to be working with the firm’s outstanding team in Washington,” said O’Flaherty.
During his 12-year tenure at the helm of the Judiciary Committee, O’Flaherty was responsible for the drafting, review and implementation of the largest number of legislative proposals before the Massachusetts Legislature. He was the chief architect of the overhaul of impaired driving statutes, court reorganization legislation, stronger sex offender statutes, tougher penalties for violent habitual offenders, CORI reform and human trafficking. He also repeatedly defeated attempts to reinstate the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
O’Flaherty oversaw the legislation and led the discussions required for the implementation of the Goodridge decision, which legalized gay marriage, making Massachusetts the first state in the United States of America to do so and served as the House of Representative’s lead negotiator on several complex and high-profile conference committee negotiations with the Senate and Executive Branch.