Paul Heroux

Paul Heroux (born 1976) is an American politician who is the Mayor of Attleboro, Massachusetts. He previously served as State Representative from the Second Bristol District, elected in 2012.

Paul Heroux
Mayor of Attleboro, Massachusetts
Assumed office
January 2, 2018
Preceded byKevin Dumas
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from the 2nd Bristol district
In office
January 5, 2013 – January 2, 2018
Preceded byGeorge T. Ross
Succeeded byJim Hawkins
Personal details
BornTaunton, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic Party
ResidenceAttleboro, Massachusetts
Alma materHarvard School of Government
MPA in Public Administration
London School of Economics
MSc in International Relations
University of Pennsylvania
MS in Criminology
University of Southern California
BA in Psychology & Neuroscience
Websitewww.paulheroux.org

Political career

State Representative

Paul Heroux was first elected in November 2012 as the State Representative from the Second Bristol District, Massachusetts. Heroux won his primary with over 78% of the vote.[1] He then defeated Republican incumbent George T. Ross with over 58% of the vote.[2] Representative-elect Heroux was sworn in as freshmen representative on January 2, 2013.[3]

On November 4, 2014 Heroux was elected to a second term with 61% of the vote over local businessman Bert Buckley.[4]

In 2016, Heroux ran unopposed for reelection and received 99.6% of the total votes cast for state representative.[5]

Heroux's work as a state representative included creating a $38 million school internet infrastructure grant program that offered money to school districts all over Massachusetts,[6][7] was a cosponsor of the transgender public accommodation bill,[8] which is now law as the Massachusetts Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Initiative,[9] was a cosponsor of the ban on gay conversion therapy,[10] which is now law,[11] adding money to several state budgets for homeless children's programs,[12] and fought to try to get the state to measure prison program outcomes on reducing recidivism.[13]

Mayor

In September 2017, Heroux came in first in a mayoral preliminary against 7-term incumbent Kevin Dumas, handing Dumas his first political defeat.[14] On the day of the preliminary election, Heroux was featured by several media outlets for being bitten by a dog the day before while campaigning for mayor, his sixth dog bite in 5 years.[15] On 7 November 2017, Heroux defeated 7-term incumbent Kevin Dumas with 54% of the vote.[16]

In November 2019, Heroux defeated Republican challenger and city council vice president Heather Porreca 67% to 32% for the race for mayor.[17]

During Heroux's tenure as mayor, he has taken many decidedly pro-environmental positions. These include purchasing the bankrupt privately owned Highland Country Club and turning it into the city owned Highland Park[18] and putting a monarch butterfly population in the new park,[19] making all city government buildings 100% wind powered,[20] changing all of the city street lights and city building lights to LED lights,[21] moving the city fleet of vehicles to hybrids where possible,[21] putting solar panels above city owned parking lots,[21] making Attleboro a Green Community,[22] banning single use plastic bags,[23] banning the intentional releasing of balloons into the air,[24] banning the distribution of plastic straws, the sale of fluorescent light bulbs containing mercury and bee killing insecticides containing neonicotinoids,[25] and submitting an ordinance proposal that would ban body and face washes that have plastic exfoliating beads, plastic and Styrofoam take away cups and containers from restaurants, single use plastic water bottles, and plastic miniature alcohol bottles.[26]

As mayor, Heroux has also pushed the redevelopment of the city center,[27] prioritized business support,[28] prioritized education spending by repairing roofs that leaked for 20 years,[29] boosted education funding and created a special education stabilization fund,[30] maintained the city's AA bond rating despite hard financial times inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic,[31] and promoted advanced training in unconscious bias and de-escalation training for city police officers,[32] made sure that every firefighter has two sets of protective fire gear for the first time in city department history,[33] made news across the country when he implemented a strict zero tolerance policy for people who leave dogs in hot cars,[34][35][36][37][38][39] and made city hall pet fiendly so that animals don't need to be left in a car when residents visit city hall.[40]

Personal life

Heroux was raised in Attleboro to small business drug store owners. He was awarded the 'Most Genuine' class superlative from his 1995 high school class for a complete abstinence to alcohol and drugs. Heroux holds two Ivy League master's degrees from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively, a master's from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California.

Prior to elected office, Heroux worked in the Philadelphia jail system, as the director of research in the Massachusetts prison system, for the national security think-tank Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies, as an English teacher in Saudi Arabia, and with kids for seven years at a YMCA.[41]

From October to November 2018, Heroux took a 12-day, 8,500-mile (13,700 km) road trip across 24 states and Canada with his dog Mura, posting pictures on his Facebook page. The trip went viral after being picked up by news outlets across the United States and in dozens of countries.[42][43]

References
  1. Rhodes, George (6 September 2012). "Democrat Heroux to take on Ross for Attleboro state rep. race in November". The Sun Chronicle. SUN CHRONICLE STAFF. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2019. Heroux got 78 percent of the 1,428 votes cast in the contest, beating Kane 1,118 votes to 310.
  2. Rhodes, George W. (7 November 2012). "Heroux sweeps to victory". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2019. Heroux piled up 58 percent of the vote to overwhelm the one-term, 63-year-old incumbent, who served seven terms on the City Council before his election to the House two years ago.
  3. Hand, Jim (3 January 2013). "City lawmaker newest member from area". The Sun Chronicle. Boston: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2019. When Paul Heroux raised his right hand to take the oath of office as Attleboro's new state representative Wednesday...
  4. Rhodes, George W. (4 November 2014). "Paul Heroux re-elected as state representative, defeats Bert Buckley". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2019. State Rep. Paul Heroux cruised to a second term, crushing Republican challenger Bert Buckley with 61 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s state election.
  5. "Massachusetts general election results for State Representative in all districts in the year 2016". state.ma.us. 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  6. Hand, Jim (June 30, 2014). "Attleboro area legislators make mark on tech bill to improve school, public safety access". The Sun Chronicle.
  7. Hand, Jim (October 17, 2013). "Heroux plan would net schools $38M for technology". The Sun Chronicle.
  8. Heroux, Paul (9 June 2016). "HEROUX: 'Bathroom bill' doesn't endanger children's safety". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021. Massachusetts passed historic legislation protecting the civil rights of transgender people. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the bill.
  9. https://news.yahoo.com/restrictions-massachusetts-restaurants-easing-monday-234416814.html
  10. https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H1190.pdf
  11. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/massachusetts-becomes-16th-state-ban-gay-conversion-therapy-n992581
  12. Hand, Jim (May 1, 2014). "Little complaint by Attleboro area legislators on $36.2B House budget". The Sun Chronicle.
  13. https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/04/17/letters-readers-react-to-fatal-cop-shooting/
  14. Rhodes, George W. (19 September 2017). "Dumas will face Heroux in Attleboro mayor's race". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2019. Mayor Kevin Dumas came in second for the first time in his political career at the hands of State Rep. Paul Heroux Tuesday as a field of three mayoral candidates was narrowed to two.
  15. Burton, Paul (19 September 2019). "Attleboro Mayoral Candidate Attacked By Dogs On Campaign Trail". WBZ-TV. Attleboro: CBS Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2019. A candidate for Attleboro mayor is running into trouble on the campaign trail. He’s been attacked by dogs over and over while knocking on doors to win votes.
  16. Hand, Jim (7 November 2017). "Heroux sweeps city, defeats Dumas". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2019. A reluctant candidate, state Rep. Paul Heroux was elected mayor Tuesday, defeating seven-term incumbent Kevin Dumas by a 54 to 46 percent margin.
  17. Rhodes, George W. (November 5, 2019). "Attleboro mayor wins second term by a landslide". The Sun Chronicle.
  18. Rhodes, George W. (June 26, 2018). "Attleboro City Council votes to purchase Highland Country Club property". The Sun Chronicle.
  19. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/monarch-butterfly-garden-taking-root-in-attleboros-highland-park/article_1a32cb0d-d904-51d5-99f5-c362106b22b0.html
  20. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-turning-to-windmills-to-power-city-hall-other-municipal-buildings/article_2d7104f2-4218-560c-96b1-526b153d1c1b.html
  21. Rhodes, George W. (October 13, 2019). "Mayor plans to steer police cruisers, other city cars, toward hybrid gasoline-battery powered vehicles". The Sun Chronicle.
  22. Hand, Jim (February 4, 2020). "Attleboro wins Green Community designation and $244,000 grant". The Sun Chronicle.
  23. Rhodes, George W. (January 8, 2019). "Plastic bags banned in Attleboro". The Sun Chronicle.
  24. Rhodes, George W. (22 December 2020). "Releasing batches of balloons banned in Attleboro". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021. On an 8-2 vote last week the city council banned the intentional release of balloons by "any person or group" and created a $20 fine for violations.
  25. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-city-council-oks-ban-on-plastic-straws/article_a52e30c9-0aeb-5a2e-ab8d-ba267e60e387.html
  26. Rhodes, George W. (September 8, 2020). "Attleboro mayor proposes his own 'green new deal'". The Sun Chronicle.
  27. Rhodes, George W. (February 25, 2020). "Attleboro gets $50,000 grant to help fill downtown storefronts". The Sun Chronicle.
  28. Rhodes, George W. (May 14, 2020). "Downtown Attleboro businesses get state grants to help with coronavirus shutdown". MassDevelopment. The Sun Chronicle.
  29. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-library-and-school-roof-projects-on-track/article_2b7a0477-2f82-523d-8bc8-71d9d24797e5.html
  30. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/heroux-boosts-education-spending-but-attleboro-school-board-says-more-needed/article_171ac65b-7def-5243-9d91-550118db1ba3.html
  31. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-maintains-bond-rating-financial-outlook-stable/article_e14c9fb3-0551-5dc9-a079-e0bd14fab211.html
  32. Linton, David (September 24, 2020). "Attleboro police complete bias, de-escalation training, mayor says". The Sun Chronicle.
  33. https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/se-mass/mayor-city-will-purchase-second-set-of-gear-for-attleboro-firefighters/
  34. https://www.wftv.com/news/trending-now/mayor-adopts-zero-tolerance-policy-against-leaving-dogs-in-hot-cars/784576445/
  35. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-begins-issuing-costly-tickets-for-leaving-dogs-in-hot-cars/article_af99a39e-355e-553a-9ba7-47dcaec15d0b.html
  36. https://turnto10.com/news/local/attleboro-enforces-zero-tolerance-policy-for-pets-left-in-hot-cars
  37. https://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/07/06/pets-dogs-hot-cars-attleboro-mayor/
  38. https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/mayor-adopts-zero-tolerance-policy-against-leaving-dogs-hot-cars/dQ2lTSgp1pQZlfdChPDYdK/
  39. https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending-now/mayor-adopts-zero-tolerance-policy-against-leaving-dogs-in-hot-cars/784576471/
  40. https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-city-hall-goes-to-the-dogs-and-cats/article_e4da6777-0543-562d-969b-11acf31780b9.html
  41. "About Paul".
  42. Hand, Jim (12 November 2018). "Attleboro Mayor's Mura and the media go international". The Sun Chronicle. Attleboro: The Sun Chronicle. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019. Mayor Paul Heroux’s 8,500-mile road trip with his terminally ill dog Mura has gotten national and international media attention, all the way from Providence to Hamburg, Germany.
  43. "Mann macht mit todkrankem Hund "Reise seines Lebens". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). Attleboro: Berliner Morgenpost. 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019. Paul Heroux adoptierte seinen Hund Mura, als er erst wenige Wochen alt war. Inzwischen ist der Shikoku, eine japanische Hunderasse, zehn Jahre alt und der beste Freund des US-Amerikaners.
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