ABOUT
Senator Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton)
Majority Leader
Senator Creem has served in a public capacity for more than 30 years, first as a member and President of the Newton Board of Aldermen, and then as a member of the Governor’s Council prior to becoming a State Senator in 1999.
Among her top priorities since entering the Legislature, Cindy has been the leading advocate for restoring judicial discretion in sentencing and eliminating across-the-board mandatory minimum sentences, and for increasing safeguards for gun ownership.
She has served in a leadership role on many high-profile issues, including a landmark law legalizing stem-cell research- which also boosted our state’s bio-tech economy, and the law that preserves marriage equality, advocating for the bottle bill expansion, energy conservation and renewable energy, and successfully sponsoring legislation on food allergies.
While Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee from 1999-2003, Senator Creem successfully opposed the reinstatement of the death penalty, helped create safety buffer zones around health clinics, reformed the sex offender registry and the state’s drunken driving laws. From 2003-2008, as Chair of the Revenue Committee she worked to close corporate tax loopholes and served on a commission whose recommendations were enacted to promote economic growth and benefit Massachusetts companies.
As Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Judiciary from 2009 -13, Cindy successfully shepherded legislation reforming the Probation Department, modernizing alimony laws and criminal-history records, securing the right to DNA testing in criminal cases, and enacting sentencing reform to save money and reduce recidivism. During 2013-14, as Chair of Senate Post-Audit and Oversight, after conducting multiple hearings she issued reports which led to legislation on the handling of rape kits by state agencies; a review of state boards and commissions; and, the contracting procedures for information technology projects.
During the 2017-18 session, as one of three Senate members on the Criminal Justice Reform House-Senate Conference Committee, she was able to help secure important reforms to the state’s policies – reducing the number of crimes susceptible to a mandatory minimum sentence, adding oversight and time limits to solitary confinement of inmates, expungement of juvenile records, moving juveniles and others charged with low level offenses into diversion programs, including drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
Currently serving as Majority Leader, she places a high priority on issues including: Criminal Justice Reform; Health Care; Energy; Environment; Women's Issues; Civil Rights; Education; and Revenue.
She and her husband Harvey live in Newton and enjoy spending free time with their two children and four grandchildren.