ma_gov_HARSHBARGER
ATTORNEY GENERAL SCOTT HARSHBARGER
Age: 56 Born: December 1, 1941; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Education: Harvard University, J.D. (1968); Harvard University, B.A. (1964) Military: None Family: Married - Judith; Five children (three are stepchildren) Hometown: Westwood, Massachusetts Religion: Church of the Brethren Career: MA Attorney General (1991-present); Middlesex County District Attorney (1983-90); General Counsel, State Ethics Commission (1978-82); Chief of Public Protection Bureau (1975-78); Practicing attorney (1968-75) |
• Harshbarger was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in rural Pennsylvania. His father was chaplain at Penn State University, and his mother was a schoolteacher. A scholar-athlete, Harshbarger tried out for the Pittsburgh Pirates while in high school and was a star halfback at Harvard. He worked as a laborer during summers to earn money for his education.
• After receiving his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1964, Harshbarger volunteered for one year in an urban ministry in East Harlem. He then went back to Harvard to attend law school. While there, Harshbarger served as president of the Harvard Voluntary Defenders, where he supervised Bill Weld, who later went on to be elected governor of Massachusetts.
• After he graduated from law school in 1968, Harshbarger spent the next seven years working as a criminal defense attorney, first at a private firm, then at the Boston Lawyers Committee, and finally at the Massachusetts public defenders agency. In 1975, then-Attorney General Francis Bellotti appointed Harshbarger to head the Public Protection Bureau. Three years later he was named the general counsel at the newly created State Ethics Commission. In 1978, he unsuccessfully tried to unseat Middlesex County District Attorney John Droney, but he succeeded four years later. Harshbarger was Middlesex County D.A. for ight years.
• In 1990, Harshbarger challenged the sitting Attorney General Jim Shannon, in the Democratic primary. With a last-minute surge of support from independent voters, Harshbarger won an upset victory and became the first challenger in state history to defeat an incumbent attorney general in the primary. Harshbarger cruised to victory in the general election against Republican William Sawyer. As attorney general, Harshbarger has won praise for initiatives on community policing, HMO reform and fairer bank lending. He also has made enemies, including some in his own party, for grandstanding on public corruption cases. Nevertheless, he was re-elected easily in 1994.
• The largest obstacle in Harshbarger's path to the Democratic nomination was cleared back in September 1997, when U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy dropped out of the race. In this year's Democratic primary, Harshbarger carried 51% of the vote over Patricia McGovern with 32%.