William M. Straus is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 10th Bristol District which comprises the towns of Fairhaven; New Bedford: Ward 3: Precinct A, Ward 4: Precincts D, E; Marion; Mattapoisett; and Rochester. He assumed office on January 6, 1993.
Born on June 26, 1956 in East Orange, New Jersey, Straus is a member of the Democratic Party and resides in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. He received his B.A. degree from Middlebury College in 1978 and his J.D. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1982. He also holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
From 1978 to 1981, he worked for former U.S. Senator John Culver (D-Iowa). From 1982 to 1988, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Bristol County, Massachusetts. He later served as a member of the Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facilities Site Safety Council and the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission.
In his role as a state representative, Straus has served as the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation and the Joint Committee on Environment and Agriculture. He has been very involved in the South Coast Rail project through his work on the Joint Committee on Transportation. He also voted in favor of the 2011 law that authorized casino gambling in Massachusetts.
