Raymond Flynn

Flynn was born July 22, 1939, the son of Stephen Flynn and Lillian Flynn (). He grew up in South Boston, where he has spent most of his life living. Flynn is Irish-American. His father was a union longshoreman, and his mother was a cleaning lady. Flynn grew up a member of the Gate of Heaven Parish in South Boston. He was a three-sport star athlete at South Boston High School. Later in life, while a Boston city councilor, Flynn would receive a master's degree in education from Harvard University in 1981. ==Early professions==

In April 1963, he was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the fourth round of the NBA draft. The Nationals relocated to Philadelphia to become the 76ers, but Flynn did not play for them, as he spent part of the 1963–64 season with the Wilmington Blue Bombers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League. Philadelphia traded his NBA rights to the Boston Celtics in September 1964, and in October he was the last player cut from the Celtics roster. Flynn enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and Fort Dix in New Jersey. While working as a probation officer for the Suffolk County Superior Court from 1965 through 1970, he investigated criminal cases. In his early political involvement, Flynn was a confidante and political supporter of U.S. House Speaker John W. McCormack, who was also a resident of South Boston. Flynn worked as a personal family assistant to Vice President Hubert Humphrey during Humphrey's campaign in the 1968 presidential election. ==Massachusetts House of Representatives (1971–1978)==

Capitalizing on his local sports hero celebrity, Education policy and opposition to desegregation busing Flynn was an opponent of court ordered desegregation busing. In 1973, he worked against implementing the city of Boston's desegregation school busing plan even filing a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Board of Education over the matter. Flynn argued that desegregation busing would pit poor Black and poor White families against one another within a second-tier school system, all while wealthy suburbanites sent their students to well-funded schools. Flynn refused to join the militant anti-busers, Louise Day Hicks and William Bulger when they released a statement of resistance that was seen as having racist overtones. Flynn urged against violent actions that were being taken by some in protest of busing. As a result of his refusal to join the more militant factions of resistance to busing, Flynn alienated himself from the more extremist factions of his community. His car was firebombed, and his family received death threats through telephone calls. The bill was passed by the state legislature, but was successfully vetoed by Governor Michael Dukakis. Flynn and Doyle then, later that year, attached the bill as a rider to a state pay-raise bill which was passed by the Massachusetts State Legislature. This was again vetoed by Dukakis. The law was undercut in 1981, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that women with Medicaid eligibility had a constitutionally-protected entitlement to receive funding through the program for their abortions. Unsuccessful 1975 campaigns for city office In March 1975, Flynn announced himself as a candidate for the 1975 Boston mayoral election. However, he withdrew in June after struggling to fundraise and instead launched his candidacy for the Boston City Council. He would lose his race for city council that November, falling a mere 1,467 votes shy of election. ==Boston City Council (1978–1984)==

Flynn was elected to the Boston City Council in November 1977. In October 1979, Flynn, together with Joseph F. Timilty, rescued a Black man from a threatening encounter with a White mob on the Boston Common. ==1983 mayoral election==

In April 1983, Flynn announced his candidacy for mayor of Boston. Flynn and King had known each other since childhood, meeting through both playing basketball, and had both served as state representatives at the same time and worked together there on legislation. They would ultimately have a lifelong friendship, despite having run against each other for mayor. Flynn's campaign received no significant financial support from major sectors of the city's business community. In the election, both Flynn and King worked to build progressive coalitions, and both pledged to dedicate themselves to working across ethnic divides in the city. In the five weeks leading up to the general election, the two candidates held more than fifty local neighborhood debates. The campaign was peaceful, and only a handful of isolated racial violence incidents occurred during it. ==Mayoralty (1984–1993)==

and James M. Kelly (circa 1984–1987) Flynn served as mayor from his inauguration on January 2, 1984 until his resignation on July 12, 1993. During his tenure, Flynn was regarded to be a popular mayor, which was reflected in high approval ratings. In 1998, Jack W. Germond and Jules Witcover of The Baltimore Sun wrote that, as mayor, Flynn had, "built a national reputation as an advocate for the homeless and a local reputation as a hands-on politician who showed up at every fire or police emergency." At the time that Flynn was preparing to leave office, in an article published in The Christian Science Monitor, George B. Merry described Flynn as a mayor whose "hands-on" approach had made him, "one of the most visible mayors in Boston history." He considered Flynn's leadership to have delivered mixed results. Merry described Flynn's leadership-style as being heavily focused on neighborhood-level quality of life issues. In his 1991 campaign, he ran a low-profile campaign that he touted as being "grassroots", and ran no television or radio advertisements. He centered his candidacy on ties to the city's neighborhoods and his successes in balancing the city's budget. State, national, and international politics campaigning with Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro before the 1984 presidential election Flynn considered running in the 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, but, due to police controversies, his struggling relationship with the minority community, and his anti-abortion stance, he ruled out a run. In 1987, as chair of the United States Conference of Mayors' Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, Flynn advocated for the passage of the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Flynn visited South Africa several times to see anti-apartheid figure Nelson Mandela when he was in prison. In June 1990, four months after Mandela's release from prison, Flynn welcomed him to Boston on a trip Mandela took visiting many cities in the United States. Ahead of the 1992 United States presidential election, there was some talk about whether Flynn could be a prospective vice presidential running mate on a Democratic ticket. Flynn, a lifelong anti-abortion activist, played a role in drawing the anti-abortion ("pro-life") Catholic vote to pro-abortion rights Bill Clinton in the general election. which Governor Dukakis signed into law. When Flynn took office, the city had a $40 million deficit. Flynn was able to balance the city's budget each year he was in office and improved the fiscal controls of the city. He was able to improve the city's bond rating each year he was in office. When he left office, the city had its highest bond rating in its history. To address the city's deficit, upon taking office, Flynn worked to receive additional state aid and state legislature authorization to raise new local taxes.} In July 1991, Flynn won a fight to turn Boston School Committee from an elected school board to one whose members are appointed by the mayor. This change took effect in January 1992. Before this change, the elected school board had come to be regarded as fractious. As he approached his departure as mayor in 1993, Flynn questioned whether the change had been a wise decision, and ultimately voiced regret for having initiated it. Boston still remains the only municipality in Massachusetts without an elected school board. Public safety, law enforcement, race relations as police commissioner in 1985 In 1990, Flynn received strong criticism from Black leaders over the city police's handling of the investigation into the murder of Carol Stuart, including the arrest and intensive search of William Bennett. Decades later, in 2023, then-mayor Michelle Wu apologized on behalf of the city for the impact that police conduct in the investigation Stuart's murder had upon the African-American community in the city, especially in Mission Hill. Her apology was directly addressed to Bennett as well as Alan Swanson, both of whom she acknowledged had been wrongly treated as suspects. In response to concerns over the police department (including those stemming from the investigation into Carol Stuart's murder), in May 1991, Flynn empaneled the St. Clair Commission, headed by James D. St. Clair. and was a childhood friend of Flyn who was one of hiscloset associates during his mayoralty. However, when his term expired, Flynn instead appointed William Bratton to serve as police commissioner. As mayor, Flynn took steps to racially integrate public housing complexes. Urban development Flynn took office amid a period of urban flight by the city's middle class. When he took office, downtown real estate developers were highly worried by his populist agenda. Flynn opted not to socialize with real estate developers, and refused to take political contributions from developers that had projects being considered by the city government. During Flynn's mayoralty, the city had a strong development market, Flynn's administration collaborated on development with nonprofit organizations. The Flynn administration provided neighborhood groups significant influence in planning and development decisions, as well as other matters. Resignation and succession as acting mayor In 1993, Flynn resigned during his third term as mayor when he was appointed by Clinton to serve as United States Ambassador to the Holy See (the Vatican). Flynn was nominated in March 1993, and announced he would be resigning as mayor. However, in June, he reconsidered whether he would accept the role. He met with President Clinton and United States State Department officials to better define what his role would be as ambassador. Flynn had had a longtime friendship with Menino. However, their relationship was noted to have become somewhat terser during the period in which Flynn was preparing to hand over the office to Menino. One cause for their rift was that, after Menino had promised he would appoint 100 new police officers when he took office, Flynn beat him to the chase and did so himself, which angered Menino. When Flynn resigned on July 12, 1993, Menino became acting mayor. ==Ambassador to the Holy See (1993–1997)==

in 1993 (center) during the pope's arrival at Stapleton International Airport for the 1993 World Youth Day celebration in Denver, Colorado Flynn served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See from September 2, 1993, through September 20, 1997. He was the first member of the Democratic Party to hold this post. He was appointed on July 1, 1993, and presented his credentials on September 2, 1993. During his time as ambassador, the campaign committee for Flynn's mayoral candidacies was subject to federal and state investigation. Douglas deRusha, the former bookkeeper for Flynn's mayoral campaign committee, went to prison for embezzlement. In early September 1997, Flynn shared his intent to run for governor of Massachusetts in 1998. Two weeks later, Flynn announced his intent to resign his post as ambassador. Flynn left his post on September 20, 1997. This article was seen as hurting Flynn's public image. Flynn defended himself in an interviewed aired by 60 Minutes in April 1998. ==1998 congressional campaign==

Following his service as ambassador, Flynn considered running for governor of Massachusetts in 1998. In September, Flynn lost in the Democratic primary election (the real contest in the heavily Democratic district) to Somerville Mayor Mike Capuano, who went on to win the general election. Flynn placed second with roughly 18% of the vote. Flynn had run a quiet grassroots campaign operation. Flynn was endorsed by the local chapters of the International Longshoremen's Association and Iron Workers unions. Flynn had been regarded as an early front-runner in the primary, and private and public opinion polls had shown him to be leading. However, polls show that Capuano enjoyed a last-minute rise in support that resulted in his victory over Flynn. Ceci Connolly of The Washington Post observed during the campaign, ==Later career==

ParadeFront row L–R: Flynn's son, Ed (a Boston city councilman); Governor Maura Healey; Flynn; and Flynn's wife, KathyBack row: Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll In 2001, for several weeks Flynn openly explored a possible run in that year's special election to succeed Joe Moakley as the congressman from Massachusetts's 9th congressional district. However, in mid-June 2001, Flynn ruled out such a run and threw his support behind a potential candidacy by State Senator Stephen Lynch, who ultimately ran and won the election. While he has not run for office again himself, Flynn subsequently maintained some involvement in politics and related matters. In 2004, Flynn unsuccessfully pursued litigation to reverse the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that had, earlier that year, legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. During the general election campaign of the 2009 Boston mayoral election, Flynn and his one-time mayoral opponent Mel King both came together to endorse Michael Flaherty's campaign against Thomas Menino. In the 2000 presidential election, Flynn and the Catholic Alliance organization that he headed endorsed the Republican of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. In 2012, Flynn appeared in television ads supporting Brown for reelection. He also voiced support for Mitt Romney, that year's Republican nominee for president. He has also continued to comment on United States relations with the Holy See. In 2009, he responded critically to rumors that President Barack Obama might be considering Caroline Kennedy for Flynn's former post as ambassador. He opined that Kennedy's pro-choice abortion stance would make her unbefitting to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. In 2013, he criticized plans to relocate the Embassy of the United States to the Holy See to a building that would be adjacent to the Embassy of the United States to Italy. Flynn involved himself in media after concluding his career in public office. In 1998, he had a role as a radio host on WRKO in Boston. In September 2014, he became a regular contributor to The Pilot, the official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. In February 2017, Flynn became a columnist for the Boston Herald. In 1999, Flynn became president of Catholic Alliance, a nonpartisan Catholic advocacy group. In this role, while remaining a Democrat, he and the Catholic Alliance endorsed George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. Flynn also became president of another Catholic political advocacy organization, Your Catholic Voice. He later started Catholic Citizenship, serving as its national chairman. He cited the organization as arising from conversations he had with a figure in national Catholic activism that affirmed in Flynn the importance of his message relating to adhering to Catholic teachings above partisan political concerns. Beginning in 2004, he also served on the advisory board of Catholics for the Common Good, a lay apostolate for evangelization of culture. In 2013, Flynn voiced his public agreement with the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council's position in its lawsuit against a developer and the city. The neighborhood council was suing over what it contended was a wrongful grant of a zoning variance. The lawsuit was locally controversial. The case was dismissed by a judge over lack of standing, disputing the neighborhood council's assertion that it could be considered a "government body". In 2024, Flynn endorsed Erin Murphy's unsuccessful campaign in the Democratic primary for clerk of the Suffolk Supreme Judicial Court. This primary election was regarded to have served as a prominent proxy battle the city's progressive politicians and its city's more conservative "old guard", with many prominent progressives endorsing the victorious Allison Cartwright and many of prominent practitioners of (more conservative) "old-school" Boston politics endorsing Murphy. The election was also described as being was also described as serving as a proxy battle between Mayor Michelle Wu's allies and her critics: with Wu and several allies endorsing Cartwright, and several Wu critics endorsing Murphy. ==Personal life==

Flynn is married to Catherine (née Coyne), who often goes by "Kathy". They have six children: Ray Jr., Edward, Julie, Nancy, Katie, and Maureen. In November 2017, son Edward M. Flynn was elected to the Boston City Council. Flynn has continued residing in South Boston. In the episode, Flynn has his entourage take away Cliff Clavin, who writes to Flynn once a week. Flynn was an avid runner who made headlines in 1984 when he ran in the Boston Marathon (with a finishing time of 4:23:54) and the New York City Marathon (finishing in 3:59:46). In March 2007, Flynn was grand marshal of the 246th New York St. Patrick's Day Parade. In May 2007, Flynn joined the College of Fellows of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California, who also awarded him the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters. In September 2008, Flynn was hospitalized after he collapsed at a Boston-area speaking engagement. In March 2011, Flynn's home was broken into; among the valuables taken were rosary beads blessed by Pope John Paul II and letters from influential world figures. In April 2021, Flynn was hospitalized and received a hip replacement surgery after suffering a fall. In December of that year, Flynn was hospitalized after again falling, this time having broken a bone in his neck. ==Political views==

During his political career, Flynn was regarded to be an "economic liberal" and "cultural conservative". Over the course of his political career, his positions on some matters remained consistent, while others evolved. Flynn has numerous times endorsed Republican candidates in closely contested elections, including George W. Bush in the 2000 president election, Scott Brown in 2010 and 2012 senate elections, and Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. In his early political career, Flynn prominently opposed court-ordered school desegregation busing. shortly after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that in 2004 that same-sex marriage was a protected right in Massachusetts, Flynn attempted litigation to see their ruling overturned. Elected mayor on a populist platform, Flynn supported wealth redistribution. ==Honors==

on February 11, 2016, as Baker signs into law legislation renaming to the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal the "Flynn Cruiseport Boston". In February 2016, the Boston Marine Industrial Park was renamed the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. A nearby bridge was also renamed in Flynn's honor. In May 2017, Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker dedicated Flynn Cruiseport Boston, located in the Port of Boston. Flynn has received a number of civic awards. He has received the B'nai B'rith International Humanitarian Award, Martin Luther King Jr. Award, and Boys Club of America "Man of the Year Award". ==Electoral history==

State representative ;1970 ;1972 ;1974 ;1976 City council Mayoral Congressional ==College basketball statistics==