- Democrat Delahunt died Saturday at his home in Quincy at the age of 82.
- Delahunt served 14 years in the House of Representatives, from 1997 to 2011.
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Veteran Rep. William D. Delahunt of Massachusetts, a Democratic stalwart who postponed his own retirement from Washington to help pass former President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda, has died after a long illness.
Delahunt died Saturday at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, at the age of 82, his family announced.
The Democrat served 14 years in the United States House of Representatives, from 1997 to 2011, for Massachusetts’ 10th congressional district.
He was also Norfolk County district attorney from 1975 to 1996 after serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975.
The Delahunt family issued a statement Saturday saying he passed away “peacefully,” but did not reveal the specific cause of his death, according to news reports.
William Delahunt faces reporters during a news conference in 2010. Former Massachusetts congressman and district attorney Delahunt, a Democratic stalwart who postponed his own retirement from Washington to help pass former President Barack Obama’s agenda, died at cause of a disease.
“As we mourn the loss of such an extraordinary person, we also celebrate his remarkable life and legacy of dedication, service and inspiration,” the statement said. “We can always turn to him for wisdom, comfort and laughter, and his absence leaves a huge void in our family and in our hearts.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts praised Delahunt’s long public service as a legislator in the nation’s capital and a prosecutor in the county south of Boston.
“I met with Bill in Quincy in February, and he was clear and as committed as ever to working on behalf of the South Shore and the people of Massachusetts,” Markey said in a statement.
‘It is a fitting honor that the door to the William D. Delahunt Norfolk County Courthouse is opened every day so that the people inside can do the hard work of improving lives, as Bill Delahunt did.
“The Commonwealth and the country are better for Bill Delahunt’s vision and service.”
Delahunt speaks at Rep.-elect Bill Keating’s 2010 victory party
Senator John Kerry (center) speaks with US Representative William Delahunt (right)
President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, mourning Delahunt’s passing.
As a member of Congress, Delahunt negotiated a deal in 2005 with then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to obtain heating oil for low-income Massachusetts residents, according to news reports.
Delahunt also attended Chávez’s state funeral in Caracas in March 2013.
Delahunt resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2011. He told the Boston Globe that he had previously considered retiring, but his fellow veteran Bay State lawmaker, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, convinced him he was needed to help. to approve Obama’s legislative initiatives at that time. .
Delahunt was an early supporter of Obama, becoming the first member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to endorse the Illinois senator’s presidential bid, according to a report in The Patriot Ledger, the newspaper in Delahunt’s hometown of Quincy. .
Announcing his retirement in March 2010, Delahunt said Kennedy’s death the previous year made him think about finding time for priorities beyond Washington.
“It became clear that I wanted to spend my time, the time I have left, with my family, my friends and my loved ones,” Delahunt said.