Will Brownsberger

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title: "Will Brownsberger" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1957-births", "american-bisexual-men", "american-bisexual-politicians", "harvard-college-alumni", "harvard-law-school-alumni", "living-people", "bisexual-male-politicians", "democratic-party-massachusetts-state-senators", "lgbtq-state-legislators-in-massachusetts", "people-from-watertown,-massachusetts", "21st-century-american-lgbtq-people", "21st-century-members-of-the-massachusetts-general-court"] description: "American politician from Massachusetts" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Brownsberger" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician from Massachusetts ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Will Brownsberger
image	William N Brownsberger.png
office	President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate
term_start	March 20, 2019
predecessor	Marc R. Pacheco
state_senate1	Massachusetts
district1	Suffolk and Middlesex
term_start1	January 24, 2012
predecessor1	Steven Tolman
state_house2	Massachusetts
district2	24th Middlesex
term_start2	January 3, 2007
term_end2	January 24, 2012
predecessor2	Anne Paulsen
successor2	David M. Rogers
birth_name	William N. Brownsberger
birth_date
birth_place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
party	Democratic
education	Harvard University (BA, JD)
website
::

|name = Will Brownsberger |image = William N Brownsberger.png |office = President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate |term_start = March 20, 2019 |term_end = |predecessor = Marc R. Pacheco |successor = |state_senate1 = Massachusetts |district1 = Suffolk and Middlesex |term_start1 = January 24, 2012 |term_end1 = |predecessor1 = Steven Tolman |successor1 = |state_house2 = Massachusetts |district2 = 24th Middlesex |term_start2 = January 3, 2007 |term_end2 = January 24, 2012 |predecessor2 = Anne Paulsen |successor2 = David M. Rogers |birth_name = William N. Brownsberger |birth_date = |birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |party = Democratic |education = Harvard University (BA, JD) |website = William N. Brownsberger (born March 21, 1957) is an American politician and the President pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate representing the Suffolk and Middlesex District which includes his hometown of Belmont, as well as Watertown, the Boston neighborhoods Allston and Brighton, part of Boston's Fenway-Kenmore area, and part of Cambridge. From 2007 to 2012, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2013 special election to succeed Ed Markey in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Brownsberger was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in nearby Watertown. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in 1978 and then went on to obtain his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1985.

He served three terms as a Belmont Selectman and as Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General for six years.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Brownsberger served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012, where he represented the 24th Middlesex district. He was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America while seeking reelection in 2010.

Massachusetts Senate

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/William_Brownsberger_-_January_2012.jpg" caption="Brownsberger (left) in 2012, with Governor [[Deval Patrick"] ::

A member of the Democratic Party, he ran uncontested in a January 2012 special election to replace Steven Tolman in the Massachusetts Senate, having won a crowded Democratic primary. He was sworn in on January 24, 2012. He was then re-elected in November 2012 to a 2-year term to the 188th General Court.

Union opposition

In 2022, Brownsberger joined Senate President Karen Spilka in opposing unionization effort by Senate staffers, stating "There would be a whole lot of conflict of interest issues if they're working with a union who has its own political agenda. You can't have people serving multiple masters, that’s just not acceptable."

Electoral history

Brownsberger ran unsuccessfully in the 2013 special election to succeed U.S. Representative Ed Markey, who resigned in June 2013 to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Personal life

Brownsberger resides in Belmont, Massachusetts. He is married with three daughters. He is also a marathoner, triathlete, and cyclist. Amidst the Pride parades of June 2023, he came out as bisexual while explaining that his announcement would not change his married lifestyle.

References

References

1. (2019-03-20). "New Job".
2. [http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/WNB1] (Massachusetts General Court).
3. "About Will Brownsberger". the Brownsberger Committee.
4. "Socialist group endorses Mass. Legislators".
5. (December 14, 2011). "Why Will Won: Staying Close to Home Pays Off for Brownsberger". Belmont Patch.
6. [http://mywillbrownsberger.com/node/141 General Election Results]. Elect Will Brownsberger.
7. (29 July 2022). "State House staffers aren't buying Spilka's reason to reject their union". GBH.
8. Miller, Joshua. (July 1, 2013). "Candidates propose 'People's Pledge' for US House race". The Boston Globe.
9. Brownsberger, Will. (June 11, 2023). "Pride 2023 - Will Brownsberger".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::