Howard J. Whitmore Jr.

Political career Whitmore's political career began in 1940 when he was elected to the Newton Board of Aldermen. From 1947 to 1953, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he was the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. He left the House in 1953 after being elected Mayor of Newton.

Whitmore did not seek reelection in 1959. He was considered to be a frontrunner for the Republican nomination for Governor in 1960, but dropped out of the race after he lost the convention vote to John A. Volpe. He was the Republican nominee for United States Senate in 1964. He lost to incumbent Ted Kennedy by over one million votes.

Later years After his defeat in the 1964 Senate race, Whitmore was named Commissioner of the Metropolitan District Commission, a post he held until 1970. He died in Boston, Massachusetts in 1998 at age 93.