Kevin Honan

Kevin G. Honan is an American politician who has served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 17th Suffolk district since 1987. A resident of the Brighton neighborhood of Boston and a member of the Democratic Party, Honan is the House's longest continuously serving legislator.

Education Honan graduated from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in political science and government in 1981.

Since joining the legislature in 1987, he has received a master's degree in management sciences from Lesley College in 1991 and a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1999.

Political career Honan was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, defeating Carol Wolfe, an administrator for the neighborhood Community District Advisory Council and proponent of school desegregation, and Francis Xavier Griffin.

Honan was unopposed in every primary and general election from 1988 to 2018.

His closest race came in the 2020 Democratic primary, when he defeated progressive challenger Jordan Meehan with 54% of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election and has not faced an opponent in any subsequent election.

Issues

Housing As chairman of the Joint Committee on Housing, a position he held for seventeen years, Honan oversaw significant legislation aimed at expanding affordable housing, including a $1.8 billion bond bill in 2018 to increase housing production and preserve housing affordability.

COVID-19 pandemic In April 2020, Honan co-sponsored an eviction and foreclosure moratorium that, upon its passage, became the first of its kind in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill protected residents from being evicted from or foreclosed on their homes during the state's COVID-19 emergency declaration.

Committee assignments

Chairperson, House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling

Personal life Honan resides in Brighton with his wife Colleen and his daughter Molly.