William Q. MacLean, Jr.

William Quincy MacLean Jr. (November 4, 1934 – February 20, 2026) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts General Court from 1961 to 1993, serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1961 to 1981 and in the Massachusetts Senate from 1981 to 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a part of House leadership from 1972 to 1978, serving as majority whip and then majority leader until he resigned from leadership amid a conflict with Speaker Thomas W. McGee. He gained the nickname "Mr. December" for his ability to get bills passed in the final month of a legislative session. He did not seek reelection in 1992 and was convicted of violating a conflict-of-interest law in 1993, paying the largest conflict-of-interest fine in state history and losing his pension.

Early life MacLean was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on November 4, 1934. He soon gained the nickname "Biff". He attended public schools in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and started playing high school varsity sports at Fairhaven High School in the last year of middle school. He continued to play sports while he attended that school, playing five sports and accumulating 14 varsity letters before he graduated in 1954. He worked in real estate, as an insurance broker, and also had interests in four fishing trawlers. In the 1970s, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts's University Without Walls program with a degree in political science. In July 1975, Speaker Thomas W. McGee made him House majority leader, the job McGee had held until he succeeded speaker David M. Bartley. McGee told MacLean that he would make a good majority leader and strong right arm; observers found that the former was debatable and the latter true. In January 1977, he temporarily assumed the responsibilities of the speakership after McGee was injured in a skiing accident; Republicans and progressive Democrats were skeptical of him. James Smith, a progressive representative who had clashed with McGee, said that the House would lack leadership with MacLean in charge, saying he lacked the members' respect. He had previously threatened resignation in disputes, but he had never gone so far as to resign. MacLean said he opposed the racing bill because it treated three Bristol County tracks unfairly; observers noted that the bill would have damaged one of his friends' racing business. Due to his prodigious fundraising, spectators believed that his resignation was the beginning of a plan to unseat McGee as speaker. One representative commented that MacLean would never be satisfied until he was speaker. It quickly became apparent that his bid needed a "miracle" or an unlikely alliance of progressive Democrats, opportunistic legislators, and Republicans to succeed. MacLean portrayed himself as a reformer, which his colleagues could not believe due to his extensive ties to special interests.

With his aspirations for House leadership dead, MacLean aimed to start over in the Senate and so he challenged incumbent state senator Robert M. Hunt for his seat in the Bristol and Plymouth district. MacLean defeated Hunt 51% to 40% in the Democratic primary and beat Republican Brett W. Thacher 67% to 33% in the general election. He then ran unopposed until 1990 when he beat Hunt, who had become a Republican, 67% to 33%. In the Senate, he chaired a committee which Senator David H. Locke called "the largest above-ground grave in the state", as any bill Senate leadership opposed would die in his committee. MacLean did not seek reelection in 1992. In the House, MacLean was described as a loyal supporter of Democratic leadership and the chief fundraiser among Democrats in 1977. McGee was a conservative and the Massachusetts Civil Liberties Union once gave him a rating of zero. He was viewed as tough and heavy-handed, but also as compromising. He was also an ally of business and universities in Southeastern Massachusetts.

On February 5, MacLean pleaded guilty to both charges. He was ordered to pay the state $512,000 and serve one year of probation. It was the largest conflict of interest fine in state history.

State law allows the board to invalidate the pensions of state workers who are convicted of crimes "applicable" to their jobs. On September 17, 1993, the state retirement stripped MacLean of his $23,000 a year pension. MacLean appealed the revocation. In 2000, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the revocation of MacLean's pension. and they divorced in 1976. They had three children.