Robert DeLeo (D-MA) has the privilege of serving his home state of Massachusetts as its 85th Speaker of the House of Representatives. He has served in this capacity since 2009, and as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 19th Suffolk District since 1995, and the 20th Suffolk since 1991. He is truly a Boston-born and raised native, as he was born in Winthrop, graduated from Boston Latin School in 1967, and graduated from Northeastern (BA) and Suffolk University (JD) respectively. Today he proudly represents the people of Winthrop and Revere in the House, as he progresses the environmental impact, infrastructure, and safety of the Commonwealth. He has become known as a leader in budget talks, and led the House Ways and Means Committee between 2005 and 2009, which is primarily involved with budget-writing for each fiscal year. Most notably, in 2014, DeLeo sponsored and led the bill to tighten gun laws in Massachusetts as a model gun reform bill for the entire nation; it was one of the first bills to drastically curb gun trafficking and strengthen record keeping. Speaker DeLeo has also prioritized combating the opioid crisis, widening educational opportunities for Massachusetts children, cutting health care costs, and creating jobs to boost the state economy. He has done all of this through compromise and cooperation with other legislators at the State House, and leads the House in their effort to better the lives of all residents of Massachusetts.