Raymond Flynn

Raymond Flynn
Flynn (circa 1984–1987)
4th United States Ambassador to the Holy See
In office September 2, 1993 – September 20, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Thomas Patrick Melady
Succeeded by	Lindy Boggs
Mayor of Boston
In office January 2, 1984 – July 12, 1993
Preceded by	Kevin White
Succeeded by	Thomas Menino
49th President of the United States Conference of Mayors
In office 1991–1992
Preceded by	Robert M. Isaac
Succeeded by	William Althaus
Boston City Councilor
In office January 1978 – January 2, 1984
Preceded by	Louise Day Hicks and John J. Kerrigan
Succeeded by	N/A (number of at-large seats reduced)
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office January 1975 – January 1978
Preceded by	Royal L. Bolling and Dorris Bunte
Succeeded by	Dorris Bunte
Constituency	7th Suffolk
In office January 1971 – January 1975 Serving with Michael F. Flaherty Sr.
Succeeded by	Elaine Noble
Constituency	6th Suffolk
Personal details
Born	Raymond Leo Flynn (1939-07-22) July 22, 1939 (age 85) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Catherine Coyne
Children	6 (including Ed)
Parent(s)	Stephen Flynn Lillian Kirby Flynn
Alma mater	Providence College (BA) Harvard University (MA)

Raymond Leo Flynn (born July 22, 1939) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1984 until 1993. He also served as United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 1993 to 1997.

Flynn was an All-American college basketball player at Providence College. During his senior year, Flynn was selected the "Most Valuable Player" in the 1963 National Invitation Tournament. After a brief professional basketball career, Flynn worked in several fields, including as a high school teacher and a probation officer, before entering politics. Flynn began his political career as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1971 to 1979, representing the South Boston neighborhood during the turbulent Boston desegregation busing crisis of the early 1970s. Flynn opposed federally-mandated school busing. Throughout his political career, Flynn held a strong anti-abortion position. As a state legislator, Flynn co-authored the "Flynn–Doyle amendment" to ban government funding of abortions covered by Medicaid. This was initially successfully vetoed by Governor Michael Dukakis. However a version of the amendment was passed over Dukakis's veto in 1978. Flynn served on the Boston City Council from 1978 to 1984. As a city councilor, Flynn stood in opposition to rate increases by utility companies and regularly proposed tenants' rights ordinances.

Flynn was elected mayor of Boston in 1983 and took office in 1984. Flynn was reelected in 1987 and 1991. Polls showed Flynn to enjoy strong approval from Bostonians during his mayoralty. As mayor, Flynn balanced the city's budget, eliminating a large budget deficit. To address the deficit, Flynn lobbied heavily for the passage of a revenue package for the city in the Massachusetts Legislature to provide additional state aid to the city and the authorization for the city to raise new local taxes. In 1985, a revenue package was passed and signed into law by Governor Dukakis. In response to discriminatory practices studies found banks to be practicing in Boston, Flynn took actions which persuaded banks to reach a $400 million community reinvestment agreement with the city. Flynn succeeded in getting legislation passed to replace the city's publicly-elected school board with the new Boston School Committee, members of which are appointed by the city's mayor. Flynn would quickly come to express his regret about this change. In 1990, Flynn saw strong criticism from Black leaders over the Boston Police Department's handling of the investigation into the murder of Carol Stuart. As mayor, Flynn advanced plans to desegregate the city's public housing. Flynn's administration gave neighborhood groups more of a voice in the use of the city's development and planning authorities in their neighborhoods. This included innovative move of granting the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative powers of eminent domain. Flynn successfully fought to enact rent control laws and strong tenants' rights laws. Flynn also served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors from 1991 to 1992.

Flynn resigned as mayor in 1993 in order to accept an appointment by President Bill Clinton as ambassador to the Holy See. He expanded the position's mission to involve participation in addressing problem areas around the world. During his tenure as ambassador, he also encountered some controversy. In 1998, Flynn unsuccessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives. Flynn later served as president of Catholic Alliance, a nonpartisan Catholic advocacy group.