Rob O'Leary for Congress

Rob's Story

A resident of Massachusetts’ 10th Congressional District for 34 years, Rob O’Leary has built a reputation tackling big challenges and bringing people together to find solutions that work. 

Growing up in Lowell as one of six children, Rob learned how to work with a wide variety people: His jobs ranged from washing dishes to working in hospitals to doing research for the International Association of Fire Fighters. As a young man, Rob served in the Army Reserve and taught in public schools. Rob’s teaching career led him to Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he still teaches as a tenured professor along with an adjunct position at Cape Cod Community College. 

Elected as a Barnstable County Commissioner in 1987, Rob began his public service career with a vision for changing the way local government works. As the Cape’s population boomed, he took the lead in creating the Cape Cod Commission to make smart growth a reality. A key force in the development of the Cape Light Compact, he helped combine energy conservation and green energy incentives with consumer protection to change the way the region generates and consumes electricity. His work on the Cape Cod Land Bank made environmental and open space preservation a priority and established a model that is being used today by communities across the Commonwealth. 

In 2000, Rob became the first Democrat to represent his district in the Massachusetts Senate in 40 years. Working with his own party, across the aisle, with coastal interests and most importantly with his constituents, Rob spearheaded the nation’s first ocean management legislation, which allows for harmonious conservation, industry and development in our ocean waters. As Chairman of the Higher Education Committee in the Senate, Rob was the leader in reforming and significantly increasing funding for Massachusetts’ higher education system. As the current Chairman of the Education Committee, Rob was a chief architect of one of the biggest pieces of education legislation since Education Reform in 1993, allowing for increased choice and innovation in public school districts. Rob’s commitment to the environment on the Cape followed him to the State House and he has been a strong supporter of a number of pieces of legislation that have put Massachusetts at the forefront nationally in energy efficiency, carbon emission controls, and renewable energy developments. As a Barnstable County Commissioner and State Senator, Rob has proven himself a skilled listener and an able problem solver, bringing together diverse voices to make a lasting difference for his constituents.

Now Rob is running for Congress because Washington needs common sense leadership to enact real change that gets results. From Quincy to Aquinnah, Pembroke to Provincetown, Massachusetts’ 10th District is unique, and deserves a Congressman who has a proven record of bringing people with disparate viewpoints to the table to solve problems and move us forward.

Rob still lives in Barnstable. He has three daughters and is as committed as ever to causes that affect the Cape and the southern coastal areas of Massachusetts.