Introduction
Peter John Koutoujian Jr. (born September 17, 1961) is an American politician who is the current Sheriff of Middlesex County, Massachusetts and a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Koutoujian is of Armenian ancestry. A former Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex County, Koutoujian was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1996. From 2001–2005 he was a member of Joint Committee on Health Care and was the chairman of the Committee from 2003–2005. From 2005–2009 he was the Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health. From 2009 until his departure from the House he was the Chair of Joint Committee on Financial Services.
Sheriff of Middlesex County
On January 14, 2011, Koutoujian was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to fill the term of Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola, who had resigned and then committed suicide on November 26, 2010.
Congressional campaign
Koutoujian was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2013 special election for the U.S. House of Representatives. He ran to succeed Ed Markey as U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th district. He finished 2nd in the Democratic primary.