Introduction
Gloria L. Fox is the Massachusetts state representative for the 7th Suffolk district, consisting of precincts 8, 9 and 10 of ward 4, precinct 4 of ward 8, precincts 4 and 5 of ward 9, precinct 4 of ward 10, precinct 1 of ward 11, precincts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 of ward 12, and precinct 1 of ward 21, of the city of Boston, in the county of Suffolk. She has been a state representative since 1987.
Early life
Raised as a foster child, Fox attended Boston and Everett public schools. She has also completed the MIT Community Fellows program.
Political career
Fox first ran for the 7th Suffolk seat in 1984, losing a write-in campaign against six-term incumbent and Democratic nominee Doris Bunte. Fox ran for the seat again in 1986, when Bunte announced her retirement from the legislature. Fox won the three-way Democratic primary and also the general election, where she was unopposed. Fox faces two challengers in the 2012 primaries, her first contested primary race since 1994.
Fox serves on the Joint Committee on Housing as vice chair, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling, and the House Committee on Ways and Means.
In 2009, Fox came under scrutiny for a visit she made to the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. While visiting inmate Darrell Jones, Fox was accompanied by Jones' girlfriend, Joanna Marinova. Fox was criticized for bringing Marinova into an unsecured area through her legislative privileges. Fox responded by denying any wrongdoing, and that she was unaware that Marinova was Jones' girlfriend. On March 19, 2014 a jury found the Boston Herald liable in the libel suit brought by Marinova, citing the fact that no sexual acts occurred while Fox and Marinova visited the prison, as the Herald had reported.
Fox voted against casino gambling in Massachusetts, and opposed a 'three-strikes' bill that passed through the legislature and was signed by Governor Deval Patrick.
Awards
In 2011, Fox received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators for her community activism.