Dianne Wilkerson

Treasurer

First African American Female to serve in the Massachusetts Senate

In 1993, she became the first African American female to serve in the Massachusetts Senate.

She lost the September 2008 Democratic primary to Sonia Chang-Díaz, and on October 31, 2008, announced that she was ending her sticker campaign to seek re-election in the November 4, 2008, election. On November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate.

When in office, Wilkerson’s Senatorial District included the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, the South End, and some parts of the Fenway, Dorchester, and Mattapan.

Legislative appointments
Commission to Eliminate Racial & Ethnic Healthcare Disparities, Co-Chair; Hynes Convention Center & Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, Co-Chair; Special Commission on Non-Group and Small Group Health Insurance, Co-Chair; Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, Member.

Legislative committees
Senate Chair, Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight; Vice-Chair, Joint Committee on Financial Services; Member, Senate Committee on Ways and Means; Member, Joint Committee on Education; Member, Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Member, Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.