BOSTON — State Sen. Sue Tucker was remembered on Thursday as a “trailblazer” who helped break through the male-dominated glass ceiling on Beacon Hill and inspire a new generation of women politicians.
Tucker, a former state lawmaker who advocated for affordable housing and railed against legalizing casino gambling, died Nov. 20. She was 79 years old.
Lawmakers paused during a formal session on Thursday to pay tribute to her public service with a ceremony in the Senate’s ornate chambers, as Tucker’s friends, former colleagues and family looked down from the upper gallery.
State Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, who took over Tucker’s Senate seat, said she came to Beacon Hill at a time when few women were involved in politics and said “paved a way for countless others to follow in her footsteps.”
“In 1999, when Sue Tucker came to the Senate, there were only seven other women serving here, and only four women serving in the U.S. Senate,” Finegold said in remarks. “She was a tremendous person, advocate and legislator.”
Finegold and other lawmakers, including Sens. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, and Pavel Payano, D-Lawrence, took turns reading from a resolution that lauded Tucker’s accomplishments during her 20-year tenure in the state Legislature.
Before adjourning, the Senate held a moment of silence honoring Tucker’s memory.
“She would be so touched by how many of her colleagues and friends are here today,” Finegold said.
Tucker, a Kansas native, served in the state House of Representatives from 1982 to 1992 and in the state Senate from 1999 to 2011, representing the Second Essex and Middlesex district that included Andover and Lawrence.
On Beacon Hill, Tucker was known as a champion of housing initiatives, serving a stint as the chairwoman of the Legislature’s Committee on Housing, where she pushed for plans to solve the state’s homeless crisis.
Over the years, she sponsored bills to preserve affordable housing, prevent foreclosures, lower auto insurance rates and expand consumer protections, among other efforts.
She also served stints on the executive board of the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council and was a member of the Andover Industrial and Development Commission.
Prior to entering politics, Tucker was a teacher in the Lexington and Andover school districts.
Tucker was predeceased by her sons, Mark and David, and survived by Mike Tucker, her husband of 57 years.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com