# State's Longest-Serving Elected Official Dead At 86



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

_Sullivan Retired In January _

*CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- *Edward J. Sullivan, who retired earlier this year as the state's longest serving elected official, died Tuesday, his nephew said.

Sullivan, who retired in January as Middlesex County clerk of courts, was 86.

He died at a Cambridge hospital from complications of an infection that surfaced in April, said his nephew and successor in office, Michael A. Sullivan.

Sullivan, who won his first election to the Cambridge city council in 1950 when President Truman was in office, also served as mayor before being elected clerk in 1958. He was one of four family members to serve a combined 72 years on the Cambridge council and six terms as mayor, Michael Sullivan said.

In an interview last year with The Associated Press, Sullivan said he stayed in the clerk's job for those eight six-year terms because "I liked what I was doing."

"I thought it was a hell of a spot," he said. "I became known as an innovator here."

The Middlesex clerk's office handles more than 80,000 criminal and civil cases each year. The clerk oversees 96 employees in two offices -- Cambridge and Lowell. His office was among the first in the state to computerize records.

"He was a proud public servant and true innovator - working to assure diversity in our juries and utilizing technology to more efficiently manage the courts," Middlesex District Attorney Gerald Leone said in a statement.

Michael Sullivan said his uncle kept up a grueling schedule campaigning with him last year.

"He wanted to thank the people of Middlesex County and Cambridge for giving him the opportunity to serve and he wanted to take the time to very personally thank them," he said.

Sullivan is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, "about 100 nieces and nephews and about 100 unofficial nieces and nephews," Michael Sullivan said.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/13750201/detail.html


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