Mike Festa is the former President of the Carroll Center for the Blind, located in Newton, Massachusetts. The Carroll Center provides educational services, vocational and social rehabilitation, mobility, essential skills and technology training for those who are blind or visually impaired. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University, Graduate School of Public Management. Festa formerly served as the Secretary of Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His resignation as Secretary of Elder Affairs was announced by the Governor's Office on January 31, 2009. He was formerly the state representative for Melrose, Massachusetts

Melrose, Massachusetts

-Government:Robert J. Dolan is the mayor. Melrose is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Paul Brodeur . Katherine Clark is the state senator for wards 1 through 5 and Thomas McGee is the state senator for wards 6 and 7. Melrose is part of the seventh Congressional...

 and parts of Wakefield, Massachusetts

Wakefield, Massachusetts

-History:-Geography:The diagram above shows what is to the east, west, north, south, and other directions of the center of Wakefield. Towns with population above 25,000 are in bold italics.-Demographics:-Notable residents:...

. He is a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. He is pro-choice

Pro-choice

Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....

 and pro gay marriage. Festa ran for Middlesex County

Middlesex County, Massachusetts

-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...

 District Attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 in 2007 but dropped out of the race.

Festa is married to Sandra Festa (30 years), with two children: Michael, age 28, a computer engineer at IonSense, Saugus, Massachusetts, who graduated from George Washington University in 2006, and Danielle, age 26, is a painter, graphic artist and web-designer, who graduated from UMASS Amherst.

He attended Melrose High School, 1972; Tufts University

Tufts University

Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

, B.A. 1976; Suffolk University Law School

Suffolk University Law School

Suffolk University Law School, also known as Suffolk Law School or SULS, is one of the professional graduate schools of Suffolk University. Suffolk University Law School is a private, non-sectarian, law school located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Suffolk University Law School was founded in...

, J.D. 1979

From 1979 to 1981 he held office as the assistant district attorney, Middlesex County.
Festa has also been an attorney in private practice since 1981.

The elected offices Festa has held include:

• Massachusetts House of Representatives
  Massachusetts House of Representatives
  The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
  
  , 1999-2007 (32nd Middlesex District),
• Vice Chair of Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight,
• Melrose School Committee 1974-78,
• Melrose Board of Aldermen, At-Large, 1978–80, 1992-98.

Other activities:

• Democratic State Committeeman, Massachusetts Democratic Party
• Member and Former Chair, Melrose Democratic City Committee;
• Chair Emeritus, Criminal Justice Board of Directors, Council of State Governments;
• Guest Garden Host, MMTV's cable show "Le Jardin";
• Member and Past President, Malden Court Bar Association;

External links

• • Festa was instrumental in the passage of Melanie's Law, a bill designed to crack down on repeat drunk drivers. The legislation, named after Melanie Powell, a 13 year old Marshfield girl killed by a drunk driver, was languishing in committee when Festa insisted the leadership bring it up for a vote and eventual passage in the full house.**