February 18, 2010

By Deirdra Dostou

From I Street to Gate of Heaven, from hockey at Southie High to coaching South Boston little league, from City Hall to the State House, Tommy Butler’s roots run deep in this hometown.

“South Boston has done so much for me. It never let me down when I needed it”. As an aide to Senator Hart, Tommy Butler oversees South Boston constituent services.

With full days at the State House followed by at least one nightly civic organization meeting, Butler, who turned 27 in January, explains, “There’s usually one night a week where I’m not a meetings. It’s easy in your 20’s to do your own thing and worry about yourself. What I realized since taking these jobs in public service was that there’s a lot going on outside of my world. Watching it change after the whole suicide and drug stuff I decided instead of being upset about how much South Boston is changing I embraced it.”

After being recruited to play hockey for Bridgton Academy in Maine, Butler attended Framingham State College in 2005. “I was in living in Natick with friends from college.” Majoring in sociology major with a minor in psychology, Butler explained “Then my father’s accident happened.”

Butler’s father, Massport Director of External Affairs Tom Butler Sr., suffered a serious accident in 2005. “He was hit by a taxi on East Broadway. It pretty much launched him down Broadway.” Butler continued, “I came home to take care of him and to be there for my mom and my sister. He had a lot of swelling in his brain. He came through the coma after seven days. He was in the hospital for 2 months. I slept at the hospital every night in a little chair next to the bed. My father’s a real proud guy so it was tough to see him like that.”

Butler explained his father required rehabilitation at home upon release. Back in South Boston, “I had left school and started attending classes at Bunker Hill Community College, kind of figuring out what I was going to do. I was day to day with my dad at the house then I would go to class”. Being home, Butler reconnected with political friends he grew up with.

“I’ve always been around politics” he explained on the inclination to public service his career has taken. Butler, who has previously worked for City Councilor Bill Linehan, currently serves as aide to Senator Hart, overseeing all constituent services for South Boston residents. “My father was President of the South Boston Citizen’s Association. The Flahertys, the Bulgers, were always at my house on St. Patrick’s Day. One of my dad’s closest friends was Jimmy Kelly. I never looked at them any differently. I’m excited to work with Senator Hart on my first St. Patrick’s Day.” 

Butler has served in Senator Hart’s office since last summer after working with Councilor Linehan for almost 2 years. His outlook on neighborhood changes seeps into his every day work. With new developments in his hometown, “We don’t have to see it as a negative. A lot of eye sores are now million dollar developments. We can see if we can coexist. You try to listen twice as much as your speak”.

A member of the South Boston Little League Board of Directors, Butler shared his most marking experience as a member of Senator Hart’s staff was participating in last fall’s Veteran’s Express trip to Washington, D.C. with WWII veterans. “We were able to go down with 32 veterans to see the WWII memorial. Some of the veterans had never seen it before. It was something you see in a movie. Not many 20 year olds get to experience that.”

Tommy Butler can be reached at Senator Hart’s State House office by calling (617) 722-1150.