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Senator Richard T. Moore was first elected to the Massachusetts Senate on April 23, 1996 to represent the Southern Worcester County Area of Central Massachusetts. The Worcester and Norfolk Senatorial District, which he represents, consists of the towns of Bellingham, Blackstone, Douglas, Dudley, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford, Millville, Northbridge, Oxford, Southbridge, Uxbridge, Webster, and Sutton.
Currently, the senator serves as Chairman of the Committee on Health Care
Financing and as a member of several other committees. From 1977-1994, Senator Moore was a nine-term member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
In 1994, President Clinton nominated Mr. Moore to
serve as Associate Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington D.C. He was
subsequently confirmed by the United States Senate
and served in the Clinton Administration for two
years where he led successful efforts to develop a
National Mitigation Strategy – a comprehensive,
nationwide plan to help individuals, communities,
and states reduce the risk of disaster from natural
and technological hazards. Senator Moore coordinated
the planning, research, drafting, and public
involvement process through which the Strategy was
developed. For his efforts, Senator Moore was
presented with the "Distinguished Service
Award,” FEMA's highest award.
During his service with FEMA, Senator Moore was a
member of the U. S. delegation to the United Nations
sponsored World Conference on Disaster Loss
Reduction in Yokohama, Japan, which was held to
review progress on the International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction. His international
experience also includes a consulting assignment in
the United Kingdom in 1988, in the field of historic
preservation and environmental conservation and, in
1996, as a consultant to the Stockholm County
Council, Sweden on the politics of “reinventing
government.”
Since returning to the Massachusetts Legislature, Senator Moore has been the principal sponsor of legislative efforts to create a hazard mitigation trust fund and the state public health emergency act.
In in the year 2000, he successfully sponsored a bill to authorize Massachusetts to participate in the Interstate Emergency Management Compact. He is a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers and a member of the Emergency Management Section of the American Society for Public Administration.
Senator Moore is currently active in the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and, as a nationally recognized state legislative leader on health care issues, has been appointed to co-chair the
NCSL's Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Committee. The committee, and it's predecessor the Task Force
on Protecting Democracy (also chaired by the
senator), was formed in order to help state legislators across the nation to coordinate an effective response to issues raised in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks and build a stronger civic fabric in America. In that capacity, Senator Moore has also been chosen to serve on the federal Office of Homeland Security Advisory Commission.
Since the events of September 11th, Senator Moore has combined his health care knowledge with his experiences as Associate Director of
FEMA to lead efforts in Massachusetts and nationally to develop a Public Health Emergency Act responding to the issues raised by the threat of
bioterrorism.
Senator Moore served eight years as Selectman in his hometown of Hopedale, Massachusetts and was chosen as President of the Massachusetts Selectmen's Association in 1975 - a statewide association of local elected officials.
Professionally, he has served as Associate Dean of Students of Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts and Assistant to the President of Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts as well as Adjunct Associate Professor of Government at several colleges and universities. Senator Moore is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Nichols College, Dudley, Massachusetts. He has authored a number of articles concerning hazard risk mitigation and governmental policy and currently teaches a graduate level course in emergency management administration at Bridgewater State College.
The senator is a graduate of Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, and holds a Masters Degree in Student Personnel Administration from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. He has completed additional graduate level courses at Clark and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Senator Moore is married to the former Joanne Bednarz of Uxbridge. Senator and Mrs. Moore reside in Uxbridge, MA.
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