Mark Sylvia '92 Elected as State Representative
Mark Sylvia, President of his FHS Class of 1992, has dedicated himself to public service since graduating from American University in Washington D.C. in 1996 and he has earned his way to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Mark is the son of Raymond (Class of '63) and Jeanette (Ledoux) Sylvia of Fairhaven. Mark has worked tirelessly in a number of public service positions for the past thirty years. He was elected to the Fairhaven School Committee at the age of 20 in 1998 where he served two terms. He served as a Special Assistant to the Plymouth Town Manager in 1998 and then took over the Town Manager position there from 2005 - 2009. Mark joined Governor Deval Patrick's staff in 2009 as the first Director of the Green Communities project. Governor Patrick appointed Mark to be the Commissioner of the Dept. of Energy Resources in 2011, and then he transitioned to the position of Energy Undersecretary in 2014.
Mark entered the private sector in 2015 serving as the Managing Director of Blue Wave, a company that works on creative solutions in the field of green energy. Throughout his work experience Mark served for the past 16 years as the Town Meeting Moderator in Fairhaven.
Mark was elected as a Democrat from the 10th Bristol District which serves Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion and parts of New Bedford and Acushnet. Mark defeated the Republican candidate, Joe Pires (Rochester). winning 53% of the vote. The 10th Bristol seat was left vacant when longtime state representative William Straus (Dem - Mattapoisett) decided not to seek re-election. When asked about his goals Mark explained that he is "very excited for the possibility to be your representative in the Legislature for the next two years. We have to focus on things like cost of living, which is affecting everybody in the district and in the commonwealth. We have to focus on the things that matter to our district."
Mark will begin his term in the State House on January 1, 2025 and we all wish him the best of luck. We know that he will be the dedicated, conscientious public official that he has always been.