Martin Lomasney

Martin Michael Lomasney (December 3, 1859 – August 12, 1933) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts.

Lomasney served as State Senator, State Representative, and alderman but is best known as the political boss of Boston's West End. Lomasney wielded considerable influence in city and state politics for over 40 years and was nicknamed "the Mahatma" for his uncanny ability to deliver votes for his preferred candidates.

In the course of his colorful career, Lomasney was shot once, feuded with James Michael Curley and John F. Fitzgerald, told the Archbishop of Boston to "mind his own business," advised Al Smith, played a major role in the drafting of the current Massachusetts Constitution, and helped thousands of constituents obtain jobs, housing, and other necessities.

Initially, Lomasney's ward was predominantly Irish. Over the years, as the Irish began migrating out of the West End to Roxbury and Dorchester, and the city zoning board expanded his ward to include the North and South Ends, Lomasney expanded his influence to bring together a large, ethnically diverse coalition of mostly poor and working-class voters.