From his election to the House in 1968, freshman legislator Shea engaged in activism against the Vietnam War and supported the burgeoning modern environmental movement. A bill he sponsored, which later bore his name, exempted Massachusetts residents from being conscripted into federal service in undeclared foreign conflicts. While it passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Francis Sargent, the Supreme Court declined to hear the state's challenge to the war's constitutionality in Massachusetts v. Laird.
Already feeling overworked soon after he entered the legislature, Shea was frequently asked to speak and floated as a candidate for higher office. Succumbing to what his wife described as "political pressures," he committed suicide by gunshot at the age of 30.
Shea first ran for an at-large seat on the Newton Board of Aldermen in 1963.[10] In a race for two spots from Ward 7, he ran on a progressive platform that included providing public records of board attendance and activities.[13][14] He placed a distant fourth among the candidates.[15]
In November 1965, he ran again, this time for the Ward 7 seat being vacated by incumbent William Carmen, and initially came in 8 votes behind Boston University professor Harry H. Crosby.[16] After a recount, Shea was given 961 votes to Crosby's 958.[17] The battle made its way to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which declared Shea the winner the following April, after more than five months of uncertainty.[18][19]
Two years later, in 1967, Shea ran for reelection unopposed.[20] He compiled a liberal voting record, earning himself a 100% rating – the highest of anyone on the Board of Aldermen – from the Massachusetts chapter of Americans for Democratic Action.[21]
State politics and anti-war activism
In 1968, state representative Joseph G. Bradley decided against running for reelection in the newly drawn 12th Middlesex district and instead challenged longtime 3rd district congressman Philip J. Philbin in the September 17 Democratic Partyprimary. Philbin, the second highest ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, was perceived as being hawkish on Vietnam, while Bradley, one of the first politicians in the state to oppose the bombing of North Vietnam, aligned himself with the anti-war faction of the party.[22] Shea endorsed Bradley and mounted a campaign to succeed him in the state house.[23][24] While Bradley was not successful in his race, Shea was. He surprised poll watchers by ending up the top Democratic vote-getter in the district, receiving 277 more votes than Bradley's seatmate, Paul F. Malloy. Malloy and Shea bested Republican nominees Wigmore A. Pierson and Nelson M. Silk Jr. in the November general election.[25]
Shea was opposed to the Vietnam War, and sponsored a bill[26] under which Massachusetts residents could refuse to fight abroad in undeclared wars,[a] thereby setting up a possible constitutional test of the Viet Nam War.[27] The landmark legislation[28] was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor.[29] Though it was later overturned by the Supreme Court, Shea's bill had wide-reaching impact at the time, including the passage of the War Powers Act in 1974, which limited the amount of time in which a President could conduct military operations before going to Congress for a declaration of war or other justification.[29]
Death and funeral
Mourners leave Our Lady Help of Christians Church behind Shea's casket on May 11, 1970
On May 8, 1970, Shea and his wife went to the home of Joseph M. McDonnell, a Newton alderman and friend, where they spent the evening socializing. Upon returning to their residence on Princess Road in West Newton at approximately 12:30 the following morning, Shea went to an upstairs room he used as an office and closed the door. When his wife went to check on him, he raised the .38 caliberSmith & Wessonrevolver he owned to his head and fired. He had reportedly been under "political pressure" at the time.[28][27][30] After Shea's wife phoned McDonnell, who called the police, Shea was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival at 12:55 am.
Businessman Robert Kraft was elected chairman of the Newton City Democratic Committee in 1968. The death of Shea, a friend, deterred Kraft from further pursuing a career in politics, including a 1970 congressional run.[34]
^The bill did not allow Massachusetts residents to decline the draft; rather, it provided for them to decline combat duty in foreign countries unless the military action had been authorized by a declaration of war by Congress. The measure also directed the Massachusetts Attorney General to represent such servicemen in court.
A test case was being prepared by the state Attorney General shortly after its passage.[26]