User:Relliot1960

Rodney Elliott (born 1960 in Lowell, Massachusetts) is the current State Representative for the 16th Middlesex District of Massachusetts. Massachusetts House of Representatives' 16th Middlesex district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of Middlesex County. He served as Mayor of the City from 2014-2015. The Mayor of the City is chosen by the nine members of the council on the first Monday in January following the November election. The Mayor serves as the chairperson of the City Council and also the Lowell School Committee.

Early Life and Education
Rodney was born to Francis and Theresa Elliott. His father was born and raised in the Acre Section of the City, his mother attended St Louis Academy. Rodney’s maternal grandparents were both orphans in Franco American orphanage and both worked in the City’s mills.

Elliott grew up in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell, Massachusetts. He attended Saint Jeanne d’Arc School during his elementary and middle school years. His family moved to Pelham, NH when Rodney was in eighth grade. He is the second oldest and only son of a working class family of six children one sister, Karen, passed away as an infant.

As an Undergraduate he attended Plymouth State College and was the first member of his family to graduate. He traveled abroad with the College to the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War and saw firsthand how a totalitarian government suppresses its people. This made an impression on him and helped form his belief that American style democracy is the greatest system of governance in the world. It also jumpstarted his desire to begin a career in public service. Elliott graduated from Plymouth State in 1982 with a degree in Political Science and moved back to his hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Early Career
Elliott’s first job out of college was as a Legislative Aide to then State Senator Phillip Shea. He was primarily focused on constituent services (and buying Tab) for the Senator. This is where he developed an understanding and appreciation for constituent based public service. Elliott went on to work for the City of Lowell as its Planner while simultaneously pursuing his Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Suffolk University in Boston and bartending at local theaters to pay for his education. He then became the Administrative Assistant for the Town of Groton, MA.