Dianne Wilkerson
| Dianne Wilkerson | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 2nd Suffolk district |
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In office 1993–2008 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Owens |
| Succeeded by | Sonia Chang-Díaz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 2, 1955 Pine Bluff, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | American International College, Boston College |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Baptist |
Dianne Wilkerson (born May 2, 1955) is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate, representing the 2nd Suffolk District from 1993 to 2008.
On October 28, 2008, she was arrested on public corruption charges by the FBI for allegedly accepting bribes totaling $23,500. She formally resigned on November 19, 2008. On June 3, 2010 she pleaded guilty to eight counts of attempted extortion.
Dianne Wilkerson graduated from High School of Commerce in Springfield. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from American International College in 1978, and a juris doctor from Boston College Law School in 1981.
In 1993, she became the first African American female to serve in the Massachusetts Senate.
She lost the September 2008 Democratic primary to Sonia Chang-Díaz, and on October 31, 2008, announced that she was ending her sticker campaign to seek re-election in the November 4, 2008, election. On November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate.
When in office, Wilkerson's Senatorial District included the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, the South End, and some parts of the Fenway, Dorchester, and Mattapan.
Commission to Eliminate Racial & Ethnic Healthcare Disparities, Co-Chair; Hynes Convention Center & Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, Co-Chair; Special Commission on Non-Group and Small Group Health Insurance, Co-Chair; Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, Member.
Senate Chair, Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight; Vice-Chair, Joint Committee on Financial Services; Member, Senate Committee on Ways and Means; Member, Joint Committee on Education; Member, Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Member, Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.
Wilkerson was sentenced to house arrest in December 1997 after pleading guilty to failing to pay $51,000 in federal income taxes in the early 1990s. She was suspended from practicing law for one year in 1999 because of the conviction and did not seek reinstatement.
In 2001, she was fined $1,000 by the State Ethics Commission for failing to properly report that a bank she lobbied for as senator was paying her more than $20,000 a year as a consultant.
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