Cynthia Stone Creem, a Democrat, is running for reelection to the Massachusetts State Senate representing the Norfolk and Middlesex district. The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.

Creem has represented the district, which includes Newton, since 1999, according to BallotReady. She has served as Senate majority leader since 2018, according to her Wikipedia page.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Office sought: Massachusetts State Senate, Norfolk and Middlesex
  • Born: Sept. 17, 1942, in Boston
  • Education: Brookline High School; bachelor's degree in business administration, Boston University; law degree, Boston University
  • Profession: Attorney at Stone, Stone & Creem, where she has practiced since 1967, according to BallotReady

Experience and public service

Creem has held elected office for decades. She served as a councilmember on the Massachusetts Governor's Council for District 3 from 1995 to 1999, according to BallotReady. She served as president of the Newton Board of Aldermen, according to her campaign website. She also served as an alderperson on the board, according to BallotReady.

In the state Senate, Creem said she chaired the Criminal Justice Committee from 1999 to 2003, the Revenue Committee from 2003 to 2008 and the Joint Committee on Judiciary from 2009 to 2013.

On the issues

Creem outlined several policy priorities on her campaign website and through BallotReady:

Criminal justice: Creem said she opposed reinstatement of the death penalty while chairing the Criminal Justice Committee. She said she is a leading advocate for restoring judicial discretion in sentencing and eliminating mandatory minimum sentences. During the 2017-18 session, she said she helped secure reforms reducing the number of crimes subject to mandatory minimum sentences, adding oversight and time limits to solitary confinement, allowing expungement of juvenile records and moving juveniles charged with low-level offenses into diversion programs.

Environment and energy: Creem said she supports banning toxic flame retardants and adopting the FUTURE Act to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Civil rights: Creem said she supports placing a moratorium on government use of facial recognition software to protect civil liberties. She also led the push to pass automatic voter registration legislation in 2018, according to Wikipedia.

Guns: "I will continue to work for the constituents of my district by championing progressive policies, including stricter gun control laws," Creem said through BallotReady.

Health care: Creem said she served in a leadership role on a law legalizing stem-cell research.

Sources: Public campaign materials, published candidate profiles and the public records linked above. Policy statements are attributed to the candidate; funding or implementation details are included where available.

The Newton Record did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.