John Drinkwater has lived his entire life between his hometown of Tewksbury, and his adopted city of the last 24 years – Lowell.
John’s Story
CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY LIFEJohn grew up in Tewksbury, attending Tewksbury Public Schools and playing youth sports year-round. From football in the fall, hockey in the winter, and baseball in the spring and summer, the Janas Rink and the fields on Livingston Street and East Street helped John form a love of sports that continued into high school and college. At Tewksbury Memorial High School John played football and captained both the indoor and outdoor track teams, where he still holds the school record in the 400 meters.
Upon graduating from Tewksbury High in 2002, John attended UMass Lowell where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Regional Economic Development. While there he also served as a three-year captain of both the indoor and outdoor track teams, earning both Academic and Athletic All-American honors. More significantly, the track at UMass Lowell is where John met his wife, Julie, who also earned All-American honors and is a member of the UML Athletic Hall of Fame for volleyball and track & field. Julie has worked at Lowell General Hospital since 2006, and currently works as an Oncology Nurse in the Cancer Center.
John and Julie have continued to live in Lowell since graduating in 2006, and currently live in Belvidere where they are raising their three children, Adeline (13), Sean (12), and Reilly (8), who attend the Sullivan Middle School and the Reilly Elementary School. When not at school, they can likely be found at a hockey rink, or at one of Lowell’s baseball or softball fields.
John’s Experience
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTSJohn’s background in Political Science and Economic Development, along with growing up in a union household, pushed him towards a career in the Labor Movement where he has worked to craft laws that tackle inequality and create pathways to quality jobs.
In 2006 John began working as an intern for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the state’s largest umbrella organization for labor unions, representing over 500,000 workers throughout Massachusetts. There, he went on to serve in roles including Chief of Staff and Legislative Director, in which he helped to pass numerous pro-worker bills, including protections for temp agency workers and domestic workers, a higher minimum wage, earned sick time, paid family & medical leave, and the strongest state-level response to the anti-labor Janus Supreme Court decision in the country.
In 2023, John began working as the Director of Government Affairs for the union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council #35, representing over 4,000 workers in the crafts of Painting, Drywall Finish, and Glass/Glazing throughout New England. There, John has continued to work on policy issues that impact working people, with a focus on creating pathways to apprenticeship, and fighting for strong wages, benefits and working conditions.
Why John’s RunningThrough his time working to pass pro-worker legislation at the State House, John came to recognize the need for more strong voices in the legislature who would stand up for working families.
So when the State Senate seat for the First Middlesex District opened up in 2018, John made his first run for public office, entering a Democratic Primary field of five candidates that included three former Mayors of Lowell. After knocking on thousands of doors throughout the District, John finished second in that crowded field. That narrow loss helped John the following year, in 2019, when he ran for and won an At-Large seat on the Lowell City Council. He was re-elected in 2021 and served on the Council until 2024, when he made the decision not to seek re-election due to the high demands of a job in the union movement and a young family. However, he never lost the desire to serve in elected office as a way to make a difference. That’s why when a vacancy occurred for State Representative representing Lowell and Tewksbury, John jumped at the chance to represent the people in both his original and adopted hometowns, becoming a candidate in the Democratic Primary Election on September 1, 2026.
VOTE ON OR BEFORE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st
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