Dean Tran

Tran was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam into a successful business family. He emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 4. After fleeing Vietnam, Tran’s family spent two years in a refugee camp while waiting for their application for green cards to be approved. In 1980, he and his family were sponsored by a Catholic priest in Clinton, Massachusetts where he called his first real home. In 1986, his family relocated to Fitchburg, Massachusetts where he graduated from Fitchburg High School. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University.[2]

In 2005, Tran became the first person of color to be elected to the Fitchburg City Council. On December 5, 2017, after 12 years as a city councilor, won a special election to replace outgoing state senator Jennifer Flanagan. He defeated his Democratic opponent by nearly 700 votes.[3] He ran as an advocate for fiscal discipline and low taxes. He became the first Vietnamese American to hold an elected office in Massachusetts.

On December 20, 2017, Tran was officially sworn in to the State Senate. His senatorial district comprises Berlin, Bolton, Precincts 1 & 2 of Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, Sterling, Townsend and Westminster in north central Massachusetts.

Tran is married to his wife Kerry. They have four children: Isabelle, Olivia, Madilyn, and Dean. In his spare time, Tran likes to spend time with his family and is a volunteer coach for youth soccer, basketball, and baseball.[2] Before being elected to the state senate, he served on the Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America, NVC, the Corporator Board for the Central Massachusetts YMCS, and the Board of Trustees for Mount Wachusett Community College.[2]

Tran was stripped of his leadership post as assistant minority whip after the Senate Ethics Committee ruled he violated ethics and campaign rules by having staffers work on his 2018 re-election campaign while on state time.[4] Tran has also been reported to be connected in some way with a criminal investigation by the Fitchburg Police Department and the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, regarding a stolen firearm, however he has not as yet been charged with any criminal offense.[5]

• 2019–2020 Massachusetts legislature

• Dean Tran for State Senate
• Dean Tran's Biography - Project Vote Smart
• Dean Tran's Twitter (@SenatorDeanTran)
• Tran linked to police investigation