Julian Cyr is a Democratic State Senator representing the Cape and Islands District in the Massachusetts Senate, covering Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. A Truro native first elected in November 2016, he is among the youngest members of the 40-member body and currently serves in his fourth or fifth term as of recent records. He holds key leadership roles, including Senate Assistant Majority Whip, Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing , and Vice Chair of committees on Public Health . Cyr champions policies on housing affordability, water quality, climate resilience, harm reduction, criminal justice reform, behavioral health, and equity, particularly as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Notable achievements include authoring An Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health—the most comprehensive mental health reform in Massachusetts in decades—and securing protections for gender-affirming care in a post-Dobbs reproductive rights law. He also convened the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force during the COVID-19 pandemic and led the relaunch of the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership.

Education and Political Experience

Cyr earned a degree in public policy and community health from New York University and completed the David Bohnett Leaders Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. Before the Senate, he served as Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for Environmental Health and Deputy Director for Government Affairs at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health under Governor Deval Patrick. He chaired the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ+ Youth , interned at the White House on green jobs and energy efficiency during the Obama Administration, worked for the Clinton Global Initiative, and served as a harm-reduction counselor at the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod. From 2014–2017, he was on the Board of Directors of Health Imperatives. His early activism began in high school advocating for arts funding in Nauset Regional Schools.