Michael R. Knapik, of 45 East Silver Street, Westfield, is currently serving his seventh term as the State Senator from the Second Hampden & Hampshire District.

The district includes the communities of Blandford, Chester, Chicopee (Wards 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9), Easthampton, Granville, Holyoke, Montgomery, Russell, Southampton, Southwick, Tolland, and Westfield.

Knapik presently serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means. In this position, Knapik is part of the prestigious House-Senate Conference Committee charged with reconciling the Annual State Budget and other spending plans. Prior to serving in this capacity, Knapik served as Third Assistant Minority Floor Leader and later as Minority Whip.

In addition to serving on the Senate Committee on Ways & Means, Knapik also serves on the Senate Committee on Ethics & Rules as well as the Legislature’s Joint Committees on Revenue, Bonding, Capital Expenditures & State Assets, Financial Services, & Public Service.

Prior to being elected to the Senate, Knapik served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the citizens of Westfield and Montgomery. He also served as Legislative Aide to former House Minority Leader Steven D. Pierce. Knapik was first elected to public office in 1985 as a member of the Westfield School Committee. He was 22 at the time.

Knapik’s legislative priorities have always been the preservation and enhancement of local aid to cities and towns, public safety, education, economic development, and issues concerning the elderly and veterans.

He maintains a District Office at 57 North Elm Street in Westfield, and has made constituent service a focal point of his term in office.

Knapik has been honored by several local and statewide organizations for his work in the Legislature. He was honored by both the Executive Office of Elder Affairs with the Eva Hester Award and the Massachusetts Council on Aging Coalition as “Legislator of the Year” for his contributions to issues concerning Massachusetts’ senior citizens. Knapik was recognized as “Legislator of the Year” for the Massachusetts Home Care Association. He was recognized with the same award in 2006 by the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers.

He has also been honored by several veterans’ and military organizations, including the American Legion Legislative Award and the Massachusetts National Guard for his long-standing support of veterans matters and the Army and Air National Guards. He was honored in 2007 by the Chicopee Lodge of Elks #1849 with their Public Service Award.

Knapik has served on several special legislative commissions charged with studying issues of great importance to the Commonwealth. Among those commissions, Knapik was a member of the Special Nursing Commission established to study the practice of nursing services in public and non-public schools of the Commonwealth, and the Foundation Budget Review Commission on Education to plan for the continued funding of education reform. In 2007, Knapik was appointed to serve on the Dairy Farm Revitalization Task Force and the Special Commission to End Homelessness in the Commonwealth.

Active in his district, Knapik is a Trustee at Noble Hospital in Westfield, a member of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, the Sons of Erin, and the Slovak Citizens’ Club of Westfield.

A 1985 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, Knapik holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He is also a member of the Holy Cross Club of the Pioneer Valley.

Knapik is married to Kathleen Ann Duggan. They are the parents of Katie and Jimmy.

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