James Michael Shannon (born April 4, 1952), also known as Jim Shannon, is a Democratic politician from Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and later as the Massachusetts Attorney General. Shannon grew up in Methuen, Massachusetts, received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and earned a law degree at the George Washington University Law School. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, and was re-elected in 1980 and 1982.
When Democratic Senator Paul Tsongas announced his retirement from the Senate in 1984, Shannon threw his hat in the ring to succeed him. He was defeated by a very narrow margin in the Democratic primary by Lieutenant Governor John F. Kerry, who went on to win the seat. Shannon served out the rest of his term in the House, leaving office in January 1985.
In 1986, he was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts. He served in that capacity from 1987 until 1991. He was defeated for re-election in 1990 by Scott Harshbarger in the Democratic primary. In 2000, Shannon was chosen as a delegate from Massachusetts to Democratic National Convention. He was elected president and CEO of the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) in 2002.
