Julian Cyr

Massachusetts State Senator, Cape and Islands District

Julian Cyr (pronouns he/him/his) serves in the Massachusetts Senate representing Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. First elected to the State Senate in November 2016, Julian is now serving in his fourth term and is among the youngest senators in the 40-member body. He serves as the Senate Assistant Majority Whip, Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery, and on committees with oversight of health care financing, housing, elder affairs, telecommunications, utilities and energy, and racial equity and inclusion.

Julian’s legislative priorities are primarily informed by the unique needs of the Cape and Islands district and his perspective as a member of the LGBTQ community. He has championed policies related to housing, water quality, the climate crisis, harm reduction, and criminal justice reform. Julian authored the landmark law, An Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health, which represents the most comprehensive reform to mental health care in Massachusetts in decades.  In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Julian ensured that protections for access to gender-affirming care were included in a larger reproductive rights package that was signed into law.

Julian’s leadership goes beyond his legislative accomplishments. He convened the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force to create a coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the threat of monkeypox, he worked to deploy hundreds of vaccines in a matter of days, and he helped navigate the path forward for Venezuelan migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard in an episode that captured national attention. He was named to Out Magazine’s Out100 in 2022.

Julian graduated with a degree in public policy and community health from New York University and from the David Bohnett Leaders Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, but he will tell you that he learned many of the skills he uses daily from waiting tables and cooking behind the line for 14 seasons at his family’s restaurant in Truro.