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RFK Public Service Award Nomination 2011
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Public Service Award 2000
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Mura

Bio Summary

I was born in Taunton in 1976 and raised in Attleboro. My mother and father are pharmacists and small business owners. My sister is a pharmacist and another sister is a nurse practitioner; I come from a medical family. I spent many summers and days after school working in my parents' drugstores. I learned the value of hard work, service and small business ownership from a very early age.

I attended Jack and Jill Preschool, Studley Elementary School, Brennan Middle School, and then graduated from Attleboro High School in 1995, where I received the '​Most Genuine' class superlative by my high school class. After graduation, few opportunities were available to me. I found a temp position as a janitor at the North Attleborough Council on Aging. In 1996 I started working at the Attleboro YMCA and took courses at Fisher College, then located in Attleboro, Rhode Island College and Providence College night school. 

I turned my academic career around and earned high grades in night school, then applied for and was accepted for transfer to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in psychology and neuroscience. I earned a Master's in Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania and I also earned a Master's from the London School of Economics. I am a frequent guest on RT International discussing the Middle East.

Since 1996, I have devoted my life to public service and the service of others, and after eleven years of work experience with children, internationally and in criminal justice, I went back to school for a third master's, this time in Public Administration at Harvard's School of Government. At Harvard I was nominated by my classmates for the RFK Award for Excellence in Public Service for my volunteer work with senior citizens, youth mentoring, and prison reform advocacy.

I live with my dog Sashi on Newport Ave in Attleboro.
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Paul was awarded the "Most Genuine" class superlative by his class of 1995 Attleboro High School cohort
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Swimming Gold Medal 1998 Bay State Games
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Paul winning a Jiu Jitsu match

Mayor
​2018-Present

On 7 November 2017, I won election with 54% of the vote.
On 5 November 2019, I won reelection with 67% of the vote.

In continuing with my practice as a State Representative, I post the work I do on Facebook on a daily basis. Some of the highlights include, but are not limited to:
  • navigating the CoronaVirus Pandemic
  • proposing a balanced budget in my first three years of my first term with no layoffs
  • passed an ordinance to eliminate the dissemination of single use plastic bags​
  • passed an ordinance to solve the Beagle Club Road parking problem that has plagues the City for decades
  • doubling police training in topics like implicit bias awareness, de-escalation training, and mental health awareness
  • reviving the Attleboro Commission on Disabilities
  • reviving the Attleboro Commission on Human Rights
  • reviving the Attleboro Committee on Substance Abuse Prevention
  • purchasing Highland Country Club and turning it into a public recreational area
  • proposing ordinances to:
    • protect children from second-hand smoke when kids are in a car seat
    • improve traffic through place permanent speed humps in some areas
  • hiring an Economic Development Director to improve business in Attleboro
  • working with nonprofits to create the Attleboro Reentry Center for ex-offenders
  • creating a Blighted & Decadent Properties task force
  • had energy saving LED lights installed in all city street lights, and the largest most energy consuming city buildings
  • cracking down on motorists who leave pets in cars in extreme heat or extreme cold
  • making City Hall pet friendly

State Representative
2013-2017

I was the State Representative for the Second Bristol District. Much of my work as a State Rep was advancing evidence-based government. This involves moving away from isolated examples of stories; correlation and pre-test/post-test examples as data; and moving to a more empirical approach. 

Some of my successes included:
  • creating a $38 million school grant program for school internet infrastructure
  • getting over $150,000 allocated for homeless children
  • getting $5 million authorized for water and wastewater treatment plants
  • exceptional constituent service work

Virtually everyday, I posted on my public Facebook page and I sent out weekly emails to almost everyone who submits their email address through the home page of this website. My weekly email included my voting record in the House and in Committees, projects I've worked on the past week and media links.
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Paul routinely presents on criminal justice reform and government accountability
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Paul in China going to North Korea 2013

Recent Experience
2010-2017

Consultant
I worked with agencies to measure if programs and services that taxpayers pay for that public agencies offer are effective (or not). I also did cost-benefit analyses on programs. While in elected office, I did not get paid for my consulting. 

Writer
As an unpaid hobby, I used to write for the Huffington Post. I enjoy writing about various public policy issues including crime policy, mental health, and international affairs. This sometimes results in my guest appearance on TV or radio stations all over the US and as far away as in Russia and Australia. I am a frequent guest on RT International discussing the Middle East.
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Paul in North Korea at the DMZ with South Korea in the background 2013
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Paul with Harvard MPA class
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Paul with Lawrence W. Sherman and Laurie O. Robinson 2005
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Paul received the 'Leadership in Criminology' award from US DOJ Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson 2005
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Leadership in Criminology Award

Criminal Justice Work Experience
2006-2009

In 2008, I became a gubernatorial appointee under the Patrick Administration to work at the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) as Director of Research and Planning from 2008-2009.

In 2006, rather than working for a prestigious federal agency or a high profile consulting firm, I went to work for the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) in the Executive Office as Assistant to the Commissioner. 

Balancing the need to advocate for effective ex-offender re-entry planning and recognizing that there are some very dangerous people in prison, I successfully reinforced the idea that there is no one-size-fits all approach to service delivery. This is not only about tax dollars, this is about public safety and quality of life for citizens. I have given presentations in community groups and in professional conferences on what works in corrections and criminal justice; on properly measuring crime reduction strategies and on prisoner reentry. And I have written extensively on incarceration, terrorism, prison overcrowding, sex offenders, illegal drugs, gun crimes, and more.

I earned a Master of Science degree in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, where I had the honor to study crime policy under Laurie O. Robinson and Lawrence W. Sherman. There, I received the "Leadership in Criminology Award."
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Letter of Appreciation - PPS
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PPS Work Evaluation 2008 (pg 1)
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PPS Work Evaluation 2008 (pg 2)
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Work Evaluation - Saudi Arabia 2003
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Work Evaluation - IDDS 2004-2005
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Arabic Language Training

International Work Experience
2003-2006

With fifteen of the nineteen 9-11 hijackers being from Saudi Arabia, I decided to travel to that country in 2003 and worked in the human resources division at Al Rajhi. I lived and worked in Al Malaz, Riyadh (the neighborhood Osama bin Laden was born in), and Al Jubail (located on the Persian Gulf). To be an informed citizen, I decided to learn first hand about  the people, culture, religion and region.

After leaving Saudi Arabia, I returned to Attleboro. And with an eye on the debacle going on in Iraq, I decided to gain further experience on national security related issues working at the non-profit Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (IDDS) as a senior military procurement analyst in 2004 and 2005. 

After my time at the IDDS, from 2005 to 2006, I earned a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the prestigious London School of Economics and wrote the book "The Aftermath of Intention: The American Legacy in the Middle East".  
Paul on Russia Today talking about Iran's nuclear program (January, 2012)
Paul's other interviews on the Middle East.
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Paul in Paris 2002
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Paul in Riyadh March 2003
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Paul in a Saudi desert
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Paul in North Korea 2013
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Paul in London 2002
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Paul at USC graduation
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Paul presenting Mura to second grade students 2009

Youth Work Experience 
1996-2003

I started working with children shortly after I graduated Attleboro High School in 1995. From 1996 to 2003, I first worked with children in direct services and later in a management capacity at the Attleboro YMCA, and in other capacities while I was living in Los Angeles. Many children I encountered were afflicted with developmental disorders and/or who were subjected to abuse. Child development is important to all strata of society from issues dealing with drug and alcohol abuse to education to bullying. Unlike many politicians who do a publicity photo-op with children in a classroom for campaigns, I spent seven years working with children and their families. 

While living between Attleboro and Los Angeles between 1998 and 2001, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Minor in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California, where I was inducted into the highly selective Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society for "Leadership, Scholarship and Service."
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Work Evaluation 1996-2003
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Paul at Winter Camp, 2001

Paul's Education

(Click here for classes)

ATTLEBORO HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1995
Some accolades include:
  • Nominated for the “RFK Award for Excellence in Public Service” at Harvard
  • Nominated Employee of the Year while working for the nation’s 5th largest jail
  • Awarded the “Leadership in Criminology” award at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Inducted into the Mortar Board National Honor Society for “Leadership, Scholarship and Service" at USC
  • Awarded “Most Genuine” class superlative by high school classmates

"Do more for others than you do for yourself."

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