# Tim Shaughnessy

Timothy Thomas Shaughnessy (born August 22, 1957) is an American politician and six term Democratic member of the Kentucky Senate, where he represented the 19th district.

## Early life and education

Shaughnessy attended Jefferson Community College. He went on to earn his B.S. from the University of Louisville. He then received his MBA from Bellarmine College. Shaughnessy was the recipient of Kentucky Jaycees' "outstanding Young Kentuckian" award in 1978.

## Career
### Early career

Shaughnessy began his career as legislative aid to Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Malone. In 1982, Shaughnessy was appointed as a member to the newly created charter commission to study a possible local government reorganization. In 1983, the commission voted 17–4 in favor of a city-county merger for Louisville and Jefferson County. Shaughnessy ran as a Democrat for the 30th district of the Kentucky State Legislature, in which he ultimately was defeated by the incumbent and Jefferson Democratic Party Chairman, Tom Burch.

### Kentucky Senate

In 1988, Shaughnessy successfully ran against incumbent Kentucky State Senator Harold Haering. After 6 successful elections to the Kentucky Senate, Shaughnessy's political career would come to in end in 2012 when he mysteriously resigned prior to the end of his term without explanation.

## Electoral history

Kentucky State Representative, District 30 Democratic Primary Election, 1981 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Thomas J Burch (incumbent) | 1,280 | 57.71 |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy | 938 | 42.29 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,218 | 100.0 |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 General Election, 1988 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Harold Haering (incumbent) | 20,139 | 49.02 |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy | 20,938 | 50.98 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 41,077 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 General Election, 1992 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy (incumbent) | 28,460 | 66.50 |
| | Republican | William Redmon | 14,340 | 33.50 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 42,800 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 General Election, 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy (incumbent) | 24,198 | 59.27 |
| | Republican | Barbara "Bobbie" Holsclaw | 16,632 | 40.73 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 40,830 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2000 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy (incumbent) | 26,872 | 61.0 |
| | Republican | Paul Schmidt | 16,132 | 36.60 |
| | Libertarian | Nick Karem | 1,029 | 2.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,033 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 Democratic Primary, 2004 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy (incumbent) | 9,597 | 79.7 |
| | Democratic | Ched Jennings | 2,441 | 20.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 12,038 | 100.0 |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2004 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy (incumbent) | 36,749 | 61.5 |
| | Republican | Christopher M. Smrt | 22,964 | 38.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 59,713 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2008 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tim Shaughnessy (incumbent) | 36,199 | 59.5 |
| | Republican | Bob Heleringer | 24,615 | 40.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 60,814 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |