CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 76% 17% 85% 4% 1997 76 24 94 4 1996 78 19 95 3 1995 88 12 96 3 1994 71 22 95 1 1993 81 18 96 1 1992 11 82 91 3 1991 23 76 94 3 1990 15 82 92 2 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 91 1997 97 1996 97 1995 98 1994 97 1993 97 1992 95 1991 97 1990 95	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 90% n/a 31% 4 % 1997 100 100 20 8 1996 95 100 6 0 1995 80 100 17 8 1994 85 88 33 0 1993 95 92 27 4 1992 100 83 25 0 1991 100 100 20 0 1990 94 100 21 4
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

MASSACHUSETTS 7 : Northwest suburbs - Woburn; Framingham; Revere

The affluent northern tier of Route 128, a Silicon Valley of the East, shapes the 7th's character. Stretching east from the urban retail center of Route 9 in Framingham, along Route 128 and down to the middle-class coastal town of Revere, the district includes some of the state's most well-to-do communities. The area takes pride in its history; each year, Lexington re-enacts Paul Revere's ride and the first Revolutionary War battles (shared with the 5th) on Patriot's Day.

A software and Internet industry arose from and replaced a high-tech manufacturing base that struggled in the early-1990s recession. Northwest of Boston, many Medford and Malden residents commute to blue-collar jobs in Boston. For decades, the North Shore coastal town of Revere has attracted middle-class vacationers to its beaches and now houses a growing Asian community.

The 7th's political roots are a dichotomy of Protestant, Yankee Republican and Irish Democrat. In the 1990s, the district leaned Democratic. The well-to-do sections of the 7th vary from Yankee Republican Weston to liberal Democratic Lincoln. Democrats also draw votes from a blue-collar, middle-class base in Framingham and the eastern part of the district.

Major Industry
Computer software, telecommunications, defense

Military
Natick Research and Development Laboratories (Army), 49 military, 903 civilian (1998)

Population
601,476 (1990)

Cities
Framingham, 64,989 (1990); Waltham, 57,214; Medford, 56,190 (1996)

People
99% urban; 15% age 65+ (ranks second of 10 in state; top third nationally); 53% married couples, 22% married couples with children; 31% college educated (ranks second of 10 in state; top third nationally); 71% white collar (ranks first of 10 in state; top third nationally), 17% blue collar (ranks ninth of 10 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Race
94% white, 2% black, 3% Asian; 3% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$41,318 (ranks second of 10 in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
James Pierpont wrote "Jingle Bells" in 1850 while sitting in Medford Square; Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. and Richard B. Fitzgibbon III of Stoneham, the only known American father-son duo to die in the Vietnam War.

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