David Fionda, CPA and Entrepreneur, Throwing Hat in Ring for Outgoing Murphy's Seat

Burlington resident David Fionda announced this week that he will be seeking the 21st Middlesex District State Representative seat being left vacant by outgoing State Rep. Charles Murphy. He will be running as a Democrat.

The 21st District includes the towns of Burlington, Bedford and precinct 3, of the town of Wilmington.

Murphy announced last week that he will .

Fionda is a Woburn native and 24-year Burlington resident with history of community service. He is also an entrepreneur and a Certified Public Accountant.

Fionda said he decided to run for the office upon hearing the news that Murphy, who he considers a friend, would not seek re-election.

"When the news came that Charlie wasn’t running, I thought this was the logical extension to take my passion for serving community to the next level," Fionda told Patch in an interview on Tuesday. "I've always been about serving the community. My career has pretty much been a long history community service."

According to his Facebook page, Fionda's public service includes time as a Burlington Town Meeting member, the Chairman of the Land Use Committee and Chairman of the Information Technology Strategic Planning Committee, the group that helped the school department assess the district's technological needs and plan how to spend an over $6 million donation from Sun Microsystems.

In 2006, Fionda served as a Rotary International District Governor, responsible for coordinating work between 48 communities in Massachusetts to drive local projects. 

"In one year, we started two literacy programs, launched a project to provide clean drinking water to 1,400 families in Honduras and raised money to help fellow Rotarians in Louisiana and Mississippi rebuild their homes destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," Fionda states in his personal biography. "Combined, our 48 clubs performed over 400 service projects and contributed over $1 million to deserving people and organizations in their communities."

Along with his experience in community service and community government, Fionda said he professional experience would be an asset for the district on Beacon Hill. He is a self-described entrepreneur and a CPA who started in business early. 

"I have been an entrepreneur and business owner the majority of my professional career," his bio states. "It all started in 1972, when I was thirteen years old. My dad and I opened up a locksmith shop in Woburn. Over the course of my 32 year career I have started, grew and sold two professional services firms and one software venture. Some of my more recent clients included international software firm SAP and Raytheon Corp."

Fionda said his experience would help him represent the district and this his background gives him a good basis for dealing with issues facing the Commonwealth.

"I think the economy is always a big concern for people," he said. "And being smart with how we grow our communities. In Burlington there has been a lot of talk recently on what development makes sense and what development doesn't make sense."

"Given the challenges lawmakers face budget-wise, I think being a CPA, having those financial skills, would be an asset," he continued. "Also, my background in technology and running businesses is a positive when it comes to streamlining the functions of government. It was a positive when the state computerized the functions of the government and I'd like to see more of that."

Fionda said at this stage his plan is to connect with residents and hear their concerns.

"Starting next week my plan is to walk the district and ask people what they are thinking," he said. "As an entrepreneur I've learned that the most important thing is to ask people what is on their minds."

Fionda lives in Burlington and has a 19-year-old daughter who this fall will begin her freshman year at Suffolk University.

Thus far it appears Fionda could face Burlington Selectman Walter Zenkin, who , in the general election. Burlington Patch will continue to bring updates on the race in the lead-up to the Nov. 6 election.