Background
Gaffney was born on December 20, 1942 in Boston.
Gaffney was born on December 20, 1942 in Boston.
In 1964 he graduated from Harvard College.
Gaffney served two tours of duty in the infantry during the Vietnam War. In 1966 he suffered a debilitating leg injury when he stepped on a land mine. Gaffney later attended and graduated from the Boston University School of Law.
In 1974, Gaffney was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives as an independent.
He was reelected in 1976. In 1978 he ran for the United States House of Representatives seat in Massachusetts"s 5th congressional district, which was being vacated by Paul Tsongas.
He finished in third place with 19% - behind Democrat James Shannon (52%) and Republican John Jay Buckley (28%). After leaving the House, Gaffney opened a law practice.
He works in real estate, personal injury and corporate law.
In 1992 he ran for the Massachusetts Senate as a Republican. He lost to Democrat John Doctorate. O"Brien 54% to 46%.