The Portuguese American Citizenship Project was created to encourage Portuguese-Americans to participate more fully in civic affairs and gain a stronger voice in their own governance. This Final Report documents the Project’s data-driven programs to promote adoption of U.S. citizenship, registering to vote and, most importantly, voting. These non-partisan ‘Campaigns without Candidates’ did not promote any political party or cause but carried the message that voting is not only a vital civil right but brings with it a greater good benefit for the entire community.
From 1999 to 2009, Mr. McGlinchey served as the Coordinator of the Portuguese American Citizenship Project. He worked with churches, clubs and social welfare organizations on grass-roots civic campaigns in communities ranging from factory towns in New England to farming communities in California. In 2009, Mr. McGlinchey resigned from his position but continued to serve on the Project’s Board of Directors until it closed in 2016.

About the author:
James Martin McGlinchey was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State from 1975 to 1999. His 17 years of overseas assignments included tours of duty in embassies and consulates in Poland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and Portugal. His last overseas posting was as the Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy, Lisbon.
Mr. McGlinchey graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University. He also completed Master’s Degree programs in Economics at South Dakota State University and the University of Kansas, and received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.
His Portuguese roots trace back to his maternal grandparents who immigrated to the United States from the Azores Islands at the turn of the 20th century. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts but spent just the very first days of his life there. Mr. McGlinchey only returned to the city in 1998 – 54 years later. It was ironic that a ‘McGlinchey’, a distinctly Irish surname, visiting from foreboding and distant Washington D.C., had the distinction in many meetings with Fall River residents of being the only native son at the table.

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