As Birmingham slouched in his throne-like chair, seemingly oblivious to debate on the floor, rank-and-file Senators like Montigny scrambled to please the Senate president.

Few were willing to slight Birmingham's record.

"Only a fool would say something disrespectful of the Senator at this point in time," says Senator Robert E. Travaglini (D-Boston), one of the two Senators with whom Birmingham shares representation of Cambridge.

Birmingham's new style of doing business should not be confused with the generalized ideal of a "New Democrat."

Having worked with other state leaders to balance the budget and increase the state's rainy-day fund, Birmingham says that he is fiscally responsible, but not fiscally conservative.

"I find it difficult to pigeon-hole myself," Birmingham says. "I'm something of a hawk on balanced budgets, but on spending issues I'm rather progressive within the block of money that we have."

As chair of the state legislature's Joint Committee on Education Reform, Birmingham was the chief architect of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act.

During his second term, Birmingham became the chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, where he helped the state work toward fiscal stability with balanced budgets.

The Senate president says that with his roots, the ultimate test of legislation is how it will affect the people of his community.

"I try to view all legislation through the prism of how it affects ordinary middle-class and working class people."