Juan Manuel "Jay" Gonzalez[2][3][4][5] (born January 8, 1971) is an American academic and government administrator who is the president of Curry College. He served Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts under Governor Deval Patrick from 2009 to 2013 and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 2018.[6][7]

Jay Gonzalez
15th President of Curry College
Assumed office
June 21, 2023
Preceded byKenneth K. Quigley Jr.[1]
Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts
In office
October 2009 – January 8, 2013
GovernorDeval Patrick
Preceded byLeslie Kirwan
Succeeded byGlen Shor
Personal details
Born
Juan Manuel Gonzalez

(1971-01-08) January 8, 1971 (age 53)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCyndi Gonzalez
Children2
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Gonzalez in 2018
Gonzalez in 2011

Early life

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Gonzalez was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.[8] His mother dropped out of college when he was born, and his father was a Spanish immigrant who worked as a bricklayer.[9] After graduating from Dartmouth College and Georgetown Law School, Gonzalez worked at a law firm in Cleveland.[9] In 1998, he moved to Boston to work for Palmer & Dodge[9] where he specialized in public finance.[9]

Career

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Gonzalez worked on Deval Patrick's 2006 gubernatorial campaign.[9] He then joined Patrick's administration in 2007 as Deputy Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts. He was appointed Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts in 2009 after the resignation of Leslie Kirwan.[10] He also served as Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Health Connector, where he oversaw implementation of Massachusetts’ health care reform, co-chaired the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and served as chair of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care.[11] Gonzalez left the cabinet in 2013.[12]

After leaving the Patrick administration, Gonzalez served as president and CEO of CeltiCare Health and New Hampshire Healthy Families.[13]

On January 30, 2017 he announced he would run for governor in the 2018 Massachusetts election. He defeated Bob Massie, an entrepreneur and sustainability advocate from Somerville, to become the Democratic nominee in the race.[14] On June 2, 2018, at the Democratic State Convention, Gonzalez won 70% of the vote, securing the endorsement of the state party.[15] Gonzalez lost the general election, securing 886,281 votes to incumbent Charlie Baker's 1,781,982.[16] In April 2019, Gonzalez joined the law firm Hinckley, Allen, & Snyder LLP as a partner in the firm's Boston office.[17][18]

In 2021, Gonzalez served as a co-chair of the committee facilitating Michelle Wu's transition into the office of mayor of Boston.[19]

On June 21, 2023, Gonzalez was named as the 15th president of Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.[20]

Personal life

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Gonzalez lives with his wife, Cyndi, in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, and he has two daughters, Isabel and Abby.[21] As a former Brookline resident, Gonzalez was an elected Town Meeting Member, Co-Chair of the Town Meeting Members Association, and a member of the Advisory Committee in the Town of Brookline.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "President Quigley Announces Retirement in 2023 | Curry College". www.curry.edu. Curry College. September 19, 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  2. ^ DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR SPEAK OUT IN SWAMPSCOTT
  3. ^ GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE JAY GONZALEZ: 'WE NEED TO BE AIMING HIGHER'
  4. ^ Commencement - Law Center Awards, 1996
  5. ^ Ohio, U.S., Birth Index, 1908-1998
  6. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim; Miller, Joshua (January 4, 2017). "Former aide to Deval Patrick considers challenging Charlie Baker". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  7. ^ Ring, Dan (August 2, 2011). "Massachusetts finance secretary Jay Gonzalez braces for impact of debt limit law". The Republican. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  8. ^ McKeever, Andy (September 29, 2017). "Gonzalez Looks to Bring Aggressive Agenda to Governor's Race". iBerkshires.com. North Adams, MA.
  9. ^ a b c d e McGonigle, Brian (May 17, 2017). "The Needham Democrat sat down with Wicked Local to talk about his run for governor in 2018".
  10. ^ Staff Writer (September 30, 2009). "Mass. budget chief Kirwan resigns for Harvard post". Bay State Banner. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017 – via Associated Press.
  11. ^ "Meet Jay - Elect Jay Gonzalez". jay4ma.com. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  12. ^ Murphy, Matt (January 30, 2017). "Gonzalez Launching Bid For Governor With Anti-Trump Focus".
  13. ^ Dumcius, Gintautus (January 30, 2017). "Former CeltiCare CEO Jay Gonzalez launches run for governor, targets Charlie Baker".
  14. ^ Associated Press (September 4, 2018). "Jay Gonzalez wins Democratic nomination for Massachusetts governor, will face GOP incumbent Charlie Baker in November". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018.
  15. ^ "Mass. Democrats Endorse Gonzalez, Palfrey and Zakim at Convention". 3 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Massachusetts Governor Election Results". The New York Times. 28 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Former Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Jay Gonzalez Joins Hinckley Allen".
  18. ^ Hinckley Allen profile
  19. ^ "Meet our Transition Committee". www.allaboardboston.com. All Aboard Boston (Michelle Wu Transition Website). 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  20. ^ Wolfe, Ellie. "Curry College names Jay Gonzalez as new president". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  21. ^ "Meet Jay". 29 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Meet Jay Gonzalez". jay4ma.com. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
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Political offices
Preceded by Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance
2009–2013
Succeeded by
Glen Shor
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts
2018
Succeeded by