Democrats Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie are making a final push to Primary Day in the hopes of challenging presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee and current Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
Gonzalez, 47, of Needham, who most recently worked as President and CEO of CeltiCare Health and New Hampshire Healthy Families, served as former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s secretary of administration and finance and has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Health Connector.
On his campaign website, Gonzalez says he’s running for governor because “Massachusetts has always been a leader, and I want us to lead again.”
“Governor Baker has been too satisfied with the status quo, and he too often sits on the sidelines when we need him. He has been a status quo, wait and see Governor,” the website reads. “That’s not good enough. Particularly now. President Trump is threatening our values and threatening to take us backwards. Now more than ever, we need leadership right here in Massachusetts. Too much is at stake for too many people.”
Massie, 62, a progressive climate change activist, entrepreneur, and author from Somerville, says on his campaign website that “Our Founders set us on a path toward ever increasing equality, liberty, and justice for all. But to stay on that path we need to work hard and follow two core principles.”
“First, we each do better when we all do better. Our commonwealth will prosper when everyone has access to the essential building blocks of a good life. Government has a role to play because, left to themselves, individuals can’t build infrastructure, businesses won’t level the playing field, and communities should not have to compete for essential resources. We must work together to reverse our current upside-down economy that favors Wall Street over Main Street and fight a federal government in the pockets of corporate elites,” he writes, adding, “Second, everything in our world is interconnected. This is the core principle of sustainability. Whenever we start tackling one problem, we have the possibility to make progress in another. For children to thrive and learn in school they need a safe and secure home, healthy food, available parents, and good schools. Their parents need childcare support, affordable healthcare, and access to good jobs. To start a small business, entrepreneurs need high speed internet, local capital, a trained workforce, and reliable infrastructure. Everything links to everything else. We cannot treat opioid addiction, reduce mass incarceration, increase affordable housing or battle climate change, one issue at a time. We need a coordinated approach and a holistic vision.”