| Simon Cataldo | |
| Office: | Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 14th Middlesex district |
| Termstart: | January 4, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Tami Gouveia |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Education: | Colorado College (BS) University of Virginia (JD) |
| Website: | https://simoncataldo.com/ |
| Birth Date: | July 19, 1986 |
Simon Joseph Cataldo (born July 19, 1986) is an American politician who represents the 14th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[1] He represents the town of Carlisle, and parts of the towns of Acton, Chelmsford, and Concord.
Cataldo grew up in West Concord, Massachusetts, with his parents and two sisters. His mother was a Concord Family Services social worker,[2] and his father is an economist who has taught accounting at Suffolk University and the University of Rhode Island.[3] Cataldo attended Thoreau Elementary, Peabody Middle School, and graduated from Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.[4]
Cataldo attended Colorado College and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Environmental Science.[5] At Colorado College, Cataldo contributed to research on the kinetics of biodiesel production.[6]
After teaching special education for three years and developing the program that became Harlem Lacrosse,[7] Cataldo enrolled at the University of Virginia Law School. While at UVA, Cataldo was selected to be the managing editor of the Virginia Law Review.[8]
Cataldo was recognized with the Ritter Award, given to four students who exemplify the honor, character, and integrity envisioned by Thomas Jefferson when he founded the University.[9] Upon graduation, Cataldo also received the James C. Slaughter Honor Award, which is presented to an outstanding member of the graduating class.[10] [11]
Following his graduation from Colorado College, Cataldo joined Teach for America and was placed as a special education math teacher at Frederick Douglass Academy (FDA), a 6–12th grade school in Harlem, New York City.[12] [13]
Cataldo started Harlem’s first public middle school lacrosse team.[14] He later founded Harlem Lacrosse, a national school-based nonprofit operating in public schools in Baltimore, Boston, Harlem, the Bronx, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.[15] The students in the program experienced improvements in academic performance.[16]
After graduating from Law School, Cataldo clerked for William J. Kayatta Jr., one of President Obama’s federal court of appeals appointees. He was later drafted into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Honors Program to prosecute public corruption in the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section,[17] a specialized section of the Justice Department dedicated to combating public corruption and election crimes.[18] At the DOJ, Cataldo investigated and prosecuted some of the most high-profile corruption cases in the country, including the successful trial of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt and then pardoned by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.[19]
Cataldo also prosecuted Joseph Boeckmann, a state judge in Arkansas, for a bribery and fraud scheme in addition to witness tampering,[20] and Scott Maddox, the former Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, for RICO, fraud, and bribery. Cataldo also led the prosecution of James King, a former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official who was convicted of steering disabled veterans to sham vocational schools in exchange for bribes from the school owners.[21] While serving at the Department of Justice, Cataldo was a substantial contributor to the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses Manual, which serves as the Department of Justice’s comprehensive guidance on campaign finance and election-related criminal statutes.[22]
Cataldo mounted his campaign for State Representative in the summer of 2021, after incumbent Tami Gouveia announced that she would run for Lt. Governor.[23] Cataldo’s campaign focused on local issues such as addressing PFAS pollution in the drinking water supply, transportation infrastructure, adequately funding public schools, as well as broader challenges involving reproductive rights, mental health services, economic vitality, and climate change.[24]
In the Democratic primary, Cataldo defeated two primary opponents, Vivian Birchall of Acton and Patricia Wojtas of Chelmsford. The result of the primary was 57.4% for Cataldo, 27.4% for Birchall, and 14.8% for Wojtas.[25] Cataldo was endorsed over his primary opponents by Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, in addition to other labor and environmental groups and many local Select Board and School Committee members.[26]
In the general election, Cataldo consolidated support from Democrats and Independents to beat Republican Rodney Cleaves of Chelmsford, 72.8% to 27.2%.
In his first term, Representative Cataldo filed 24 bills. His legislation covers early childhood education, higher education admissions, renewable energy, workforce development, tax relief, public safety, and substance use recovery.
Cataldo currently lives in Concord, MA with his wife and three children. He is a member of Kerem Shalom synagogue, and serves on the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. He continues to serve as the Board President of Harlem Lacrosse.