William F. Galvin Explained

Bill Galvin
Office:	27th Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Term Start:	January 1, 1995
Predecessor:	Michael J. Connolly
Office1:	Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Constituency1:	27th Suffolk (1975–1979) 19th Suffolk (1979–1991)
Term Start1:	January 1975
Term End1:	January 1991
Successor1:	Susan Tracy
Predecessor1:	Michael Daly
Birth Name:	William Francis Galvin
Birth Place:	Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Party:	Democratic
Spouse:	Eileen Galvin
Children:	Bridget Galvin
Education:	Boston College (BA) Suffolk University (JD)
Signature:	WFGalvin.svg
Website:	Government website

William Francis Galvin (born 17 September 1950) is an American politician who serves as the 27th Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Early life

Galvin was born and raised in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.^[1] He attended Saint Mary's High School in Waltham, Massachusetts^[2] and graduated in 1968.^[3] Galvin graduated cum laude^[4] from Boston College in 1972^[5] and received a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School^[6] in 1976.

Career

Galvin began his political career in 1972 as an aide to the Massachusetts Governor's Council after graduating from Boston College, thanks to his connection with councilor Herb Connolly, whom Galvin had campaigned for. Galvin worked part-time at the council while attending Suffolk Law School full-time. Galvin won a special election to the open seat in the Massachusetts General Court in 1975, after State Representative Michael Daly departed from office; the race had nine candidates. Galvin became the Massachusetts state representative from the Allston-Brighton district, the same year he graduated from law school. He was the Democratic nominee for Massachusetts State Treasurer in 1990, but was defeated by Republican Joe Malone. It was during this election that he was given the nickname "The Prince of Darkness", in reference to his habit of working late into the night and making legislative deals behind closed doors.^{[7] [8]} He was first elected Secretary of the Commonwealth in 1994, and has retained this title longer than any other politician in Massachusetts history.^[9]

Galvin has been an active participant in the National Association of Secretaries of State, serving first as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Securities, then as co-chairman of the Committee on Presidential Primaries.

At one point during the administration of Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, Galvin became the Acting Governor of Massachusetts when both Romney and Healey were out of the state. During the administration of former Acting Governor Jane Swift, Galvin automatically became Acting Governor whenever Swift left the state, since there was no lieutenant governor in office at the time. When Swift gave birth to twins in 2001, she chose to keep full executive authority and did not hand over the governorship at any point to Galvin.^[10]

2006 election

While it had been widely rumored that Galvin would run for Governor of Massachusetts in 2006 as a Democrat, he announced at the end of 2005 that he would instead seek reelection as Secretary of State. Voting rights advocate John Bonifaz had already declared that he would run for the office, and stayed in the race to challenge Galvin for re-election. However, Galvin defeated Bonifaz in the September 19 Democratic primary. Galvin defeated Green-Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein, a medical doctor and environmental health advocate who ran for Governor in 2002, in the November general election.

The Democratic primary race received relatively little attention or press coverage for most of 2006, but in the last few weeks before election, a controversy over Galvin's refusal to debate his opponent broke into the news with a front-page story in The Boston Sunday Globe.^[11] This is the first time a front-page story appeared about this race in any major Boston paper.

2018 election

In November 2017, Boston City Council member Josh Zakim announced that he would run for Secretary of the Commonwealth, challenging fellow-Democrat Galvin in the 2018 election.^[12] Amid the primary challenge, Galvin came out in favor of same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration.^[13] Previously, Galvin had expressed skepticism of automatic voter registration, and had appealed a Superior Court ruling which struck down a state law requiring that voters be registered 20 days prior to an election in order to vote in it.^{[14] [15] [16]} On June 2, 2018, Zakim won the endorsement of the Massachusetts Democratic Party at its state convention, defeating Galvin, 55% to 45%.^[17] Galvin subsequently defeated Zakim in the Democratic primary on September 4, with 67% of the vote.^[18] On November 6, Galvin won re-election as Secretary of the Commonwealth.^[19]

2022 election

Notable lawsuits

2008 UOCAVA violation settlement with Department of Justice

An investigation by the US Justice Department found that Galvin, as Massachusetts Secretary of State, had violated the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth was found to have failed to collect and report data on absentee ballots sent, returned, and cast by overseas citizens and military personnel registered to vote in Massachusetts, as required by the law since amendments in 2002. The lawsuit was settled out of court, requiring Galvin to comply with the law.^[20]

2009 lawsuit against stockbroker Robert Jaffe

On January 14, 2009, Galvin filed suit against Robert Jaffe to compel Jaffe to testify about his role in the Bernard Madoff investment scandal. Jaffe, who lives in Weston, Massachusetts and in Florida, countered that he is actually one of the victims of Madoff.^[21] Jaffe is married to Ellen Shapiro, daughter of Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro. Jaffe reportedly convinced the elder Shapiro to invest $250 million with Madoff about 10 days before Madoff's arrest.^{[22] [23]}

2021 regulatory action against MassMutual in GameStop affair

In September 2021, Massachusetts regulators fined MassMutual $4million for failing to supervise the trading activity of their employee Keith Gill, a leading player in the GameStop short squeeze which led to hedge funds losing billions. Galvin characterised Gill as a professional trader/dealer, citing his 1,700 trades on behalf of three other individuals. However, Galvin failed to disclose that the three individuals were all members of Gill's family and that less than 5% of the 1,700 trades were for GameStop. Following his pursuit of litigation against Gill, it was reported that Galvin was engaging in partisan politics and had opposed bilingual ballots in contravention of the Voting Rights Act.^[24]

Electoral history

Massachusetts House of Representatives 27th Suffolk District Special Democratic Primary Election, 1975
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin	1,266	30.5
Democratic	James Lawrence Sullivan	655	15.8
Democratic	Michael Hanaon, Jr.	512	12.3
Democratic	Ronald Capling	380	9.2
Democratic	David Graham	375	9.0
Democratic	Dante Mummolo	335	8.1
Democratic	Donald Feener	319	7.7
Democratic	Albert Mancini	161	3.9
Democratic	Donald Williams	149	3.6

Massachusetts House of Representatives 27th Suffolk District Special Election, 1975
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin	517	100.0

Massachusetts House of Representatives 27th Suffolk District Election, 1976
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	5,131	100.0

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Election, 1978
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	5,503	100.0

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Republican Primary Election, 1980
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican/Write-in	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	124	47.1
Republican	Joan Kiley	85	32.3
Republican	Michael Marion	54	20.5

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Election, 1980
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	6,673	100.0
Write-ins	Write-ins	2	0.0

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Election, 1982
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	5,230	100.0

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Election, 1984
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	8,248	100.0
Write-ins	Write-ins	3	0.0

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Democratic Primary Election, 1986
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	3,311	65.5
Democratic	Helene Solomon	1,744	34.5

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Election, 1986
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	5,044	99.9
Write-ins	Write-ins	3	0.1

Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th Suffolk District Election, 1988
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	6,433	82.1
Republican	Michael Wilcon	1,406	17.9

Massachusetts Treasurer Democratic Primary Election, 1990
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin	489,512	51.0
Democratic	George Keverian	287,626	30.0
Democratic	Dick Kraus	182,715	19.0
Democratic	Write-ins	436	0.0

Massachusetts Treasurer Election, 1990
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Joseph Malone	1,298,521	57.2
Democratic	William Francis Galvin	825,808	36.4
Independent High Tech	David Nash	143,324	6.3
Write-ins	Write-ins	753	0.0

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Democratic Primary Election, 1994
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin	262,018	63.7
Democratic	Augusto Grace	148,785	36.2
Democratic	Write-ins	418	0.1

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 1994
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin	1,077,506	54.7
Republican	Arthur Chase	813,068	41.3
Libertarian	Peter Everett	77,584	3.9
Write-ins	Write-ins	567	0.0

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 1998
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,252,912	69.9
Republican	Dale Jenkins, Jr.	451,556	25.2
Libertarian	David Atkinson	87,196	4.9
Write-ins	Write-ins	680	0.0

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 2002
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,472,562	74.0
Republican	Jack Robinson, III	516,260	25.9
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,832	0.1

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Democratic Primary Election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	635,002	82.9
Democratic	John Bonifaz	129,323	16.9
Democratic	Write-ins	2,003	0.3

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,638,594	82.0
Green-Rainbow	Jill Stein	353,551	17.7
Write-ins	Write-ins	5,715	0.3

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,420,481	64.4
Republican	William Campbell	720,967	32.7
Independent	James Henderson	61,812	2.8
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,425	0.1

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,395,616	67.4
Republican	David D'arcangelo	597,491	28.9
Green-Rainbow	Daniel Factor	74,789	3.6
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,421	0.1

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Democratic Primary Election, 2018
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	435,244	67.4
Democratic	Josh Zakim	209,047	32.4
Democratic	Write-ins	1,605	0.2

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 2018
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,860,189	70.83
Republican	Anthony Amore	667,433	25.41
Green-Rainbow	Juan Sanchez	98,831	3.76

Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth Election, 2022
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	William Francis Galvin (inc.)	1,663,496	67.68
Republican	Rayla Campbell	721,261	29.34
Green-Rainbow	Juan Sanchez	71,662	2.92

Further reading

• News: Historical roadblock: A standoff over the development of land in Freetown casts a spotlight on a little-known agency with an outsized role over development in Massachusetts . Commonwealth Magazine . January 11, 2012 . Paul . McMorrow . https://web.archive.org/web/20120113214637/http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/News-and-Features/Features/2012/Winter/003-Historical-roadblock.aspx . January 13, 2012 . Wayback Machine.
• News: Lawrence mayor says angry Bill Galvin told him: 'I made you mayor' . Dan . Atkinson . . March 6, 2018 . March 7, 2018.

External links

• Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts official page
• Galvin Campaign website

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Notes and References

1. Web site: Jonas . Michael . 2000-04-01 . Battlin' Bill Galvin . 2023-07-19 . CommonWealth Magazine . en-US.
2. Web site: Fisher . Jenna . 2017-08-01 . Waltham's Connection To White House Chief Of Staff . 2023-07-19 . . en.
3. Web site: Former State Rep. Bill Galvin - Biography . 2023-07-19 . . en.
4. Web site: 2014-10-27 . Editorial: We endorse William Galvin for Massachusetts secretary of state . 2023-07-19 . MassLive.com . en.
5. Web site: Lucas . Peter . 2022-09-10 . Lucas: Opponents come and go, but William Galvin’s still standing . 2023-07-19 . . en-US.
6. News: Alster . Norm . 2002-10-20 . A Grim Investigator Goes It Alone . en-US . . 2023-07-19 . 0362-4331.
7. Web site: Katie Zezima . A Job Transformed: Paper-Pusher to Junkyard Dog . . November 27, 2003 . May 11, 2020.
8. Web site: A major fight looms for Beacon Hill's 'Prince of Darkness' . The Boston Globe.
9. Web site: Secretary of State Galvin outlines priorities as he starts record-setting term. Chris Lisinski. MassLive.
10. News: Seth . Gitell . March 8, 2001 . Waiting in the wings: If Jane Swift needs even a little time off after giving birth to twins, the secretary of state is ready, willing, and—most bet—eager to become acting governor . The Boston Phoenix . February 1, 2012.
11. Web site: Boston.com . Boston.com . September 3, 2006 . May 11, 2020.
12. News: A Fellow Democrat Says It's Time for Secretary William Galvin to Go . Spencer . Buell . . November 28, 2017 . February 20, 2018.
13. News: Could the longest-serving statewide elected official lose his job?. June 4, 2018. Boston.com. June 27, 2018.
14. Web site: With a commitment to social justice, upstart secretary of state candidate travels to Berkshires theberkshireedge.com . January 25, 2018 . July 2, 2018.
15. News: Group pushes for automatic voter registration in Mass. . The Boston Globe . June 27, 2018.
16. News: States with Election Day registration see bonus for democracy . The Boston Globe . June 27, 2018.
17. Web site: Stout . Matt . Phillips . Frank . In convention upset, Josh Zakim bests William Galvin for Democrats' endorsement . The Boston Globe.
18. Web site: 2018 Secretary of the Commonwealth Democratic Primary . electionstats.state.ma.us . October 27, 2018.
19. News: Massachusetts Election Results . . November 6, 2018 . November 6, 2018.
20. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/October/08-crt-943.html Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Massachusetts Secretary of State for Noncompliance with Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
21. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122233356/http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view/2009_01_15_William_Galvin_sues_salesman_Robert_Jaffe:_Demands_testimony/srvc=business&position=recent_bullet "William Galvin Sues Salesman Robert Jaffe – Demands Testimony", Boston Herald (January 15, 2009)
22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090126185542/http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/biz/content/news/madoff/2008/12/21/Boston_JAFFE.html "Connection to Bernard Madoff Made Robert Jaffe a 'Superstar'", Palm Beach Daily News (December 21, 2008)
23. Web site: Beth Healy, "Madoff Associate Jaffe Skips State Hearing", Boston Globe (January 14, 2009) . Boston.com . January 14, 2009 . May 11, 2020.
24. News: Shanahan . Mark . Will Secretary of State Bill Galvin outlast us all? . 15 Dec 2023 . Boston Globe . 27 Aug 2022.