Christopher Gabrieli, Boston businessman and philanthropist, announced his candidacy for governor Thursday morning at his campaign headquarters on Canal Street in downtown Boston after considering the post for weeks.
Surrounded by family, friends and the media, Gabrieli ended early speculation by announcing his plans to run, creating a three-way Democratic race for governor between former Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick and Attorney General Tom Reilly. On the Republican ticket is Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, who is running with former State Representative Reed Hillman.
Gabrieli said his reasons for entering the race include his love for the state of Massachusetts as well as his frustration with the stagnant Republican government.
“I don’t see Republican governors getting the job done to solve our problems, and I am tired of it,” Gabrieli said. “For sixteen years, all we’ve heard is promises. But we still haven’t seen results. We’re 46th in the nation in job creation, we have the highest cost of housing, millions of tax dollars are wasted every year, and yet there’s no accountability to taxpayers.”
Gabrieli said he will “be a governor who solves problems and gets results,” citing his previous contributions to the Commonwealth as proof.
In 1999 Gabrieli led Mayor Tom Menino’s Taskforce on After-School Time, according to the campaign website.
When Gabrieli realized children spend only 20 percent of their time in school, he co-founded and chaired Massachusetts 2020, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to “expanding educational and economic opportunities for children and families across Massachusetts,” according to the foundation’s site.
Gabrieli said that, if elected governor, he plans to invest in new technologies — such as stem cell research — to create jobs. He added that he would make college savings tax-deductible and would extend the time students spend learning by implementing after-school programs in various Boston communities.
When asked during the conference whether his bid for governor was because Reilly did not pick him for a running mate, Gabrieli did not respond.
In an interview with The Daily Free Press, Gabrieli stressed the need for economic growth in Massachusetts and explained the logistics of his campaign.
Of all the problems the state government faces, economic growth is the most pressing issue, he said in the interview. He also explained the importance of creating jobs, saying that graduating students coming into the workforce do not want to leave Massachusetts to find job opportunities.
“Economic growth means jobs and opportunities for individuals, but it also means a growing economy that allows you to make more investments with public dollars too,” Gabrieli said.
Gabrieli has until June to get 15 percent of the Democratic State Convention’s votes in order to be included on the primaries ballot in September. Despite his late entry and his unsuccessful bids for Congress in 1999 and Lt. Governor in 2002, Gabrieli said that doubtful voters are his biggest obstacles.
“Most voters are, sadly, skeptical … about whether they believe anything they are hearing, so you’ve really got to do your best to convince them,” Gabrieli said. “The strategy for every campaign is to do your best, get out there and talk to as many voters in as many ways as you can.”
Gabrieli said he is still in the beginning stages of his campaign but has already collected the 500 signatures needed to run. Gabrieli added that some wealthy Bostonians have already endorsed him, and campaign workers have begun addressing letters to possible contributors in hopes of gaining support and raising funds.
“[Gabrieli] was a founder of GMIS, Inc., a company providing clinical software tools to the healthcare industry,” and is currently a member of BU and Harvard’s boards of Public Health, according to the Massachusetts 2020 website.
James Smith, a state committee member and founding member of Smith, Segel ‘ Sowalsky in Boston, told The Boston Globe that he will not sign the petition for Gabrieli.
”I think Chris is terrific … but I think the field is formed. We have two very strong candidates,” Smith told the Globe in a March 30 article.
Anne Manning, a Peabody school committee member volunteered to collect the signatures needed for Gabrieli to run.
“I’ve been one of the people who have been harassing him for quite some time to get into the race, so I need to step up to the plate,” Manning said in the article.