William Floyd Weld is a former
governorIn the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state.-Role and powers:...
of the US state of
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He served as
that state's 68th governor from 1991 to 1997. From 1981 to 1988, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Justice Department. In November 2006, he rejoined the international law firm of
McDermott Will & EmeryMcDermott Will & Emery LLP, also known by its initials, MWE, was founded in 1934 and is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. It is one of the top 10 largest law firms in the United States and one of the 20 largest in the world...
as a partner in its New York office.
Weld family
William Weld's ancestor
Edmund WeldThe Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmins most remembered for the philanthropy of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University, the Golden Age of Sail, the Far East , the history of Massachusetts, and American history in general.William Weld, former Governor of...
was among the earliest students (Class of 1650) at
Harvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He would be followed by eighteen more Welds at Harvard, where two buildings are named for the family. General Stephen Minot Weld Jr. fought with distinction in many major battles of the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
William Weld has a sense of humor about his background; when Massachusetts Senate president Billy Bulger publicly teased him about his all-American heritage and wealth, pointing out that his ancestors had come over on the
MayflowerThe Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
, Weld rose on the dais with a correction: "Actually, they weren't on the
Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready."
Weld's father David (1911–1972) was an investment banker; his mother was Mary Floyd Weld (1913–1986) was a descendant of William Floyd who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His siblings are Dr. Francis "Tim" Weld, David Weld (d. 2005), and Anne (m. Collins).
Education
Weld was educated at
Middlesex SchoolMiddlesex School is an independent secondary school for grades 9 - 12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, who headed the school until 1937. Winsor set up a National Scholarship Program for the school, the first of its kind...
. He graduated with an
A.B.A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
summa cum laude from
Harvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1966, studied
economicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at
University College, Oxford.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
and graduated with a
J.D.Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
cum laude from
Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1970.
Early career
Weld began his legal career as a counsel with the House Judiciary Committee during the
WatergateThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
impeachment inquiry.
He served for five years as
United States AttorneyUnited States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
in Massachusetts. In the early 1980s, Weld engaged in a highly publicized investigation into the administration of Kevin White, then mayor of
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Weld's record as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts
In 1981, William Weld was recommended to
President ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
by Rudolph W. Giuliani, then Associate U.S. Attorney General, for appointment as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. During Weld’s tenure, the Attorney General’s office prosecuted some of New England’s largest banks in cases involving money laundering and other
white-collar crimeWithin the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
s. In 1985, the
Boston Globe said Weld “has been by far the most visible figure in the prosecution of financial institutions.”
Weld gained national recognition in fighting public corruption: he won 109 convictions out of 111 cases.
In 1983, the
Boston Globe stated: "The U.S. Attorney's office has not lost a single
political corruption case since Weld took over, an achievement believed to be unparalleled in the various federal jurisdictions."
Promotion to Justice Department
In 1986, President Reagan promoted Weld to head of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington, where Weld oversaw 700 employees. Weld was responsible for supervising all federal prosecutions, including those investigated by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as the work of the 93 U.S. Attorneys (who by then included Rudy Giuliani in Manhattan). During this time, Weld worked on some of the Reagan administration’s most significant prosecutions and investigations, including the capture of Panama’s
Manuel NoriegaManuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...
on drug trafficking charges.
Weld's record as Governor of Massachusetts
In 1990, Weld won the Republican nomination for governor of Massachusetts. His Democratic opponent was
John SilberJohn Robert Silber is an American academician and former candidate for public office. From 1971 to 1996 he was President of Boston University and from 1996 to 2003 Chancellor of the University. Since 2003 he has been its President Emeritus. In 1990, Silber took a leave of absence from the...
, the president of
Boston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. Although initially an underdog, Weld's socially liberal views appealed to many Democrats and left-leaning independents, and he narrowly defeated Silber to become the first Republican Governor of Massachusetts since
Francis W. SargentFrancis William Sargent was the 64th Governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. Born in 1915 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, he was known for his sharp wit and self-deprecating manner...
left office in 1975. He was elected during a tumultuous time when the state's bond rating was near junk status, unemployment was nearly 10%, and the state had continuously borrowed money to close large operating deficits.
During his governorship, Weld ended the state's borrowing, controlled Medicaid spending, reduced property taxes and balanced seven budgets in a row (in a state where a balanced budget is constitutionally mandated but haphazardly enforced) while passing 19 tax cuts and never raising taxes. The business community reacted strongly to Weld's leadership. In a 1994 survey of chief executives conducted by the Massachusetts High Technology Council, 83% of those polled rated the state's business climate as good or excellent—up from only 33% at the beginning of his term. Proponents might claim that Weld's leadership changed the minds of 50% of the CEO's surveyed while others would note the national economic trends or other factors might play a part. Weld also reaped the benefits of the 1990s prosperity, as the state's unemployment rate fell by more than 3 percentage points during his first term, from 9.6% in 1991 to 6.4% in 1994.
Other accomplishments touted by Weld's supporters include:
- Reforming Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
to control its annual rate of growth from an average of 17.4% per year between 1987 and 1991, to 3.8% between 1991 and 1997.
- Overhauling the antiquated workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
system, and significantly reduced the size of state government. When Weld left office in 1997, it took 15,000 fewer state employees to run the government's operations than it had in 1988.
In
1994The 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. William Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts for a second term.-Primaries:William Weld ran unopposed for the Republican nomination....
, Weld won reelection with an impressive 71% of the vote—the most one-sided gubernatorial contest in Massachusetts history. Weld's 71–28 win over Democratic state representative
Mark RooseveltMark Roosevelt has been since January 2011 the President of Antioch College. He was previously the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the second largest school district in Pennsylvania, until December 31, 2010....
beat Michael Dukakis's 69–31 trouncing of Republican George Kariotis in 1986, and broke the previous record, set in 1872, when Republican incumbent
William WashburnWilliam Barrett Washburn was an American politician from Massachusetts who served in the United States House of Representatives and as the 28th Governor of Massachusetts.-Early life:...
beat Democrat
Francis BirdFrancis Bird was one of the leading English sculptors of his time. He is mainly remembered for sculptures in Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. He carved a tomb for the dramatist William Congreve in Westminster Abbey and sculptures of the apostles and evangelists on the exterior of St...
69–30. Weld carried all but five towns in the whole state, even carrying Boston.
In 1996, Weld supported the appointment of William Bulger as president of the
University of MassachusettsThis article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
. That same year Weld ran for the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
against
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
incumbent
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
. He was the first reasonably well-funded Republican Senate candidate in Massachusetts since
Edward BrookeEdward William Brooke, III is an American politician and was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 60.7%–38.7%...
was unseated in 1978. The race was covered nationwide as one of the most closely watched Senate races that year. Kerry and Weld held several debates and negotiated a campaign spending cap of $6.9 million at Kerry's Beacon Hill mansion. In the end, Senator Kerry won re-election with 53 percent to Weld's 45 percent—the last seriously contested Senate race in Massachusetts until the
special electionThe 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013...
for
Ted KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
's seat in 2010.
Cabinet and administration
| The Weld Cabinet |
| OFFICE |
NAME |
TERM |
|
GovernorThe Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
|
William Weld |
1991 1997 |
Lt. GovernorThe Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts...
|
Paul CellucciArgeo Paul Cellucci is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 69th Governor of Massachusetts and US Ambassador to Canada.-Early life and career:...
|
1991 1997 |
|
| Secretary of Transportation and Construction |
Richard L. Taylor
James KerasiotesJames J. Kerasiotes was the director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the project manager of the Big Dig in Boston during the 1990s. He was asked to resign by Massachusetts governor Paul Celucci on April 11, 2000, because of cost over runs...
|
1991 1992
1992 1997 |
| Secretary of Housing & Community Development |
Steven Pierce Steven D. Pierce is a Massachusetts jurist and politician who currently serves as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Housing Court.A graduate of Union College and the Duke University School of Law, Pierce worked as an attorney before being elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1978...
Mary L. PadulaMary L. Padula is a former politician who represented the Second Worcester and Middlesex District in the Massachusetts Senate from 1983 to 1991 and served as Massachusetts' Secretary of Housing & Community Development from 1991 until the post was eliminated in 1996.Prior to serving the Senate,...
|
1991 1991
1991 1996 |
| Secretary of Environmental Affairs |
Susan Tierney Susan F. Tierney was expected to be named Deputy Secretary of Energy in the United States Department of Energy under President Barack Obama, until she withdrew her candidacy for the position in March 2009....
Trudy CoxeGertrude M. "Trudy" Coxe is an American environmental activist who is the current CEO of the Preservation Society of Newport County and the former Secretary of Environmental Affairs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts....
|
1991 1993
1993 1997 |
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs |
Gloria Cordes Larson Gloria Cordes Larson is a former politician and lawyer based in Boston. As of July 1, 2007, she was the first woman to be selected President of Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. Larson, a Southerner, received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College and her J.D. from the University of...
Priscilla Douglas
Nancy Merrick |
1991 1993
1993 1996
1996 1997 |
| Secretary of Health and Human Services |
David P. Forsberg
Charles D. Baker, Jr.Charles Duane "Charlie" Baker, Jr. , is an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and was the Republican candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial...
Gerald Whitburn
Joseph V. Gallant
William D. O'Leary |
1991 1992
1992 1994
1995 1996
1996 1997
1997 1997 |
| Secretary of Elder Affairs |
Franklin P. Ollivierre |
1991 1997 |
| Secretary of Labor |
Christine Morris |
1991 1996 |
| Secretary of Administration & Finance |
Peter Nessen
Mark E. Robinson
Charles D. Baker, Jr.Charles Duane "Charlie" Baker, Jr. , is an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and was the Republican candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial...
|
1991 1993
1993 1994
1994 1997 |
| Secretary of Public Safety |
James B. Roche
Thomas C. Rapone
Kathleen O'TooleKathleen M. O'Toole is the Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, set up to ensure that the resources available to the Garda Síochána are used so as to achieve and maintain the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in its operation and administration, as measured by reference to the...
|
1991 1992
1992 1994
1994 1997 |
| Director of Economic Affairs |
Stephen Tocco
Gloria Cordes LarsonGloria Cordes Larson is a former politician and lawyer based in Boston. As of July 1, 2007, she was the first woman to be selected President of Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. Larson, a Southerner, received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College and her J.D. from the University of...
|
1991 1993
1993 1996 |
Later career
Weld resigned the governorship after being nominated
United States Ambassador to MexicoThe United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett became the first U.S. envoy to Mexico in 1825. The rank...
by President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. He was never confirmed by the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, however, and hence never served as Ambassador. This was due mainly to opposition from
Senate Foreign Relations committeeThe United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
chairman
Jesse HelmsJesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, who refused to hold a hearing on the nomination, effectively blocking it. Though both were Republicans and though that party held the majority in the chamber, Helms objected to Weld's moderate stance on several social issues. This refusal to hold hearings was also rumored to be at the request of former attorney general and friend of Helms, Ed Meese. Meese had a long standing grudge against Weld stemming from Weld's investigation of Meese during the
Iran-Contra affairThe Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
.
Until recently, Weld ran the
ManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
office of
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
based international law firm McDermott Will & Emery. He has also worked for the New York Private Equity firm Leeds, Weld & Co. until his exit in 2005, when the company's name was changed to
Leeds Equity PartnersLeeds Equity Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in the Knowledge Industries. The Firm is currently investing its fifth private equity fund, Leeds Equity Partners V, L.P., the largest fund focused exclusively on investing in this sector, an estimated $3.5 trillion domestic...
.
Weld has also flirted with the arts. He writes thriller novels for the mass market, and has done a little acting.
During the re-election campaign of President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, who was running against Weld's old foe John Kerry, Weld helped Bush to prepare for the debates.
William Weld was seen taking the New York State Bar examination at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on February 27 and 28, 2007. His name appeared on the pass list for the February 2007 New York State Bar Examination. Weld was admitted to practice law in the State of New York in 2008.
Candidacy for Governor of New York
Despite having served as Governor of Massachusetts, Weld has lived in New York since 2000. On April 24, 2005, it was reported that he was in talks with the
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Republicans to run for
Governor of New York in 2006The New York gubernatorial election of 2006 was a race for the governorship of this U.S. state. Eliot Spitzer was elected on November 7, 2006, succeeding Governor George Pataki, the three-term incumbent, who did not run for a fourth term....
, against likely
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee
Eliot SpitzerEliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
. Incumbent GOP Governor
George PatakiGeorge Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
announced on July 27 that he would not seek a fourth term. On August 19, 2005, Weld officially announced his candidacy for Governor of New York, seeking to become the second person after
Sam HoustonSamuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
to serve as Governor of two different U.S. states. His main opponent in the GOP race was former
Assembly Minority LeaderThe New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
John FasoJohn Faso was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 2006, and was defeated by Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer in the largest defeat for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. This followed his loss to Alan Hevesi four years earlier in his run for State Comptroller...
. Early in the campaign, former New York Secretary of State
Randy DanielsRandy Daniels is an American journalist and educator who served as Secretary of State of New York from 2001 to 2005. He resides in Westchester, New York and is currently employed as Vice Chairman of , a real estate investing firm....
and Assemblyman
Patrick ManningPatrick Augustus Mervyn Manning was the fourth and sixth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the former Political Leader of the People's National Movement . He served as Prime Minister from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and held that office again from 24 December 2001 until 26...
also waged campaigns for the governorship.
In December 2005, Weld received the backing of the Republican county chairs of New York State during a county chairs meeting. Several chairs of large counties abstained from voting or did not attend the meeting, which led to talk that Weld was not as popular as thought. During his early campaign, Weld was publicly endorsed by Republican State Chairman Stephen J. Minarik and was rumored to be backed by Pataki. Despite reports of a possible public endorsement by Pataki, no endorsement was made.
On April 29, 2006, Weld received the
Libertarian PartyThe Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
's nomination.
On May 31, 2006, Weld started the Republican State Convention by announcing his choice of New York Secretary of State
Christopher JacobsChristopher L. Jacobs was Secretary of State of New York and was twice a candidate for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of New York as the running mate of both former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld in 2006 and Steve Levy in 2010...
of
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
as his
running mateA running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
for
lieutenant governorThe Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...
. In the following days, Weld received some criticism for his choice of Secretary Jacobs, because Jacobs had donated $250 to the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General
Eliot SpitzerEliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
in 2004. Weld said he choose Jacobs, a member of the Buffalo
Board of EducationA board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
, because of Jacobs' work on education reform and upstate economic development issues. Secretary Jacobs has been an advocate of
charter schoolCharter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s and for the revitalization of the upstate economy. Weld also said he choose Secretary Jacobs because he was an "
Albany outsiderAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
" and could bring this perspective to state government. When he was selected by Weld, Jacobs had only served for six weeks as secretary of state in Pataki's Cabinet.
On June 1, 2006, the Republican State Convention voted 61% to 39% to endorse Faso. On June 5, Stephen J. Minarik, the chairman of the state Republican Party, who had been Weld's most prominent backer, called on Weld to withdraw in the interest of party unity. Weld formally announced his withdrawal from the race the following day, and returned to private life.
Spitzer would go on to defeat Faso by the largest margin in New York gubernatorial history, winning 70–28.
2008 Presidential Election
Weld publicly endorsed
Mitt RomneyWillard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
for the presidency on January 8, 2007. Weld served as the co-chairman for Romney's campaign in New York State. On the same day that Weld endorsed Romney, Gov. and Mrs. Weld also raised $50,000 for Romney's exploratory committee. Weld personally made a donation of $2,100 dollars, the maximum allowed per person per election at the time. He later donated another $200 dollars (the new maximum allowed was $2,300).
Weld was also active in campaigning for Governor Romney in New Hampshire where both Governors have been known to travel together. Weld went on to endorse
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
over John McCain for the presidency of the United States.
Connections
Weld's first wife,
Susan Roosevelt WeldSusan Roosevelt Weld was formerly a professor at Harvard specializing in ancient Chinese civilization and law. She also was General Counsel to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China...
, formerly a professor at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
specializing in ancient Chinese civilization and law, and then General Counsel to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, is a great granddaughter of
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. They married in 1976, had five children (David, Ethel, Mary, Quentin, and Frances), and divorced in 2002. His second and present wife, the writer and novelist Leslie Marshall, is a former daughter-in-law of Ben Bradlee of
The Washington Post.
Weld was a principal at Leeds, Weld & Co., which describes itself as the United States's largest private equity fund focused on investing in the education and training industry. Its board of advisors is chaired by Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Weld co-chaired the
Independent Task Force on North AmericaThe Independent Task Force on the Future of North America advocates a greater economic and social integration between Canada, Mexico, and the United States as a region...
under the
Council on Foreign RelationsThe Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, which studied the integration of the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Quotes
- "I happen to think that individual freedom should extend to a woman's right to choose. I want the government out of your pocket book and your bedroom."
- "There’s no one so brave and wise as the politician who’s not running for office and who’s not going to be…"
- "I suggest to you that increasing the size of America's economic pie—which can be achieved only if everybody has a seat at the table—is the most important challenge facing our country today."
- "The best social program is a good job."
- "Government has a role as well in what is referred to as redistributive justice. "
- "Government is never so noble as when it is addressing wrongs. "
- "I dare say that a majority of the American people think that having a fair hearing on an issue of importance in our relations with Mexico is extremely important to our national interest, as well as theirs."
- "I don't understand the Democrats' approach to Social Security in this country, and I'm not alone."
- "My slogan when I ran was that there is no such thing as government money, there is only taxpayers' money...."
- "Opposing the free flow of goods or people is a bad idea."
- "There's an alliance in the environmental area, and an appropriate one, between the government and the little guy."
- "I think coercive taxation is theft, and government has a moral duty to keep it to a minimum."
- "We absolutely have to restrain concentrations of wealth in industry from spoiling the situation for everybody."
- "The system that had grown up in most states is that wealthy districts with an affluent population can afford to spend a lot more on their public school systems than the poorer districts."
- "Natural resources are so vast that no single individual or business is going to protect them; they don't have an incentive to."
- "In health care, education, and to some extent transportation—but less so, I think—government monopolies have proved to be a disaster. "
- "Much is forgiven anyone who relieves the desperate boredom of the working press."
- "I believe the government should stay out of your wallet, and out of your bedroom" which drew a mix of applause and boos at the 1992 Republican National Convention.
Books authored
Weld has written three novels for the mass market:
- Stillwater ISBN 0-15-602723-2
- Mackerel By Moonlight ISBN 0-671-03874-5
- Big Ugly ISBN 0-7434-1037-8
Electoral history
- Massachusetts U.S. Senate election, 1996
- John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
(D) (inc.), 52%
- William Weld (R), 45%
- Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1994
The 1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. William Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts for a second term.-Primaries:William Weld ran unopposed for the Republican nomination....
- William Weld (R) (inc.), 71%
- Mark Roosevelt
Mark Roosevelt has been since January 2011 the President of Antioch College. He was previously the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the second largest school district in Pennsylvania, until December 31, 2010....
(D), 28%
- Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1990
The 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Republican William Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts for the first time. He beat Democrat John Silber to become the first Republican Governor of Massachusetts since 1975....
- William Weld (R), 50%
- John Silber
John Robert Silber is an American academician and former candidate for public office. From 1971 to 1996 he was President of Boston University and from 1996 to 2003 Chancellor of the University. Since 2003 he has been its President Emeritus. In 1990, Silber took a leave of absence from the...
(D), 47%
External links