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Trailblazing Jewish Democrat #5: Steven Grossman

Jason Attermann — May 6, 2011 – 3:27 pm | Jewish American Heritage Month 2011 Comments (0) Add a comment

Steven Grossman is one of the leading national Jewish Democratic activists of the last quarter century. His leadership record includes his current tenure as Treasurer and Receiver General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and his past Chairmanships of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

In 1988, Grossman was one of a handful of leaders who led Jewish Democrats in support of Michael Dukakis’s presidential campaign. He helped found the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) to ensure that there was a permanent Jewish Democratic presence on the national scene. In the early 1990s, Grossman led the Massachusetts Democratic Party as state Party Chair. In this role, he ran a campaign that successfully elected Democrats in every congressional race. This was the first such occurrence by any party since 1872. In 1992, his concerted efforts helped President Bill Clinton win the state by almost 20 points, as well as gain a majority in both houses of the state legislature large enough to counter a gubernatorial veto.

In addition to being a national Democratic leader, Grossman has taken an important leadership role in a number of Jewish organizations. He served as a Director of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. From 1992 to 1997, Grossman served as Chair of AIPAC. For his dedication to the Middle East peace process, Grossman was asked by the Clinton Administration to attend Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral with the American delegation. He also served as Trustee of Brandeis University and Beth Israel Hospital.

Grossman’s efforts in Massachusetts and on the national level led to his service on the DNC Platform Committee and the Platform Drafting Committee in 1992. In 1997, he was nominated by President Clinton to become the Chair of the DNC, and served in this role until 1999. Despite Republican efforts to impeach the President, Democrats actually gained seats in the U.S. House of Representatives during Grossman’s tenure. This was the first time in the 20th century that the President’s political party gained seats in the 6th year of the President’s term.

Following his term as Party Chair, Grossman ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002. He remained active in politics as a leading fundraiser for many national Democratic leaders, including Hillary Clinton. In 2010, Grossman was elected Treasurer of Massachusetts. He became the first Jewish state-wide elected official in Massachusetts in over 50 years.

In his professional life, Grossman was the President of Grossman Marketing Group, a fourth-generation family business based in Sommerville,  MA. Grossman received his Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his Masters in Business Administration as a Baker Scholar from Harvard School of Business. He is married to Dr. Barbara Wallace Grossman, a professor at Tufts University and a Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Together they have three children.

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