Dan Wolf
Dan Wolf | |
---|---|
Cape and Islands district | |
In office January 5, 2011 – January 4, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Robert O'Leary |
Succeeded by | Julian Cyr |
Personal details | |
Born | Daniel A. Wolf August 11, 1957 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Harwich, Massachusetts |
Alma mater | Wesleyan University (BA) |
Profession | businessman, entrepreneur, aircraft pilot |
Positions | Board Chairman of Cape Air |
Daniel A. Wolf (born August 11, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, aircraft pilot, and politician. In 1989, he founded the
On June 10, 2013, he announced his intention to seek the
In 2015, Wolf confirmed that he would not seek a fourth term by running for re-election in 2016. He was succeeded by Julian Cyr (D-Truro). There remains speculation as to whether he will return to focusing on work as owner and pilot for his airline company, although he is considered a potential candidate for Governor in the future.
Early life and education
Wolf was born on August 11, 1957, in
Cape Air
In 1988 Wolf founded the airline company Cape Air, which at the time flew solely between
With assistance from a government grant, Cape Air expanded into Indiana on November 13, 2007, offering flights from Indianapolis to Evansville and South Bend. Because it did not get the passengers needed to be financially successful, the last Cape Air flight in Indiana was on August 31, 2008.[9] In September 2010, the United States Department of Transportation's Essential Air Service (EAS) selected Cape Air to fly a federally subsidized route connecting Augusta, Maine and Boston. Service began in December 2010.[10]
Massachusetts Senate
Elections
Following incumbent Robert O'Leary's announcement that he would retire to run for the United States House of Representatives, Wolf declared that he would run to succeed him, one month before the deadline.[5] Wolf expressed his motivation for entering politics because he had "become increasingly concerned seeing the challenges through the eyes of [my] front line employees."[11]
His campaign set records for fundraising with a war chest of over $300,000, more than either of his opponents.[12] In the Democratic primary Wolf faced and defeated Barnstable County Commissioner Sheila Lyons with nearly twice as many votes.[13] In the general election Wolf defeated Republican real estate developer James H. Crocker Jr.[14] In his 2012 bid for re-election Wolf faced no competition in either a primary or general election.[15] In 2014 Wolf was re-elected to his third term, defeating Republican Ron Beaty in the general election.[16][17]
In October 2015,
Tenure
Despite being elected from a relatively
An advocate for
Wolf has been a consistent supporter of mandated
As the senator for Cape Cod, Wolf supports Cape Wind, a project to build an offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound.[29] In 2011, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships praised Wolf's company Cape Air for efficient initiatives such as installing a major solar panel system at their headquarters, expanding office recycling, and distributing compact fluorescent light bulbs to employees.[30][31]
Wolf has been a vocal critic of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, and published an op-ed piece emphasizing the distinction between people and corporations.[32] Wolf reiterated his opposition to corporate personhood at breakfast event in his campaign for governor, joking: "Cape Air and my daughters [are about] the same age... I've never actually confused my daughters for Cape Air."[33] A supporter of adopting a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court decision, Wolf co-sponsored and voted for a resolution to do so.[34][35] As a guest speaker at a Brookings Institution's summit on Citizens United increase in political spending in 2016, Wolf said a constitutional amendment was vital for changing the political status quo.[36]
Consistently voting to increase the
Committee assignments
Wolf serves on the following committees.[41]
- Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development (Chair)[19]
- Senate Committee on Steering and Policy (Chair)
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development
- Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy
- Joint Committee on Revenue
- Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses
2014 gubernatorial campaign
On July 10, 2013, Wolf announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for
Prior to announcing his campaign for governor, Wolf submitted an inquiry to the Massachusetts Ethics Commission as a precaution there would be no conflict of interest.[46] However, on August 2 the Commission ruled that Wolf's 23% ownership of the company did create a conflict because Cape Air had ongoing contracts with the Massachusetts Port Authority (MassPort); Wolf was instructed he would either need to resign from the Senate and discontinue his campaign from Governor, divest his stake in Cape Air, or cancel all contracts between Cape Air and MassPort.[47] In a statement to supporters, explaining that departing his company or canceling contacts would put his employees' jobs at risk, he announced that he would suspend his campaign, and resign from the Senate.[48]
The Ethics Commission later granted his campaign a reprieve, allowing Wolf to make an appeal at their next scheduled meeting on September 19.[49] At the meeting, the Commission ruled 4–1 to reverse its decision which disqualified him from public office, allowing him to remain in office and renew his candidacy Governor.[50] On October 21, Wolf announced he was ending his campaign for governor, due to the fact that even though the Ethics Commission voted to change its rules, the implementation would have likely taken several months.[51] On June 17, 2014, Wolf endorsed Don Berwick as the Democratic nominee for governor.[52]
Personal life
Wolf is married to Heidi Schuetz, a chef on Cape Cod, and together they have three daughters: Stella, Zoe, and Ruby.[33] In 2010, Wolf was awarded an honorary doctorate from Daniel Webster College.[2]
In March 2013, Wolf was interviewed by
References
- ^ a b c d "Cape Air: The Resume". New England Cable News. The Boss. March 26, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Cape Air's Founder & CEO, Dan Wolf" (PDF). Cape Air. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ WBUR. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Julia Wells (May 20, 2010). "Cape Air Owner Runs for State Senate". Vineyard Gazette. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- Nantucket Airlines. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- Nantucket Airlines. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 21, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- Boston Globe.
- ^ "Cape Air Airlines". Altius Directory. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ Jonathan Riskind (August 28, 2011). "Threat to airline subsidies leaves Maine up in the air". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ Shira Schoenberg (July 10, 2013). "State Sen. Daniel Wolf will run for Massachusetts governor". The Republican. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ^ Molly A.K. Connors (October 28, 2010). "Wolf blowing away Crocker financially". MassEquality. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ^ Nelson Sigelman (September 15, 2010). "Dan Wolf wins Dems state senate nod; Perry will face Keating in 10th district". The Martha's Vineyard Times. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Molly A.K. Connors (November 3, 2010). "Cape Air's Daniel Wolf wins Senate seat". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- Barnstable Patriot. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ William F. Galvin; Tim Wood. "McManus, Wolf, Cakounes Win, Keating Defeats Chapman in Mid-term Election". The Cape Cod Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 21, 2014.
- ^ "Hearty Election Night Turnout on Cape Cod: Local Winners include Mannal, Hunt, deMacedo, O'Keefe, Whelan, Wolf, Keating". CapeCod.com. November 4, 2014.
- ^ a b David Scharfenberg (November 5, 2015). "State Senator Daniel Wolf won't seek reelection, report says". Boston Globe.
- ^ a b c Carrie Gentile (October 16, 2015). "Wolf won't seek re-election". Cape Cod Times.
- ^ Walter Brooks (October 31, 2012). "Dan Wolf for governor?". Cape Cod Today. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- Boston Globe. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- WBUR. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Government Printing Office. July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ "Single payer amendment falls short in Senate". WickedLocal. GateHouse News Service. May 15, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ "Pelosi, Capuano Come Together in Boston to Celebrate 20 Years of the FMLA". MassUniting.com. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Michael Norton (January 24, 2013). "Dan Wolf's sick leave bill protest at State House Dunkin Donuts". Cape Cod Today.
- ^ Ryan Barber (September 24, 2013). "Daniel Wolf lobbies for paid sick days". Cape Cod Times.
- WBUR.
- ^ "State Senator Dan Wolf". Cape Wind. Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ "Cape Air 2011 Northeast Energy Efficiency Business Leader". Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships. January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013 – via YouTube.
- Barnstable Patriot. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Dan Wolf (April 5, 2012). "Are corporations people?". The Cape Codder. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "MA-Gov: Video from Dan Wolf's breakfast event in Lowell, 7-13-2013". Daily Kos. July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Lee Roscoe (July 13, 2011). "The best democracy money can buy". Cape Cod Times.
- ^ "Overturn the Citizens United ruling". The Martha's Vineyard Times. April 4, 2012.
- ^ "The campaign finance crisis in America and how to fix it: A solutions summit" (PDF). Brookings Institution. January 21, 2016.
- ^ Matt Murphy; Gintautas Dumcius; Andy Metzger (June 12, 2014). "Massachusetts Senate votes to raise minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017". The Republican.
- ^ Matt Murphy (November 11, 2015). "Wolf energizes rally for $15 minimum wage". Cape Cod Times.
- ^ Katie Lannan (February 9, 2016). "State Sen. Dan Wolf, pushing $15 an hour wage, describes his 'awkward reality'". The Republican.
- ^ Ryan Barber (March 23, 2014). "Wolf rejects 'subsidy' label". Cape Cod Times.
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Court. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Hillary Chabot; Matt Stout (July 10, 2013). "Grossman expected to make gov run official". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ "State Sen. Dan Wolf running for governor". WWLP. July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Matt Murphy (July 10, 2013). "Wolf, Grossman to run for governor". The Sun. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ^ Dan Wolf (October 15, 2013). "The Vision, the Path – A Case Study for the Commonwealth" (PDF). Dan Wolf 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ Dan Wolf (August 7, 2013). "Wolf: Ethics ruling bars run for governor". Commonwealth Magazine.
- Boston Globe.
- ^ Andy Metzger (August 23, 2013). "State Sen. Dan Wolf lambastes ethics commission, says he'll quit seat and gubernatorial race". The Republican.
- ^ Shira Schoenberg (August 28, 2013). "State Sen. Dan Wolf will not resign on Thursday". The Republican. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- Boston Globe. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ Sara Brown (October 22, 2013). "Sen. Dan Wolf Ends Gubernatorial Campaign". Vineyard Gazette. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ Robert Rizzuto (June 17, 2014). "Democrat Don Berwick's gubernatorial campaign endorsed by state Senators Dan Wolf, Ken Donnelly". MassLive Politics. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Daniel Wolf. "From The Senate: Dan Wolf". Barnstable Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.