Simon Cataldo | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the14th Middlesex district | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tami Gouveia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1986-07-19)July 19, 1986 (age 39) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Colorado College (BS) University of Virginia (JD) |
| Website | https://simoncataldo.com/ |
Simon Joseph Cataldo (born July 19, 1986) is an American politician who represents the14th Middlesex District in theMassachusetts House of Representatives.[1] He represents the town ofCarlisle, and parts of the towns ofActon,Chelmsford, andConcord.
Cataldo grew up inWest Concord, Massachusetts, with his parents and two sisters. His mother was a Concord Family Services social worker,[2] and his father is an economist who has taught accounting atSuffolk University and theUniversity of Rhode Island.[3] Cataldo attended Thoreau Elementary, Peabody Middle School, and graduated fromConcord-Carlisle Regional High School.[4]
Cataldo attendedColorado College and graduatedmagna cum laude with a degree inEnvironmental Science.[5] At Colorado College, Cataldo contributed to research on the kinetics of biodiesel production.[6]
After teaching special education for three years and developing the program that became Harlem Lacrosse,[7] Cataldo enrolled at theUniversity of Virginia Law School. While at UVA, Cataldo was selected to be the managing editor of theVirginia Law Review.[8]
Cataldo was recognized with the Ritter Award, given to four students who exemplify the honor, character, and integrity envisioned byThomas Jefferson when he founded the University.[9] Upon graduation, Cataldo also received theJames C. Slaughter Honor Award, which is presented to an outstanding member of the graduating class.[10][11]
Following his graduation from Colorado College, Cataldo joinedTeach for America and was placed as a special education math teacher atFrederick Douglass Academy (FDA), a 6–12th grade school inHarlem, New York City.[12][13]
Cataldo started Harlem’s first public middle school lacrosse team.[14] He later founded Harlem Lacrosse, a national school-basednonprofit operating in public schools inBaltimore,Boston, Harlem, theBronx,Philadelphia, andLos Angeles.[15] The students in the program experienced improvements in academic performance.[16]
After graduating from Law School, Cataldo clerked forWilliam J. Kayatta Jr., one of President Obama’s federal court of appeals appointees. He was later drafted into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Honors Program to prosecute public corruption in the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section,[17] a specialized section of the Justice Department dedicated to combating public corruption and election crimes.[18] At the DOJ, Cataldo investigated and prosecuted some of the most high-profile corruption cases in the country, including the successful trial of Arizona SheriffJoe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt and thenpardoned by then-U.S. PresidentDonald Trump.[19]
Cataldo also prosecuted Joseph Boeckmann, a state judge in Arkansas, for a bribery and fraud scheme in addition to witness tampering,[20] andScott Maddox, the former Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, for RICO, fraud, and bribery. Cataldo also led the prosecution of James King, a former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official who was convicted of steering disabled veterans to sham vocational schools in exchange for bribes from the school owners.[21] While serving at the Department of Justice, Cataldo was a substantial contributor to the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses Manual, which serves as the Department of Justice’s comprehensive guidance on campaign finance and election-related criminal statutes.[22]
Cataldo mounted his campaign for State Representative in the summer of 2021, after incumbentTami Gouveia announced that she would run forLieutenant Governor.[23] Cataldo’s campaign focused on local issues such as addressingPFAS pollution in the drinking water supply, transportation infrastructure, adequately funding public schools, as well as broader challenges involving reproductive rights, mental health services, economic vitality, and climate change.[24]
In the Democratic primary, Cataldo defeated two primary opponents, Vivian Birchall of Acton and Patricia Wojtas of Chelmsford. The result of the primary was 57.4% for Cataldo, 27.4% for Birchall, and 14.8% for Wojtas.[25] Cataldo was endorsed over his primary opponents byPlanned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, theMassachusetts AFL-CIO, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, in addition to other labor and environmental groups and many localSelect Board and School Committee members.[26]
In the general election, Cataldo consolidated support from Democrats and Independents to beat Republican Rodney Cleaves of Chelmsford, 72.8% to 27.2%.[25]
In his first term, Representative Cataldo filed 24 bills.[1] His legislation covers early childhood education, higher education admissions, renewable energy, workforce development, tax relief, public safety, and substance use recovery.
Cataldo currently lives in Concord, Massachusetts with his wife and four children. He is a member of Kerem Shalom synagogue, and serves on the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. He continues to serve as the Board President of Harlem Lacrosse.[1]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)