Ever wonder what former elected officials are up to after they step away? Some enjoy retirement, others take on a new role and others reminisce about the times they were involved in government. Reminder Publishing reached out to former elected officials about their time in government and what they are up to now.
Anne Gobi
In May 2023, state Sen. Anne Gobi was announced as director of Rural Affairs in the Executive Office of Economic Development.
In this new role created by the Healey-Driscoll administration, Gobi will serve as an advocate and supervisory body cultivating economic development within rural communities.
Gobi said she has always had an interest in helping rural communities and has been really enjoying her new role but reflected on her time in the House of Representatives and state Senate.
Gobi was first elected to the Legislature in 2001 as state representative and became state senator in 2014 representing 22 communities in Worcester and Hampshire counties.
She talked about her time in both the House and the Senate.
Gobi said, “I enjoyed my time in both the House and the Senate. I worked with fantastic people, mainly all completely rural communities up until the last redistricting where a couple cities came in. It always was a lot of fun. Every day is different when you’re in the Legislature, you never know when you pick up the phone or answer an email what people will be contacting you about.”
Gobi said that she still pays attention to stuff going on in the area that she used to work with because she still works with those communities but in a different role.
She added, “It’s nice to see some stuff start to come to fruition like the East-West Rail, that is, finally, no pun intended, absolutely start to make tracks as they say.”
In terms of what she misses, Gobi said she still pays attention to activity going on in the area because of the work she still does with familiar faces.
“What’s exciting about this position is that I have an opportunity to continue to work with my legislative colleagues because the stuff we do in the administration involves the three branches of government and we all need each other. While I do miss some of maybe that day to day interaction with my colleagues, I’m still able to speak with them, work with them,” Gobi said.
She added, “I ask that people keep rural Massachusetts in mind and realize that we got an administration right now that is laser-focused to try and help our rural communities and I want to be there to support those efforts and to work with our towns to get them the things that they need.”
Reed Hillman
Reed Hillman was a state representative in 1999 and represented the First Hampden District, consisting of the towns of Brimfield, Holland, Palmer and Wales, all in Hampden County; precincts B and C in the town of Ware, in Hampshire County; and the towns of Sturbridge and Warren, both in Worcester County.
He decided to not run for reelection in 2004 and was succeeded by former Palmer Board of Selectmen Chair Todd M. Smola, his former aide who still has the position today.
Before Hillman started in the world of politics, he served 25 years with the Massachusetts State Police and was named superintendent in 1996 before retiring in 1999 to run for state representative.
Hillman talked about his time as state representative and said it is important to partner with a Legislature full of Democrats on issues even though he was Republican.
He added, “My focus was on public safety stuff given my background. There were a number of initiatives that I was active and successful on. I was able to partner on a number of issues that were important to me and felt those laws that came to be as result of my involvement partnering with Democrats who also cared.”
After serving as state representative, Hillman ran for lieutenant governor with Kerry Healey. The pair lost to Deval Patrick and Tim Murray.
Hillman then became a professor at Mount Wachusett Community College where he taught criminal justice for 11 years.
He added, “When the [coronavirus] pandemic hit, I did some remote teaching and then retired.”
Hillman was a member of the Finance Committee and a member of the Sturbridge Republican Town Committee until recently, and currently serves on the Personnel Committee, which is responsible for creating job descriptions and assessing what level each job should be at in terms of pay.
Looking back on his time as state representative looking for reelection, Hillman said you had to attend everything you got invited to, but it helped him help those who needed it.
“That entails 200 or so events a year. The local fire departments might have pancake breakfasts, many of them on the same day. You go to the one in Ware and then you run down to the one in Three Rivers and then one in Palmer and get over to Brimfield for an Eagle Scout ceremony and you do office hours. That was probably the most rewarding part of the whole thing was being able to help constituents. Because of my 25 years on the state police and my six years on the Legislature, I had credibility and if I had an issue involving a constituent, I had a very thick rolodex with people who I could call to help. I was able to make a big difference in a lot of lives,” Hillman said.
Hillman was nominated a couple times for U.S. Marshal for Massachusetts but had to withdraw when he ran for lieutenant governor.
In terms of paying attention to his past communities he covered as state representative, Hillman said he tried not to do “the selectmen’s work” and most issues were resolved during his time.
He added, “Representatives can make their pitches for certain earmarks but beyond earmarks, the communities didn’t need me to tell them how to run their community, so I was there to assist them once they decided which direction they wanted to go.”
Steve Buoniconti
Buoniconti was a part-time city solicitor in Agawam for six years before taking over as head of the legal department in Springfield last month.
Along with running his own practice and working as the Agawam solicitor, Buoniconti served as state representative in West Springfield from 2001 to 2005 and moved to the Senate until 2010.
Buoniconti said his time in the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as an attorney, will help his transition go a little smoother as he already had worked with many people in Springfield.
“I used to represent Springfield when I was in the house and in the senate. It is the hub of so much business activity. I’m familiar with the city but learning the day to day operations of City Hall is new to me. I’m learning that and what I needed to get my arms around first and foremost; the litigation we have and all the lawsuits. That’s been clearly a new process,” Buoniconti added.
As head of the legal department, Buoniconti said it serves as “an arm of support” for different departments and weighing in on other municipal disputes.
He added, “The city’s solicitors office touches everything with legal issues. Whenever a municipality is facing a claim or a lawsuit, which is the obvious but all the innerworkings of the City Hall. You deal with various departments and assist them on legal issues that come up.”
After being there for over a month, Buoniconti said, “It’s going well. I’m enjoying it, it’s more complex and challenging but I welcome that challenge. I think it’s a great opportunity to help a city continue to improve and get better.”
The population of Agawam is 28,000 while Springfield residents total approximately 155,000.
So far, the one difference that Buoniconti sees with working in a larger populated city is the litigation involving the Springfield Police Department and allegation of excessive force.
He added, “That is something I would say is pretty unique to Western Massachusetts that the police department is really at the front and center of a lot of the public conversation. When you look at municipalities, a lot of the times the police department isn’t at the center of a lot of public policy but in the city of Springfield it is.”
Buoniconti was a prosecutor before he was in public office, so he said he has high regard for the police officers and everyday responsibilities but wants to try to help change things for the better for work conditions or any lawsuits.
Before leaving Agawam for his new role, Buoniconti said he worked on resolving as many outstanding issues as he could have but added Agawam is in good hands with Mayor Christopher Johnson.
