Goldberg's family immigrated to Massachusetts and opened a grocery store in Boston's North End in 1892. The family opened additional stores and their business grew into what eventually became Stop & Shop, the largest supermarket chain in New England.[5] Goldberg helped run this family business when she was younger[6] and attributes some of her stance on advocating for local issues to her upbringing with a family-run market. She relates to her constituents with rhetoric such as "I say my family is your family" in her speeches. Though she received an MBA, she states “my real MBA came from working in the business.”[7][6]
Goldberg (center right) at a debate with Andrea Silbert, Sam Kelly and Tim Murray
In the 2006 Democratic Primary, Goldberg finished second in a three-way race to then-Worcester Mayor Tim Murray with 33% of the vote.
She received the endorsement of the Boston Herald, but failed to win the endorsement of her hometown newspaper, the Brookline Tab, because, they claimed, she had "been taking too much credit" for the town's accomplishments and had "over inflate(d) the chairman's job".[8] The strongly worded rebuke resulted in a vocal reader response[9] and a separate endorsement[10] from Stan Spiegel, a Brookline Tab columnist and Brookline Town Meeting member.
On February 27, 2014, Goldberg formally announced her candidacy for State Treasurer.[11] At the Massachusetts Democratic Convention, she was the top vote-getter in the race for Treasurer, winning 38.9% of the vote.[12] Goldberg was the first to release a televised advertisement in the race on August 4, 2014.[13] Goldberg was seated as Treasurer January 21, 2015 after defeating Republican Mike Heffernan in the general election.
In 2018, Goldberg was re-elected to her position as State Treasurer with 67.6% of the vote.[14] She defeated State Representative and Republican National Committeewoman Keiko Orrall who was unopposed for the Republican nomination.[15]
Other work
Prior to becoming Treasurer, Goldberg served as president of the board of directors of Adoptions with Love,[16] was an Advisory Board member of the Greater Boston Food Bank, is a Commissioner on the Town of Brookline's Neighborhood Conservation District Commission, was Senate President Therese Murray's appointee to the Treasurer's Commonwealth Covenant Fund, and sat on the advisory board of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard Kennedy School.[17]
Goldberg is involved with various events for Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action[18] and was the first Jewish woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts.[19]
Controversy
In November 2014, it was reported that Goldberg had admonished an employee of Adoptions with Love for seeking employment with the State Treasurer's office without first informing her current employer of her job seeking plans. Goldberg came to this knowledge in her official capacity as Treasurer-elect, and her actions were seen as a breach of ethics.[20][21][22]
She is married to Michael Winter, with whom she has two children.[23]
Recognition
Goldberg received the 2016 Excellence in Leadership Award from The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) and the Massachusetts Association of Jewish Federations (MAJF)'s "Women in Leadership" reception.[24][25]
In 2023, Goldberg received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Boston Arts Academy, Boston's only public arts high school, honoring her deep-rooted connection to the arts.[26]
