Massachusetts 39.09%
New York 11.99%
California 9.72%
Florida 4.84%
Other 34.35%
Governor Weld has an unblemished record of public service. In addition to seven years in the Department of Justice, he served two terms as Governor in Massachusetts, where he was reelected by the largest margin in state history. He cut taxes 21 times, never raised them, balanced the budget, and oversaw six upgrades in the state’s bond rating. He signed landmark welfare reform, made public schools accountable, and was a trailblazer as an early proponent for LGBT civil rights. Governor Weld was ranked the most fiscally conservative Governor in the country by the Cato Institute and the Wall Street Journal.
Widely credited with bringing Massachusetts back from the brink of bankruptcy, Bill was ranked the most fiscally conservative governor in the country by both The Wall Street Journal and the Cato Institute. When he was elected, Massachusetts faced a $1.3 billion dollar deficit. Unemployment was at 9.1% – 2.3 % above the national average – and the state had the 2nd highest income taxes per capita in the nation.
Believing “there is no such thing as government money, only taxpayer money,” Bill cut taxes 21 times, balanced the budget without borrowing from Wall Street, reined in wasteful programs, improved state services, and signed into law one of the strongest welfare reform laws in the country. His regulatory reforms made state government a partner, not an adversary, to job creators and entrepreneurs.
The result: Massachusetts didn’t just emerge from a fiscal crisis; it thrived. Unemployment, health care costs, and welfare rolls decreased while the state’s bond rating and reserves increased.
Bill Weld achieved all this as a Republican governor in a blue state where Democrats out-numbered Republicans by more than 3 to 1 in the state legislature. Building alliances across party lines was a hallmark of his administration — a stark contrast to what is happening in Washington today. Bill restored the state’s financial health while fighting for tougher criminal justice laws, better education, and protection of natural resources & open space. He was one of the first governors in the U.S. to advocate equal rights for the LGBTQ community, demonstrating his unequivocal belief that all citizens be treated equally.
Prior to being elected governor, Bill served in President Ronald Reagan’s Justice Department, first as the United States Attorney for Massachusetts, where he won 109 convictions in 111 prosecutions of public corruption, and then as Assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, working on many of the Reagan administration’s criminal justice initiatives, including the capture of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges.
Earlier in his career, as a staff member on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Bill participated in the Watergate impeachment inquiry. He also worked for US Senator Jacob K. Javits (R-NY). He served as national co-chair of the U.S. Privatization Council & of U.S. Term Limits.
