Former lieutenant governor nominee Steve Kerrigan cruised to the top post at the Massachusetts Democratic Party with no opposition Monday night.
A majority of the party’s state committee members elected Kerrigan as the next party chair on a voice vote. He was the only nominee and ran with support from top power players including Gov. Maura Healey.
Kerrigan succeeds Gus Bickford, who stepped down after a more than six-year tenure as party chair that saw Democrats expand their supermajorities in both legislative chambers.
Kerrigan, a veteran party operative who is currently CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, previously worked for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. He ran the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In a statement, Kerrigan called his new role “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I inherit a strong foundation thanks to Gus Bickford’s terrific leadership. Senator Kennedy always reminded us that you never rest on your laurels. You can always get better,” Kerrigan said. “My goal is to make the Massachusetts Democratic Party the gold standard for state parties across the country. We will do that by harnessing the tremendous energy at our grassroots, by representing all our people and being accessible to all, and by building an infrastructure that elects and supports Democratic leaders up and down the ballot. I cannot wait to get to work.”