Deb Goldberg

2006 lieutenant governor campaign

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". The strongly worded rebuke resulted in a vocal reader response and a separate endorsement from Stan Spiegel, a Brookline Tab columnist and Brookline Town Meeting member.

2014 campaign for treasurer

On February 27, 2014, Goldberg formally announced her candidacy for State Treasurer. At the Massachusetts Democratic Convention, she was the top vote-getter in the race for Treasurer, winning 38.9% of the vote. Goldberg was the first to release a televised advertisement in the race on August 4, 2014. Goldberg was seated as Treasurer January 21, 2015 after defeating Republican Mike Heffernan in the general election.^{[citation needed]}

2018 re-election

In 2018, Goldberg was re-elected to her position as State Treasurer with 67.6% of the vote. She defeated State Representative and Republican National Committeewoman Keiko Orrall who was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

2022 re-election

Goldberg filed paperwork to run for the open congressional seat in the Massachusetts 4th congressional district in 2020, but decided against it in October 2019. The seat was ultimately won by Jake Auchincloss. In 2022, Goldberg defeated former software engineer and Libertarian nominee Cristina Crawford. With no Republican opponent, Goldberg was re-elected as State Treasurer with 76.6% of the vote.

Other work

Prior to becoming Treasurer, Goldberg served as president of the board of directors of Adoptions with Love, 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.

Goldberg is involved with various events for Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action and was the first Jewish woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts.

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.

Shannon O'Brien Controversy

In August 2022, Goldberg appointed former Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien as Chair of the Cannabis Control Commission. During O'Brien's tenure as Chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, she sought to implement public safety measures for consumers and employees in the cannabis industry. O'Brien's reforms were stymied through Goldberg's politically appointed Executive Director of the Cannabis Control Commission at the time, Shawn Collins. In retaliation, Goldberg wrongfully fired O'Brien from her role in September of 2024 for "racially, ethnically and culturally insensitive statements." O'Brien denied the allegations and sued Goldberg and the Commonwealth for wrongful termination.

In September 2025, Massachusetts Supreme Court Judge Robert Gordon ruled that Shannon O'Brien, the former chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, was wrongly fired and should be reinstated. In the 50-page ruling, Judge Gordon said Goldberg's allegations were built on a "house of cards". O'Brien's actions stated Judge Gordon, "do not approach - singularly or collectively - the kind of flagrant, outrageous or unconscionable acts that our case law has recognized as essential to a finding of gross misconduct." Goldberg's wrongfully firing and lawsuit with O'Brien cost Massachusetts taxpayers over $1 million in tax dollars.

In August 2026, Shannon O'Brien filed a $3 million dollar lawsuit against Goldberg over wrongful firing to tarnish her reputation when she was wrongfully fired. In her new lawsuit, O’Brien accused Goldberg and the Cannabis Control Commission of having violated her rights as a whistleblower and Goldberg of infringing on her state civil rights and privacy protections. Whistleblowers in connection with O'Brien's lawsuit have testified that Goldberg directed them to "deleted" public documents during the previous O'Brien vs. Goldberg lawsuit. O'Brien's lawsuit against Treasurer Goldberg is still ongoing.