Jane Swift became the Governor of Massachusetts on April 10, 2001 when
Governor Paul Cellucci resigned to become the U.S. Ambassador to Canada.
Elected Lieutenant Governor in 1998, she worked as "Co-Governor" with
Governor Cellucci to stimulate economic growth, impose fiscal discipline,
improve public education and enhance the quality of life for working
families in the Commonwealth.
Governor Swift's passionate commitment to public education has dominated her
career in public service. Swift led the Cellucci-Swift Administration's
effort to improve the state's public education system through strong
accountability and high standards for schools, teachers and students. As
Lieutenant Governor, she instituted meaningful remediation programs for
struggling students and helped parents access more information regarding
their children's schools.
Swift has worked hard to provide tax relief to Massachusetts families,
reducing the state income tax through a ballot initiative overwhelmingly
approved by the voters. In one of her first official acts as Governor, she
signed the "No-New-Taxes Pledge" and filed legislation to expand the state's
Earned Income Tax Credit to help low-income families keep more of their
hard-earned paychecks. Swift has also championed solutions that provide a
guaranteed college education for foster children and enable state employees
to better balance the demands of work and family.
Swift's career as an elected official began in 1991 at age 25 when she was
the youngest woman ever elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. She
quickly became the youngest woman in Senate history to hold a leadership
position, rising to the rank of Assistant Minority Leader. Governor Cellucci
appointed Swift as Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business
Regulation in 1997. Prior to that position, she served as Director of
Regional Airport Development at the Massachusetts Port Authority.
A graduate of the North Adams Public Schools, Swift earned her bachelor's
degree from Trinity College in 1987. She is a member of the Board of
Directors of the Massachusetts Girl Scout Council. Swift, 36, is a native of
North Adams. She currently lives with her husband, Chuck Hunt, and their
daughters, Elizabeth, age 3, and infant twins, Lauren and Sarah, at their
family farm in Williamstown.
Governor's Website
(Click here to visit Governor Swift's website.)
