Dorothy "Dot" A. Kelly Gay is an Irish-born American politician who served as Mayor of

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

and on the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

Early life

Gay was born on April 26, 1943 in Ballinasloe,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Her father was a politician, nurse and union activist. She graduated from Newtown National School, Convent of Mercy Secondary School, and Ballinasloe Technical School. In 1961 she moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to pursue a career in nursing. She graduated from the Mayday Hospital School of Nursing in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in 1964. In the early 1960s she met Bertram Gay in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The couple later married and in 1968 they immigrated to the United States because their child needed a surgery that was only available Boston Children's Hospital. They settled in Somerville and the couple soon found employment, with Gay getting hired at Somerville's Heritage Hospital. She continued to work as a nurse until 1999.

Political career

In 1986, Kelly Gay was appointed to the Somerville School Committee. She was elected to a full term ten months later. In 1992 Gay was elected to the Massachusetts Governor's Council in the 6th District. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

she ran for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. Gay lost in the Democratic primary to State Senator

Warren Tolman Warren Eugene Tolman (born October 23, 1959 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American politician who has served as a member of both houses of the Massachusetts General Court. He was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts ...

270,791 (54%) votes to 232,250 (46%). In 1999, Gay was elected Mayor of Somerville in a special election to succeed

Michael Capuano Michael Everett Capuano ( ; born January 9, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1999 to 2019. A Democrat, his district included the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well a ...

, who was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. She defeated alderman John Buonomo 6878 votes to 6473. She ran for a full term later that year and was elected unopposed. In 2003, Gay finished third in the preliminary election behind Alderman

Joseph Curtatone Joseph Anthony Curtatone (born June 28, 1966) is an American politician from Somerville, Massachusetts who formerly served as the city's mayor from 2004 until 2022. Early life and education Curtatone, born and raised in Somerville, Massachusetts ...

and businessman Tony Lafuente. Gay's loss was blamed on increasing gang violence, declining economic growth, and cuts in state aid that forced her to cut public services and fire 200 municipal workers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Dorothy Kelly 1943 births Living people 20th-century Irish people People from County Galway Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Irish emigrants to the United States Massachusetts Democrats Mayors of Somerville, Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council School board members in Massachusetts Women mayors of places in Massachusetts 21st-century American women