Sonia Rosa Chang-Díaz (born March 31, 1978) is an American politician who serves in the
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
from the
2nd Suffolk district as a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. She was the first
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
woman elected to the state senate. She ran for the Democratic nomination for
Governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuset ...
in the
2022 election.
Chang-Díaz was educated at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
. She entered politics while serving as a legislature aide for Massachusetts Senator
Cheryl Jacques and as a campaign manager for
MassEquality. She attempted to win election to the state senate in the
2006 election as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary, but lost to incumbent Senator
Dianne Wilkerson, who was also running as a write-in candidate. She ran again in the
2008 election and defeated Wilkerson in the primary and general elections.
Early life
Sonia Chang-Díaz was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, on March 31, 1978, to
Franklin Chang-Díaz
Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz (born April 5, 1950) is a Costa Rican-born American mechanical engineer, physicist and former NASA astronaut. He is the sole founder and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company as well as a member of Cummins' board of direct ...
, a
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
astronaut. She graduated from the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
. She worked as one of Senator
Cheryl Jacques' legislative aides and was a campaign manager for
MassEquality.
Massachusetts Senate
Elections
Massachusetts Senator
Dianne Wilkerson failed to file her nomination petition with enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot in the
Democratic primary during the
2006 election, but announced that she would run a write-in campaign for the Democratic nomination. Chang-Díaz announced on June 18, 2006, that she would run as a write-in candidate in the primary.
Wilkerson defeated Chang-Díaz in the initial primary, but a judge ordered a recount due to write-in votes not being counted in eight precincts. Secretary of State
William F. Galvin started an investigation into Boston's handling of elections due to the error. Chang-Díaz turned in enough signatures for a recount of all ten wards. The final recount determined that Wilkerson had won by 767 votes which was more than the initial 141 votes. Wilkerson won reelection in the general election.
![Sonia Chang-Diaz Victory Party (3016743060)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Sonia_Chang-Diaz_Victory_Party_%283016743060%29.jpg)
Chang-Díaz ran against Wilkerson in the
2008 Democratic primary and defeated Wilkerson.
A recount was conducted and maintained Chang-Díaz's victory. Wilkerson launched a write-in campaign in the general election, but withdrew after she was arrested on charges of public corruption and Chang-Díaz defeated Wilkerson and
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate William Theodore Leonard in the general election.
She was the first Hispanic woman elected to the Massachusetts Senate.
She won reelection without opposition in the
2010, 2012, 2016,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
, and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
elections.
She defeated
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee David James Wyatt in the 2014 election.
Tenure
During Chang-Díaz's tenure in the Massachusetts Senate she served as the chair of the Education committee, vice-chair of the Senate Redistricting committee, and assistant vice-chair of the Ways and Means committee. She was speculated as a possible candidate for the
2013 Boston mayoral election
The 2013 Boston mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. Incumbent Mayor of Boston, mayor Thomas Menino had declined to run for re-election to a sixth term. A non-partisan primary election, preliminary election was held on Tuesday ...
, but did not run and instead endorsed
Marty Walsh
Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...
. She endorsed
Donald Berwick
Donald M. Berwick (born September 9, 1946) is a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to his work in the administration, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare I ...
for the Democratic nomination in the
2014 gubernatorial election. She endorsed Senator
Ed Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...
in the Democratic primary during the
2020 United States Senate election. During the
2020 Democratic presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...
Chang-Díaz endorsed Senator
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
.
Chang-Díaz announced on June 23, 2021, that she would seek the Democratic nomination in the
2022 gubernatorial election, but ended her campaign on June 23, 2022, although she remains on the ballot.
Political positions
Chang-Díaz was critical of legislation passed by the Massachusetts Senate which targeted the ability of undocumented immigrants to obtain services from the state including
Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...
and public housing. She opposed casinos stating that they were "a fancy way of putting a tax on the poor." Chang-Díaz supported raising the income tax to increase education funding.
She sponsored legislation to include transgender people in Massachusetts's anti-discrimination laws in 2011. She supported legislation which allowed people to use gendered-public places that matched their gender identity and gave protections against discrimination for transgender people.
Electoral history
References
External links
Legislative websiteState House websiteCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang-Diaz, Sonia
1978 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
American politicians of Costa Rican descent
American women of Chinese descent in politics
Asian-American people in Massachusetts politics
Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Massachusetts
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Living people
Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators
People from Jamaica Plain
University of Virginia alumni
Women state legislators in Massachusetts