About Dan

“Dan Winslow, a veteran Massachusetts Republican turned freshman state rep, is shaking up the State House with a flurry of policy proposals and a scathing critique of the Beacon Hill status quo.” —Commonwealth Magazine

Representative Dan Winslow is “a creative, energetic…ideas merchant” “a breath of fresh air.” —The Boston Globe 

Winslow has a “promising blend of experience and talent for innovation.” —The Sun Chronicle

Personal

Daniel B. Winslow was born in Northampton and raised in Amherst, in the heart of the Pioneer Valley. He is the only candidate for the US Senate from either Party with roots in Western Massachusetts and still has family in that area of the state. Dan is the oldest of five sons, born to Joel and Dolores Scavetta Winslow. When Dan was a child, his dad worked as an antenna repairman and later launched a small business. His mom, “Dee”, is a first-generation Italian-American who worked nearly 50 years as a Registered Nurse. A core family value at the Winslow household is that education is the great equalizer in American society and the path to the American dream. While the family business was getting started, Dee Winslow worked three jobs to help her sons attend college. The Winslow boys include Dan, a successful lawyer since 1983, as well as two brothers who are cardiologists and a brother who is an MBA in finance. Dan has been married to Amherst native Susan (Barker) Winslow for 25 years. The Winslow family is rounded out by three children and their Yellow Lab, Zoe. The family resides in the town of Norfolk.

Education

Dan worked his way through Amherst Regional High School as a house painter. He helped earn his college tuition by working as a carpenter building roof trusses, windows and framing houses. Dan graduated from Tufts University with high honors in 1980 and from Boston College Law School with honors in 1983. During his summer after first year law, Dan worked as a laborer in Amherst for minimum wage. He has taken his love of building things, fixing things and solving problems with him into public service. Dan also has served as a Senior Fellow at the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, teaching college students about reform in the judicial branch of government.

Professional

Dan has worked in the private sector most of his professional career, with public service in all three branches of state government, including eight years as a judge. Dan was recruited to the Boston firm of Sherin and Lodgen after winning the Boston College Law School and Northeast Regional Trial Competition for law students. He worked at Sherin and Lodgen from 1983 to 1995 when he was appointed as a Trial Court Judge by Governor Bill Weld to the Massachusetts District Court. Despite the opportunity for a lifetime position as a Judge, Dan moved on after eight years on the bench. In 2005, after service as a judge and as Chief Legal Counsel to the Governor, Dan rejoined the private sector as a partner in the Boston office of Duane Morris where his clients included Scott Brown’s 2010 campaign for the US Senate. Dan left his partnership at Duane Morris to run for the Massachusetts House. Dan then joined the Boston office of Manhattan-based firm of Proskauer Rose as Senior Counsel. At Proskauer, he invented a new technique to reduce the costs of business litigation dubbed the “Litigation Prenup” by the national legal press. Dan tendered his resignation from Proskauer to run for the US Senate special election.

Public Service

Dan Winslow has never lost an election for local or state office and won his legislative seat with nearly 68% of the vote against a well-financed Democratic opponent. Dan first was elected to the Norfolk Planning Board and overwhelmingly won reelection. He drafted numerous zoning reforms to encourage Smart Growth development and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, affordable housing and open space preservation which were adopted by the town. He was elected the Town Meeting Moderator in Norfolk by topping the town wide ticket and successfully called for reforms in procedures to encourage civic engagement and voter participation. He has served on numerous appointed town boards, including Affordable Housing and Public Works. As a judge, Dan was nationally recognized for reform by the Foundation for the Improvement of Justice for America in Atlanta for his invention of the Smart Calendar trial scheduling system and won the Pioneer Institute Better Government Competition for his proposal to reform the civil justice system in Massachusetts. He also was a leader in launching jury trials in the District Court and served as the Managing Civil Justice for southeastern Massachusetts, Cape and Islands region. Dan resigned his lifetime job as a judge to serve as the Governor’s Chief Legal Counsel during the state’s last fiscal crisis, and was part of the senior team that turned the Massachusetts budget deficit into a surplus within two years. As a State Representative, Dan won recognition as a “Legislator of the Year” by the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association for his successful legislation to encourage job growth by reducing business costs in coastal communities. He also won approval to modernize the definition of “intellectual disability” to help provide needed services to children and young adults in Massachusetts.