Josh Zakim

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Josh Zakim

|image = Zakim Pride Parade (1).jpg

|caption = Zakim in 2015

|office = Member of the Boston City Council
from the 8th district

|term_start = January 2014

|term_end = January 2020

|predecessor = Mike Ross

|successor = Kenzie Bok

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|12|16}}

|birth_place = Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|spouse = Grace Sullivan Rosenthal {{small|(2016–present)}}

|education = University of Pennsylvania {{small|(BA)}}
Northeastern University {{small|(JD)}}

|website = {{url|joshzakim.com|Official website}}

}}

Josh Zakim (born December 16, 1983) is an American politician, attorney, and community activist from Boston. He formerly served on the Boston City Council representing District 8, which includes Boston's Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, and West End neighborhoods.{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/councillors/zakim.asp |title=Josh Zakim |access-date=2015-12-07 }}

Family

Zakim is the son of Lenny and Joyce Zakim. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, with his two younger sisters, Deena and Shari. Zakim's father was a Jewish-American religious and civil rights leader in Boston. After his death in 1999, Boston's Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge was named in his honor.{{cite web|url=http://www.leonardpzakimbunkerhillbridge.org/|title=Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge website}}

Zakim is an active Board Member of the Lenny Zakim Fund.{{cite web|url=http://www.thelennyzakimfund.org/home/board-staff |title=Lenny Zakim Fund Board Members}} Founded in 1995 by his father and his activist friends, the Fund gives small grants to support local grassroots organizations seeking to address complex social issues such as youth violence, adult literacy, and job training.{{cite web |url=https://www.thelennyzakimfund.org/home/about-us |title=About Us |website=thelennyzakimfund.org |access-date=February 20, 2018}}

Education

Zakim attended high school at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to receive his Juris Doctor degree from the Northeastern University School of Law. He was sworn into the Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on December 2, 2009.{{cite web |url=https://massbbo.org/bbolookup.php |title=Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Website |access-date=2015-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710132318/https://massbbo.org/bbolookup.php |archive-date=2015-07-10 |url-status=dead }}

Career

File:Zakim Pride Parade.jpg

Zakim began his career at Greater Boston Legal Services in their Consumer Rights Unit. He then went on to join the Public Finance group of the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, where he worked on municipal bond transactions for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, MassPort, and the MBTA.

File:Zakim Family 2013 Election Day.jpg

File:Zakim and Walsh.jpg at the 2015 Mission Hill Little League Opening Day Parade]]

Zakim was elected to the Boston City Council in November 2013. He served as the Chair of both the Committee on Human Rights and Civil Rights and the Special Committee on Transportation, Public Infrastructure, Planning, and Investment.{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/committees/ |title=Boston City Council Committees}} Zakim was a progressive voice on the Boston City Council, with his legislative priorities centered around social and economic justice. He was re-elected without opposition in November 2015. In November 2017, he was challenged for his seat by longtime community activist Kristen Mobilia,[http://kristenmobilia.com Kristen Mobilia home page][http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2017/04/kristen_mobilia_taking_on_josh_zakim_for_district_8_seat Boston Herald article about Kristen Mobilia][https://ballotpedia.org/Kristen_Mobilia Ballotpedia article about Kristen Mobilia] but Zakim held his Council seat with a better than two-to-one win.

After the collapse of Boston's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the organization No Boston Olympics (which had opposed the bid) endorsed Zakim and three other incumbent Boston City Council members for reelection, praising them for "Demonstrat[ing] leadership by asking tough questions" to the leaders behind Boston's Olympic bid.{{cite web |last1=Arsenault |first1=Mark |title=Olympics opponents weigh in on city elections - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/06/olympics-opponents-weigh-city-elections/IXXyNOReOuyXdA1AX8fmbI/story.html |website=The Boston Globe |access-date=9 July 2023 |date=October 6, 2015}}

In August 2016, Zakim was one of only two city councilors to vote against a resolution that voiced City Council opposition to 2016 Massachusetts Question 2, a ballot measure that would have authorized the expansion of charter schools in the state. The resolution overwhelmingly passed the council 11–2.{{cite web |last1=McKeirnan |first1=Kathleen |title=Council votes against more charter schools |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2016/08/04/council-votes-against-more-charter-schools/ |website=Boston Herald |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=4 August 2016}} The referendum wound up being heavily defeated by voters.{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Authorization of Additional Charter Schools and Charter School Expansion, Question 2 (2016) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Authorization_of_Additional_Charter_Schools_and_Charter_School_Expansion,_Question_2_(2016) |website=Ballotpedia |access-date=10 September 2021 |language=en}}

In November 2017, Zakim announced that he would run for Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth in 2018, challenging incumbent and fellow-Democrat William F. Galvin.{{cite news |url= https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2017/11/28/zakim-galvin/ |title=A Fellow Democrat Says It's Time for Secretary William Galvin to Go |first=Spencer |last=Buell |website=bostonmagazine.com |date=November 28, 2017 |access-date=February 20, 2018}} In the Democratic primary held on September 4, 2018, Zakim was defeated by Galvin, by approximately a two-to-one margin.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2018/09/04/bill-galvin-josh-zakim-primary/ |title=Bill Galvin Defeated Challenger Josh Zakim in a Feisty Democratic Primary Battle |first=Spencer |last=Buell |website=bostonmagazine.com |date=September 4, 2018 |access-date=September 4, 2018}}

In April 2019, Zakim joined Michelle Wu as one of only two city councilors to vote against a home rule petition asking for state approval for the city to extend the terms of city councilors from two years to four years. The petition advanced from the City Council in a 11–2 vote.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Sara |title=Boston City Council Votes to Extend Term Limits to Four Years |url=https://northendwaterfront.com/2019/02/boston-city-council-extends-term-limits-to-four-years/ |website=North End Waterfront |access-date=30 July 2023 |date=February 18, 2019}} Zakim's vote marked a change from 2016, when he did not join Wu in opposing such a petition (leaving her the sole opposition in a 12–1 vote).{{cite web |last1=Ertischek |first1=David |title=Poll: Should Boston City Council Terms be Two or Four Years? |url=https://www.jamaicaplainnews.com/2019/02/14/poll-should-boston-city-council-terms-be-two-or-four-years/93171 |website=Jamaica Plain News |access-date=30 July 2023 |date=14 February 2019}}

On March 21, 2019, Zakim announced that he would not seek re-election to the City Council in the November 2019 election.{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2019/03/21/boston-councilor-josh-zakim-statement-last-term |title=Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim releases statement on not seeking re-election |first=Dialynn |last=Dwyer |website=Boston.com |date=March 21, 2019 |access-date=March 22, 2019}}