Gary Christenson is the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

Education

Gary Christenson is a triple alumnus of

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...

. He has received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

in 1990 and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in public administration in 1992. In 2003, Gary received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the Private university, private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in Downtown Boston, downtown Boston, across the street from the Boston Common and the Fr ...

Political career

Gary's political career began with working for the Massachusetts House Ways and Means committee from 1994 to 1997. Reporting to Tom Finneran, he was a budget analyst, revenue director, and special assistant. He then worked at the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office where he assumed the role of budget director from 1998 to 2011. He managed a $60 million annual budget during his tenure. He also worked with other Sheriff's Office managers to ensure the efficient operation of the Middlesex Jail in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica. He received online attention in 2019 for his habit of picking up trash every day while walking to the office. School Committee Gary Christenson was appointed to the Malden School Committee by then-Mayor

Richard Howard Richard Joseph Howard (October 13, 1929 – March 31, 2022), adopted as Richard Joseph Orwitz, was an American poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a graduate of Columbia University, ...

, the man he would eventually replace as Mayor of Malden. Gary was encouraged to join the school committee by his mentor, James DiPaola, a Malden resident, and former head of the Middlesex County Sheriff's Department, where Gary had worked for him. Since Gary became Mayor and Chair of the School Committee, the educators’ union became one of the few in the Commonwealth to have to go on strike in the past two decades.

City Council

Gary Christenson served as a

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

of Ward 1 in Malden for seven years after taking office in January 2004. In 2006, he was elevated to Chairman of the Finance Committee and in 2008 he was voted unanimously by his peers as City Council President.

Mayor

Gary Christenson was elected mayor of Malden in 2011 and took office on January 2, 2012. He ran unopposed in 2015 and was re-elected for a third term in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christenson, Gary Living people Mayors of Malden, Massachusetts Suffolk University Law School alumni Massachusetts Democrats Year of birth missing (living people)