Veteran central Massachusetts Sen. Anne Gobi is leaving the Legislature to become the state’s first director of rural affairs, a newly created post in the Healey administration.
Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday that the Spencer Democrat will serve “as a dedicated advocate and ombudsman cultivating economic development within rural communities.”
Gobi will start her new job June 5, according to Healey’s office, and her Senate departure date is unclear. The move will trigger a special election in the central Massachusetts district she represents.
The Senate this week plans to meet over several days to advance its $55.8 billion fiscal year 2024 state budget.
“We are building an economy that benefits all communities, businesses, and people in Massachusetts, [in] particular those that are too often overlooked and underrepresented like rural and small towns,” Healey said. “Senator Gobi’s fierce advocacy of rural equity, agricultural and small businesses, and conservation initiatives makes her the ideal candidate to help our rural towns across the state succeed.”
The Worcester and Hampshire district she represents, which was redrawn in the latest round of redistricting, stretches across much of the state’s middle, from Gardner in the north to Brookfield in the south and from the westernmost part of Worcester out to Ware.
First elected as a state representative in a 2001 special election that she won by 17 votes, Gobi joined the Senate after defeating Republican Michael Valanzola by 398 votes, 50.3% to 49.6%, in the 2014 election.
In a swing through Franklin County earlier this year, Healey announced her intention to create the position Gobi has been appointed to. In an interview after a tour at Just Roots Community Farm in Greenfield, she said the position will extend “beyond just farming … It goes to things like transportation, housing, and all sorts of economic development.”
An avid outdoors enthusiast, Gobi co-founded the Sportsmen’s Caucus, which convenes supporters of fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities.
