Send Page to a Friend Mass. could see a Jewish woman as lt. governor by Ted Siefer The Jewish Advocate February 10, 2006 Deborah Goldberg and Andrea Silbert enter 2006 race There has never been a Jewish governor of Massachusetts, let alone a Jewish female, but in the 2006 election there is a chance that a Jew will get closer to that office than ever before. Out of four candidates for lieutenant governor, two are women and both are Jewish: Deborah Goldberg and Andrea Silbert. For man in the Jewish community, Goldberg is a favorite. Her family, the founders of the Stop and Shop supermarket chain, has been at the forefront of Jewish communal organizations. "I was really excited when I found out Deb was even considering running," said Charles Glick, a Beacon Hill lobbyist and former legislative coordinator of the Jewish Community Relations Council. "When you have a domestic policy agenda so in line with the Jewish community and on top of that someone who comes out of and is very involved with the Jewish community, it's hard not to be enthusiastic about Goldberg," Glick said. Goldberg announced her candidacy last week at t he State House, flanked by several of the more than 30 lawmakers who have endorsed her candidacy, including Congressman Barney Frank and state Reps. Ruth Balser and Frank Smizik, all of whom are Jewish. At the campaign kick-off, Goldberg was introduced by Steve Grossman, a 2002 gubernatorial candidate and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Goldberg's grandfather, Sidney Raab, was heavily  involved in Boston's Federated Jewish Charities, which would evolve into Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and her grandmother helped establish the state's first Hadassah chapter. "Whole generations of my family felt a responsibility not only to their own community, but to the community at large," Goldberg said. "Running for governor is a continuation of those values, so that this community of people will have a future for its kids and grandchildren." After receiving her MBA from Harvard, Goldberg helped run the family business, Stop and Shop. From 1998 to 2004, she was a selectman in Brookline. While she said that the issues she cared about here concerns for all the state's residents, her Jewish values have influenced her political convictions. "As a people, we do pay attention to social ills, to the fact that there is more homelessness, hunger and more single parent families. The cost of living is very scary for a lot of people. They don't know if their kids will be able to stay here, if there will be opportunities for their kids and grandkids to be part of this community." Andrea Silbert, a native of Brookline, also pointed to her Reform Jewish upbringing in shaping her political values. "My parents taught me by example," she said, noting that both her parents graduated from prestigious medical schools but decided to work in Veteran's Administration hospitals. "They embodied the Jewish values of tzedakah and economic justice," she said. Silbert worked as an investment banker before going to Costa Rica to work for a non-profit relief organization. She went on to attend Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and establish the Center for Women and Enterprise, a non-profit that helps women start their own businesses. "I believe the best social program is a good job," Silbert said, noting that the most important issues facing the state were the weak state of the economy and the flight of young people from the state. For long-time observers of state politics, the candidacies of Goldberg and Silbert reflect a growing willingness of Jewish candidates to throw their hats in the ring for the state's highest offices. "For many years Jews were content to play leadership roles behind the scenes, but I think in the last few cycles, you see an increasing number of Jewish candidates for statewide office," said Grossman. He pointed to the candidacies in 2002 of himself and Robert Reich, as well as Lois Pine's bid for lieutenant governor that year. "The Irish political machine was not all that favorable toward Jews," Professor Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis told the Advocate in an earlier interview. "It took quite a while for Jews to break [into politics] in a very significant way." The four candidates whoa re running in the race are Goldberg, Silbert, Tim Murray and Sam Kelley. I'm hoping also to open doors for people and that includes, to a large extent, our own people, the Jewish people."