Is Gomez’ Business Record All He Says It Is?

On June 14, 2013, in Economy, MA Senate Race 2013, by Bill Fleming

It appears that Gabriel  Gomez’ touting of himself as a highly experienced business person who knows how to get things done is a bit overdone, to put it mildly. The Boston Globe noted in a recent article that:

 A Globe review of Gomez’s nine years at Advent International, an elite private equity firm, found that he was directly involved in just half a dozen companies and helped lead only one of those investments. The one deal he touts, Lululemon Athletica Inc., is one Advent credits to other executives.

The article goes on to note that Mr. Gomez’ claim to widespread success in building regional businesses into household names and in helping pension funds invest for workers’ retirement is both suspect and glosses over some things. The Globe reports that he:

 …also had a role in applying common private equity strategies that are often controversial with voters — piling debt on companies and laying off workers or moving jobs overseas. Gomez’s involvement in a company called Synventive Molding Solutions was a case in point.


 Mr. Gomez seems to be a bit sensitive on the issue, as shown in a brief video of him shutting his car door in the face of a reporter who was asking about shipping jobs overseas. You can read the full story here: Gomez Seldom the deal maker.

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Is Gomez Another Romney With Taxes?

On May 17, 2013, in Fire Up, Free Press, MA Senate Race 2013, by Bill Fleming

There seems to be a bit of “déjà vu all over again” happening with U.S. Senate Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez and his exploitation of the tax code. According to a piece in the Boston Globe on Thursday (May 16th) under the headline “Gomez failed to pay, appraiser says” the newspaper revealed that Mr. Gomez had sought and received a special tax break associated with historic preservation of homes or parts of homes.

In this case, Mr. Gomez had sought in 2005 a charitable deduction of over $280,000 associated with granting the National Architectural Trust rights to preserving the façade of his home. The Gómezes were granted the deduction but, according to the Globe report:

In 2011, federal prosecutors, citing findings by the Internal Revenue Service, said the National Architectural Trust had arranged for “unwarranted” claims by homeowners for huge deductions. The Department of Justice obtained a court injunction against some of the Trust’s practices.

As far back as early 2005, the IRS had listed preservation agreements such as the one the Gómezes signed with the trust as one of its ‘Dirty Dozen tax scams.”

While this particular arrangement was not challenged by the IRS it does seem a little manipulative of the tax code given that the town where the property is located had existing laws prohibiting alterations to the façade of historic properties like the one Gomez owns. To date Mr. Gomez has refused to release his 2005 federal returns, the year when he took the deduction. Sound familiar?

Just to make matters a little worse the main focus of the Globe story was on Mr. Gomez’s subsequent refusal to pay the fee of an appraiser he had hired to establish the value of the home’s façade. The fee was $1000 but Mr. Gomez refused to pay it because he did not like the valuation the appraiser had reported. Mr. Gomez hired another appraiser who came back with an assessment that was nearly $40,000 more than the first one. Who knew that you can refuse to pay for an appraisal because you don’t like the results?

Who knew that you could get a tax break for agreeing not to do what the law already prohibits you from doing? Mr. Gomez apparently did. Upon closer examination the otherwise compelling life story that Mr. Gomez has to offer  voters may turn out to have more than a few cracks in its own façade.

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Policy Differences Between Markey and Gomez

On May 16, 2013, in Electoral Politics, Fire Up, Free Press, MA Senate Race 2013, by Bill Fleming

The folks at Progressive Massachusetts have compiled a comparison of U.S. Senate candidates Ed Markey’s and Gabriel Gomez’s positions on a number of issues. Even for a newcomer to electoral politics Mr. Gomez seems to be hard to pin down on a whole host of issues, on many of which he seems to not have taken a position – at least publicly – that voters can find. For example, while Rep. Markey has a 92% rating from the National Education Association for his support of pro-education policies and supports the President’s “Race to the Top” initiative, Progressive Massachusetts has been unable to find any policy stands related to education on Mr. Gomez’s web site or in his public statements.

What we do know so far doesn’t look particular attractive to the policy stands of many voters across the state. For example, on the question of gun violence and public safety Mr. Gomez does not support universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, or a ban on high capacity gun clips. Ed Markey supports all three initiatives. Click on Markey v. Gomez On The Issues to see the side by side comparison as it stands today from the Progressive Massachusetts viewpoint.

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