Former chief of staff to Gov. Deval Patrick, William "Mo" Cowan
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has selected his former chief of staff, Mo Cowan, to be Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s interim replacement in the upper chamber. The Senate confirmed Kerry to be the nation’s next secretary of state on Tuesday.
He grew up in a largely segregated tobacco town in rural North Carolina, the son of a machinist and a seamstress. As a boy, he watched the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross in town, march on his high school, and hand out literature on Main Street.
After graduating from Duke University in North Carolina, Cowan earned a law degree from Northeastern University in Massachusetts. He remained in Boston after law school. There, he emerged as a popular mentor for young black professionals and was often tapped to help diversify the city’s institutions (he once helped Mitt Romney identify lawyers of color who would make good judges), according to the Globe.
In Patrick’s office, Cowan became chief of staff in January 2011. Before that, he served as the governor’s chief legal counsel. Before joining the Patrick administration, Cowan was a partner at Mintz Levin in Boston, where he practiced civil litigation for 12 years.
Cowan announced his departure as chief of staff last November. He returned to the private sector after leaving the Patrick administration, in which he had served since 2009.
Washington Post
Congratulations to Sen. Cowan. Senate has its now fulfilled its one black person at a time quota, at least temporarily.
9:18 AM PT: Jacoby Jonze reminds me Gov. Nikki Haley already filled the quota with the appointment of Sen. Tim Scott. So this is bonus!