Progressive politics are deeply embedded in Patrick Gatto’s background. At the entrance to his family’s real estate business on Chapel Street in Needham, there is a display of political memorabilia including his grandfather’s badge from the 1952 Democratic National Convention and a bumper sticker for former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, whom Gatto admires for getting Boston schools desegregated despite great opposition.
Gatto is one of three Democratic candidates on the ballot for the Sept. 3 primary for state representative.
Growing up, politics was a family affair. Led by his father and joined by his brothers, Gatto has canvassed for many different causes and candidates. His father, Rich Gatto, had a long career as a political organizer, served on the Needham Housing Authority and ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2004.
His connections to the town also run deep. “I’m a fifth-generation Needham guy,” he said. He recalled tooling around Needham on his bike as a youngster visiting places such as Blockbuster Video and Bergson’s Ice Cream.
Gatto, 44, would have graduated with the Class of 1999 from Needham High School, but political wanderlust called to him. “I was a young, idealistic Democrat who wanted to get going in life,” he said. He later earned a GED.
Spurred by a desire to help others, Gatto has participated in mission trips to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Louisiana. In Haiti, he worked for the International Medical Team, sponsored by the Christ Episcopal Church in Needham. Dr. Emilie Hitron, a Needham resident from 1986-2021, led the mission to L’Asile, an impoverished mountain town.
“Whatever needed done, he did it,” Hitron recalled. “If you complimented him and told him he did a good job, he looked a bit embarrassed.”
Gatto admits he is not much of a self-promoter. He said talking about himself is one of the two hardest parts of politics. The other is fundraising.
“I grew up in a New Testament-values type of household, helping people who need a hand up,” he said. “That had a huge impact on me. That’s what I think life’s all about.”
He has worked with Progressive Needham, the Needham Democratic Town Committee, Habitat for Humanity and Green Needham.
Michael Greis, a member of the Needham School Committee and chair of Green Needham, knows Gatto from their collaboration to ban plastic bag use in town. “We used his skills at community organizing and outreach,” Greis said.
Gatto helped design an approach to educate Town Meeting members about the proposed ban. It was adopted by Town Meeting and went into effect on Jan. 1.
“He has experience working in local and state government, and he understands how to engage the community,” Greis added.
“We really need to move much faster on climate,” Gatto said. He said Massachusetts is moving in the right direction in terms of green initiatives, but deadlines for action need to be pushed up. He acknowledged changes in policy would be tough for a freshman legislator to accomplish.
“I’ve knocked on every door in this town multiple times,” Gatto said. His campaign website lists involvement with more than 20 campaigns, including work for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Maura Healey and for town budget overrides.
After graduating from UMass Boston with a degree in Political Science, Gatto earned a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Creighton University. He spent part of the program at the Arab Institute for Security Studies in Amman, Jordan, where he worked with diplomats to find ways to lower regional tensions. “I was teaching them about the value of small confidence building measures that can contribute to big things.”
He moved to Washington, D.C., in 2016 to work as a legislative aide to then-Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, now a U.S. senator, and current House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts. Gatto worked in constituent services and helped draft legislation.
“I got a real peek behind the curtain about how things work in that environment,” Gatto said.
While in D.C., he also worked for NARAL-Pro Choice America, now known as Reproductive Freedom for All. Before and during the Trump administration, Gatto led a staff of 10 that ghost-wrote legislation and assisted the candidacies of pro-choice politicians across the nation.
Gatto said he believes women should have autonomy over reproductive decisions, “There’s a long history of white men telling women what to do with their bodies,” he said, “and it’s perverse.
“Most people don’t know it, but NARAL has one of the largest memberships of any lobbying group in the country.”
Gatto moved back to Needham in 2020, in part, to take over the insurance and real estate agency his grandfather founded and his father ran. “Our retention rate is high,” Gatto said. “We pride ourselves on customer service.”
Gatto said he believes his political experience working on the legislative side of government and for interest groups will give him a leg up on Beacon Hill. He also has served as a Town Meeting member in Needham and as a Finance Committee member in Millis.
“In today’s polarized culture, we really need good people stepping up for the right reasons,” he said of his motivation to run. He believes that too many politicians are “bought and paid for.”
In comparing himself to the competition, he said, “There’s a clear difference between who’s been doing this their whole life and has the experience, and who just wants to do something new.”
He and his wife, Alison, have a son, 5, at Sunita Williams Elementary School and a daughter, 3, who will start preschool at St Joseph’s next year. He said that most of his free time centers around his children.
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