Jacob Grossman
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His Excellency Vice-President Jacob Grossman | |
|---|---|
| File:Jacob Grossman pic 1.jpg Vice-President Grossman addressing the 2015 Dakos Conservative Party's Julian Settas Dinner in Dakos, Belhavia in July 2015. | |
| Vice-President of Belhavia | |
| Assumed office January 21st, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Avi Blackman |
| Governor of New Shelvoy | |
| In office January 3rd, 2007 – December 30th, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Evan Baginsky |
| Succeeded by | Shmuel Goldblatt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 4th, 1963 Dakos, North Dakos |
| Nationality | Belhavian |
| Political party | Conservative Party |
| Spouse | Nancy L. Grossman |
| Residence | Provisa |
| Alma mater | B.A., Political Science, Almania College J.D., Imperial Provisa University School of Law |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
Jacob E. Grossman, J.D. (born June 4th, 1963) is the current Vice-President of Belhavia and the former Governor of New Shelvoy. He is a member of the Conservative Party. He is a graduate of the private liberal arts Almania College and the prestigious Imperial Provisa University School of Law.
He is a rising star in the Tories, after getting elected as governor of New Shelvoy at age 43 after ousting the territory's popular Liberal Democrat incumbent. After just two years in office, he was tapped by then-Senator Eli Goldman to be his vice-presidential running-mate.
Considered by many to be a shrewd and able politician, he launched his 2016 campaign for the presidency on August 21st, 2015, becoming the second Conservative candidate in the race after Tory Senator Ian Settas. In December 2015, Settas endorsed Grossman after withdrawing from the race, anointing Grossman as the party's frontrunner.
Early life and education
Lawyer and early career
2006 Gubernatorial campaign
Vice-Presidential campaigns
Vice-Presidency
2016 Presidential campaign
Announcement
Grossman announced his 2016 candidacy on August 21st, 2015 outside Raffenburg, Raffen, the northwestern province along the Estovnian border that is the second primary province. He was the fourth Tory candidate to announce, but only the second serious contender after then-rival Ian Settas, the Senate Majority Leader and scion of the powerful Settas political family. His entrance had been expected for several months, after he acknowledged to the press his interest in pursuing a candidacy after Settas had announced his earlier in that spring. In the prelude to his campaign launch, his interest kept a significant network of Conservative Party donors, campaign staffers, and activists on the sidelines rather than endorse Settas as they awaited whether Grossman, himself an influential leader and rising star in the party, would jump into the race.
His shadow loomed large over the late spring and early summer as Settas dominated the primary race to date but many expected Grossman to enter and make the race a real contest. In late August, after securing fundraising pledges from key donors and commitments from important staffers and endorsers, Grossman made the formal announcement in Raffen province, home of the second primary election, a clue to his intent to contest the province strongly to give him momentum when voting occurred in early 2016.
Themes and narratives
Primary
Campaign
Endorsements
Debates
Fundraising totals
Cultural and political image
Grossman and his family have been proclaimed by the Provisa news magazine Imperial Weekly as the "model Orthodox Jewish family," showing broader society, as the magazine said, "that one can be religious and modern at the same time." Commentary focused on how this could be a powerful cultural symbol amid Belhavia's deeply entrenched dati (religious) - chiloni (secular) social divide.
Jacob Grossman's political story - a relatively quick leap from obscure lawyer and colonial governor to a powerful Imperial leader in less than a few years - has been described as aspirational and evidence of Belhavian meritocracy in action, compared to chronic social criticisms of widely-held perceptions that a small set of elite and wealthy families control the levers of power inside Belhavia.
Political views
Family and personal life
Jacob Grossman is married to Nancy (née Kamiensky) since 1985, marking 30 years of marriage. They are self-described "college sweethearts." They have six children, by order of birth: Yehuda (b. 1986), Daphne (b. 1987), Michelle (b. 1989), Yosef (b. 1991), Miriam (b. 1994), and Avrohom (b. 1997).
His oldest son Yehuda serves as his father's top confidant and operative, and he holds a provincial Assembly seat in the New Shelvoy legislature since 2014, following his father's path into elective politics. Oldest daughter Daphne is school teacher and housewife living, like most of her siblings, in New Shelvoy with a husband and three children of her own. Michelle is a foreign correspondent with the Provisa Times, while middle child Yosef is in a post-college yeshiva pursuing a rabbinical ordination. Miriam is finishing a pre-medicine major at Almania College while youngest Avrohom is still living at home and preparing to go to college.