WITH LESS THAN a month before a new governor takes over, the MassDevelopment board of directors approved a long-term contract extension for Daniel Rivera, the authority’s president and chief executive officer.
A spokesman for the authority confirmed the board on Wednesday extended the contract of Rivera until June 30, 2026, and said the vote was unanimous. He provided no additional information and there was no announcement of the extension on the MassDevelopment website.
Rivera, a Democrat, is the former mayor of Lawrence and a close political ally of Gov. Charlie Baker. He endorsed Baker’s reelection bid in 2018 and served on the governor’s COVID-19 reopening task force.
Rivera was elected to two terms as mayor of Lawrence but left the post a year early to take the helm at MassDevelopment on January 1, 2021. He was nominated for the job by Baker.
MassDevelopment is a quasi-independent state authority, but the governor wields enormous influence over its operations. He appointed all of the current board members and the board’s chair is Mike Kennealy, the governor’s secretary of housing and economic development.
A spokeswoman for Maura Healey did not respond to emailed questions about whether the governor-elect was consulted about the contract extension.
Rivera, according to state records, makes an annual salary of $235,000. It was unclear if the contract extension approved by the board was accompanied by any other changes in his contract terms.
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. The agency was formed in 1998 from the merger of the Government Land Bank and the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency. It provides low-cost financing for a wide range of businesses and organizations, redevelops surplus properties, and promotes the state’s Gateway Cities.