Focus on the future and delegate the details to us.

A Tribute to co-Founder David Martin

1964-2016

David Martin was well known throughout the Democratic Party, described as the often unnamed, but invaluable advisor to dozens of candidates for offices from local town halls to the State House, Congress and the White House. He was a thoughtful and wise counselor offering expert advice. David was known for being thorough, focused and detail-oriented while grasping the bigger picture. His seasoned judgement and calm counsel was sought after by many. He loved the world of politics and was committed to serving Democrats throughout his career.

A Colorado native, David was born into a politically active family with strong ties to the Democratic Party in a largely Republican state. He graduated from Colorado College with a degree in political science and made the family interest his career. He began his long career in politics campaigning with Colorado’s Democratic US Representative Timothy Wirth. Later he joined US Senator Gary Hart’s Presidential campaign in 1988. When Hart’s campaign ended, David moved to Boston and joined the Presidential campaign of Gov. Michael Dukakis who later received his party’s nomination.

It was on the Dukakis campaign that he met his future bride, Gemma Ward Martin. To help him get acclimated to Boston and make him feel welcome, David’s campaign co-workers offered to show him around the city and Gemma offered to take him to Maine,so he could see the coastline.

“David thought it was a date — a fact I didn’t realize until he kissed me goodbye at the end of the day,” Gemma says with a laugh. “A week later, we had what I considered our first date and never looked back.”

Gemma and David were married in 1991. Together they had three daughters, Allison, Emily and Vivian. David adored his daughters and together he and Gemma designed their lives to regularly include adventure and travel. When not working or enjoying time with his family, David loved photography and bird watching and served on the Dedham Finance Committee in his adopted hometown.

David served as deputy campaign manager for Sen. John F. Kerry’s epic 1996 re-election campaign against Gov. William F. Weld. For a decade, he was director of finance and administration at Mass Inc., the respected non-partisan think tank in Boston, and later worked in senior roles at two public policy and advocacy nonprofits, The Green Roundtable and Second Nature, while continuing to work in senior roles on local and state political campaigns.

In 2003, he and Gemma decided to take a leap and turn what was then a side job in political accounting and compliance into their successful consulting firm, The Chick Montana Group. The name always confounded politicians who were used to seeing firms named after their founders or principals. According to Gemma Martin, “David hated seeing his name in federal or state campaign finance reports so The Chick Montana Group was born.” A reflection of his humble nature and sense of humor, “Chick Montana” was David’s favorite TV villain from a 1963 episode of Perry Mason.

The Chick Montana Group’s roster of clients is a Who’s Who of political heavyweights in Massachusetts – the Massachusetts Democratic Party, members of Congress, state Constitutional Officers, members of the state Legislature and more. Those who worked with him remember him for his warmth, kindness, calm nature, and dry, deadpan wit. He liked to keep those around him on their toes.

In 1998, he was diagnosed with Pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare form of cancer impacting the abdomen. Throughout his long battle with the disease, he faced it with the same quiet grace and humor with which he lived his life. David Martin passed away in June 2016.

The Chick Montana Group continues to operate with the professionalism, expertise and dedication with which David and Gemma founded it and remains highly respected by politicians at every level.