Winslow Leaving Mass. House To Join Private Firm

Republican state Rep. Daniel Winslow, a former judge who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate this year, announced Monday he will leave the Legislature to take a job in the private sector.

Winslow, 55, of Norfolk, said he accepted the post of senior vice president and general counsel of Rimini Street Inc., a Las Vegas-based provider of enterprise software support services. His resignation from the state House of Representatives will be effective Sept. 29.

Winslow tweeted Sunday that he planned to make an announcement about his future, which created speculation that he might become a candidate for attorney general. Incumbent Democrat Martha Coakley announced her candidacy for governor Monday, opening up the attorney general's race next year.

Winslow served as a district court judge and later as chief legal counsel in the administration of former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney.

A fiscal conservative and social moderate, he won the 9th District seat in Norfolk in 2010 and was re-elected to a second term last year.

In February, Winslow became the first Republican to become a candidate for the special U.S. Senate election to succeed John Kerry, who resigned from the Senate after being confirmed as U.S. secretary of state. Winslow finished third in the Republican primary behind Gabriel Gomez and Michael Sullivan. Gomez went on to lose the June special election to Democrat Edward Markey.

Winslow said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve in the Legislature.

"I hope that my efforts have made a difference and that the ideas I have advanced can be considered in future sessions," he said.

A spokesman for Winslow said he planned to work out of Rimini Street's San Francisco office but would keep his legal residence in Massachusetts.