The Massachusetts Governor’s Council (also called the Executive Council) is made up of eight elected Councillors. The Council meets weekly to record advice and consent on warrants for the state treasury, pardons and commutations, and to record advice and consent to gubernatorial appointments such as judges, clerk-magistrates, public administrators, members of the Parole Board, Appellate Tax Board, Industrial Accident Board and Industrial Accident Reviewing Board, notaries, and justices of the peace. They also approve notaries and justices of the peace. Councillors serve two-year terms with no term limits.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Campaign Phone
413-414-5678
The Governor's Council plays an important role in shaping our judiciary in Massachusetts, through confirming judges and clerk magistrates, as well as the other important and impactful roles that require the advice and consent of Council. Additionally, the Council's role in granting Gubernatorial Clemency is an important aspect of course correcting our justice system.
I routinely meet with a diverse array of people working on issues relating to our judiciary. This includes lawyers, judges, court clerical staff, court officers, probation, and parole, as well as community activist groups focused on things including domestic violence, sexual assault survivors, high conflict divorce, housing insecurity (evictions and foreclosures), mental health and substance misuse support, and other similar issues. When I meet with these various groups, I am listening to their experiences, learning where the pain and the positive points are in our various courts, and specifically engaging their perspective in helping hone the types of questions to probe on with nominees. And I have a diverse group of trusted advisors.
With nominees, I delve deeply into their values, beliefs, lived experiences and attitudes across a wide range of areas. I am very direct in pointing out bias when I hear it from them, probing on their level of self-evaluation regarding bias, what work they are doing, have done, or plan to do to shift their biases, and how they intend to address bias in their courtroom, or area of service, should they be confirmed. In terms of pardons, I support granting clemency when implicit systemic biases have resulted in clear injustice in a particular instance.
I have voted no on a number of occasions. Several times it has been due to perceived bias. Occasionally, I have felt the nominee lacked the needed qualifications. In some instances, the nominee lacked the kind of understanding and empathy I look for, or their temperament was the primary concern. I deeply explore the background, upbringing, career, lived experiences, beliefs, attitudes, values of each nominee, with particular focus on how informed and how they regard trauma, mental health and substance challenges, brain science, biases, specific hypotheticals, etc. These are lifetime appointments, and I am looking for red flags.
