The Massachusetts Governor s Council, also known as the Executive Council, is composed of eight individuals elected from districts, plus the Lieutenant Governor who serves ex officio. The eight councillors are elected from their districts every two years. The Council meets weekly to record advice and consent on warrants for the state treasury, pardons and commutations, and recording 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. Base salary is $36,025.
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The Governor's Council helps shape our judiciary, our Parole Board, and directly impacts the delivery of justice across our Commonwealth. Our voices help guide the Governor in her nominations, and are heard by Trial Court administration when we call attention to areas where we perceive bias, or hope to see improved outcomes in various ways. My work on Governor's Council is the most meaningful work I have done in my lifetime, and I am proud to serve and to represent my District.
Ultimately, if I support or oppose a nominee comes down to whether I believe they are in all ways a candidate who will respectfully, empathetically, fairly deliver justice in the best interests of both the individual and community safety. I have a broad range of priority criteria that include personal biases, understanding and beliefs around struggle, trauma, substance misuse, mental health challenges, priority populations including racial groups, LGBTQ+, disability (physical and cognitive), access to justice (language, accessibility, housing, child care, and other resources), experience visiting our prisons/jails, cultural humility--to name a few that I consistently explore. I evaluate fully, listen to community input, and go by my gut.
For me, my focus is on the fairness of the process. I want members who actively work on recognizing and overcoming their own biases, who recognize that racial biases (and other biases) have impacted parole board outcomes historically, and are invested in countering those trends with an eye to correcting injustices experienced by Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized communities. It is essential that Parole Board members are guided by principles that balance the importance of second chances with concern for public safety.
Clemency work is probably the most meaningful work we do on Governor's Council. The impact on an individual's life is an incredible gift. I believe that clemency has an important role in our justice system, as a beacon of hope, a symbol of second chances and successful reentry into a productive life after justice involvement. I consider the following: what have they done to put themselves on path to success and ensure they will continue on that path? What will a pardon change for them, what are they prevented from doing now? Has there been an injustice that we can correct with this pardon? Were they still cognitively developing at the time of their originating offense? I consider these and other factors in determining my decision.
I am so proud and honored to serve my district on Governor's Council. I work hard to do this work with careful deliberation, in the hopes that I will be able to look back and see a change in the caliber of the justice system that is felt and has an impact on our communities and Commonwealth. Regional equity is an important factor that I work daily, as a representative of Western Mass, to promote and try to deliver for my District. I meet in person with every nominee, hold local hearings for District 8 nominees to engage the community in the process, work to ensure transparency in the work of Council, hold events to encourage judicial applicants, and hold listening sessions with justice involved community groups. I give this role my all.
