2024 Governor's Councillor Third District
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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Mara Dolan
(Dem)
Why do you think the Governor’s Council is important?
What are your top criteria for supporting or opposing judicial nominees?
Which criteria do you consider most essential in selecting parole board candidates?
What are your top considerations when considering the Governor’s pardon recommendations?
Why do you believe that you are the best candidate, at this particular time, for the Governor’s Council?
Campaign Phone
978-729-4992
Measures
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If you care who our judges are, you need to care who your Governor's Councillor is. The Governor's Council confirms our judges, Parole Board members, and commutations and pardons, among its many duties. In a time when our federal courts are taking away our rights, from reproductive rights to voting rights, we must make sure our state courts uphold them.
1) Pro-choice
2) Understand science of addiction and work to support recovery over incarceration
3) Must fight systemic racism with every tool the law provides
4) Juvenile justice; must respect science of brain development and treat youths accordingly
5) Disability justice; must understand disability issues and treat those with a disability accordingly
The makeup of the Parole Board is determined by statute, see Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 27, Sec. 4. They are required to have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and have at least five years' training and experience in one or more of the following: parole, probation, corrections, law enforcement, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, or social work. As Governor's Councillor, I will look for diversity in background and culture, empathy, compassion, and a deep understanding of whether someone is ready to leave prison with a plan in place to succeed. I would love to see a public defender on the Parole Board too.
The purpose of a pardon is to relieve the guilty of the burden of their conviction. That being said, that also means that someone who has been wrongfully convicted and maintains their innocence is ineligible for a pardon. That's wrong, as we know wrongful convictions take place and should not be held against someone who seeks a pardon. If a conviction is preventing someone from doing good work, as in the case of Thomas Schoolcraft who sought a pardon so that he could work with youthful offenders, then a pardon is clearly warranted. Except in the case of a wrongful conviction, people seeking a pardon must demonstrate an understanding of what happened, that it was wrong, and that there is no risk that it might happen again.
I have been a public defender for 17 years, working all across Massachusetts in our Juvenile, District, and Superior Courts. Since the Supreme Court established the right to counsel in 1963, there have been 53 Governor's Councillors, but not a single one has been a full-time public defender, like me. It's a perspective very badly needed, and very badly overdue. The ratio of former prosecutors to former defense attorneys now serving as judges in our trial courts is 2:1. We must have a public defender's perspective to create more balance in our justice system. In a time when our federal courts are taking away our rights, we must make sure our state courts uphold them. I am a strong and effective defender of the people's rights.
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