Among the contested races Massachusetts voters will decide in the Sept. 1 Democratic Primary is a seat on the Governor's Council. The 8-member panel confirms, among other things, the governor's judicial nominees and appointments to statewide boards, such as the Parole Board. It also reviews pardons and commutations.
Tara Jacobs, of North Adams, is seeking a third two-year term representing the 8th District, which covers the state's four western counties. She says her presence there is rooted in public service and a desire to affect positive changes in the justice system, both locally and statewide.
“A year or two prior to my first run, the courts in coordination with Harvard research had published data that showed that Massachusetts was literally ranked fourth worst in the entire nation for racial disparities in our incarcerated population," she said. "And that flowed out of racial disparities across the entire spectrum of justice in our state, and so I wanted to have a seat at the table to be a part of shifting those trends. And that's what has remained my motivation and why I find this role so meaningful and want to continue doing it."
In a rematch of sorts, her opponent is Michael Fenton of Springfield, who narrowly lost to Jacobs in 2022 in a four-way contest by just over 2,300 votes.
“I’m in this race because I think that our region, western Massachusetts, which should be no surprise to anybody from here, is regularly overlooked by Beacon Hill,” he said. “And we've got a problem in our judiciary with the lack of timely appointments, a lack of appointments to the judiciary who are from this area, and I’m running to change that. To advocate for western Massachusetts in every regard, with a focus on the judiciary and making sure that we have honest, qualified regional representation in our courts.”
'Unique and independent' skillset
Fenton is a 17-year Springfield City Council veteran and an attorney whose practice focuses on commercial real estate and finance, as well as business and estate planning.
He says that experience is what's needed to redress the lack of local representation on the bench and on statewide boards.
The Supreme Judicial Court, Appellate Tax Board and Parole Board currently have no members from western Massachusetts. And Fenton criticized Jacobs for recently voting against two of Gov. Maura Healey’s nominees to the Parole Board. Jacobs has cited their prosecutorial background and lack of experience with reentry and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals for her no votes.
“I would be a much more proactive Governor’s councilor, and I would rebuild the bridge that's been broken between our region and the governor's office by appropriately and effectively vetting nominees instead of applying unreasonable litmus tests," Fenton said. "I believe strongly that our region has a lot to offer and our voice deserves to be heard on a statewide level."
Fenton said he has the skillset to to that.
"And to do that effectively in this position, I think the region would be best suited with someone who has the right legal training to review and screen judicial applicants, all of whom are attorneys themselves,” he said.
Jacobs is among three Governor's Council members who are not lawyers. But she says her training as a social psychologist provides a unique and independent set of skills in discerning a nominees' personality, temperament, values and opinions on areas that directly impact justice.
“Things like, specifically racial bias, but also how well informed they are on trauma and mental health challenges and substance use, reproductive justice issues and the list goes on there too. But also access to justice from the standpoint of language,” Jacobs says. “That means interpretive services for people for whom English is a second language. But it also means, as a non-lawyer, I’m very responsive to seeing when a lawyer who is appointed to one of these positions struggles to talk about the law in a way that the average lay person can understand. And that's so important and critical for access to justice.”
Fundraising efforts
In a fundraising twist, the incumbent is running far behind the challenger. As of the end of July, the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance reported Fenton had about $50,000 in his campaign account, with contributors including Springfield-area officials such as Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and Mayor Dominic Sarno, as well as former Governor's Council member Mary Hurley.
Jacobs' campaign had just over $7,200 with contributors including Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, Northampton attorney David Hoose, and Jeromie Whalen, who is running against long-time incumbent Richard Neal for the 1st. Congressional District seat.
With no candidate running in the Republican Primary, the winner on Sept. 1 is virtually assured of claiming the 8th District seat on the Governor's Council come November.
