You’d be forgiven, especially in such a high-profile presidential election year, if you’ve overlooked the Democratic race for the state Governor’s Council in the 8th District.
Hampden County Bar Association President Jeffrey S. Morneau and Mary E. Hurley, a retired Springfield District Court judge and former Springfield mayor, both of East Longmeadow, are seeking the Democratic nomination Sept. 8 to replace Michael J. Albano of Springfield. There is no Republican candidate.
Members of the council, which approves appointments of judges, clerk-magistrates and parole board members, serve two-year terms. The panel also advises the governor on potential prison pardons and commutations.
The annual salary for councilors, who meet weekly, is $36,025.
Hurley has emphasized in her campaign that there 10 vacancies for district court judges in western Massachusetts. She is promoting a resolution by judges in the four western counties calling for filling the openings along with those of other court personnel.
She said, “It is time that the Governor’s Council had a representative from the 8th District who is willing and able to stand up for our region.”
Morneau, who serves on the state’s Joint Bar Committee, reviewing and evaluating qualifications of judicial nominees for the governor, has called for greater diversity in the judiciary as “essential to delivering equal justice, restoring the public’s faith in the legal system, and countering any perceptions of bias.”
He wants the judiciary to better represent the larger community, “including women, persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and other under-represented groups.”
Hurley has been endorsed by Charlie Ryan, a former Springfield mayor and Shannon O’Brien, a former state treasurer and representative.
Morneau has been endorsed by Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.
The 8th District includes most of the four western counties, including all of Hampshire County except Ware.