Shortly after qualifying for the Nov. 8 ballot, John Comerford, the Republican nominee seeking to represent District 8 on the Governor’s Council, said he wants to make certain that all the governor’s nominees for judicial and other positions have been “well vetted.”
“I want to make certain the person looking to become a judge is well-suited to the position,” he said at the time.
More recently, the Palmer resident said that as he campaigns, he’s finding voters of varying political persuasions agree with his interpretation of the duties of the position.
“I was in a pastry shop in Springfield the other day,” he recounted, “and I was talking to this guy — we both had been in the Air Force — and he said, ‘I know all about the Governor’s Council. I know exactly what the Governor’s Council does.’ And then he said, ‘The current panel puts too many liberal judges on the bench. There are too many woke judges out there.’ That was his term, not mine.
“I said to him, ‘Are you Republican, by any chance?’ He said, ‘No, I’m an independent.’ We talked for a good 20 minutes, and he finally said at the end, ‘I’m going to vote for you, John.’”
Comerford said many of the voters he meets reflect the views expressed during his encounter at the pastry shop.
“The people who do know (about the Governor’s Council),” he said, “are upset over the types of judges that are going on the bench. I can’t guarantee that every judge that’s going to be nominated is going to be a conservative. I can’t guarantee that at all.”
The Governor’s Council is charged with advising the governor and approving or rejecting the governor’s appointments for judicial and other positions, as well as pardons, commutations and warrants for the state treasury. The 8th District covers 101 cities and towns in western Massachusetts, including all of Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties with the exception of Ware, as well as towns in Worcester County.
Comerford, 78, and his Democratic opponent, Tara Jacobs, 51, are running to succeed incumbent Mary Hurley who, after three terms, chose not to seek reelection.
One incident that prompted Comerford to run, he said, is the case of a Newton judge accused of abetting an immigrant without legal status who fled from her courtroom before agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived. Judge Shelly M. Richmond Joseph faced federal obstruction of justice charges. The Department of Justice dropped the charges in September as part of an agreement that will send Richmond Joseph’s case to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate and address judicial misconduct and to make final recommendations on discipline to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
Comerford noted that the Governor’s Council is a holdover from the Colonial period, having been created in 1629. It took its present-day form in 1780.
“It’s still there,” he said, “and I’m sure there are times when the governor wishes it wasn’t. I like the Governor’s Council — I like the true meaning behind it. It’s kind of like the advice and consent of the Senate, when the president nominates somebody to the federal bench. I like the fact that, seemingly, there is balance on the board.
“You could have eight Republicans on there, and a Democrat governor, but you need some give and take,” he said.
Asked if it would serve voters better if the election of Governor’s Council members was nonpartisan in nature, Comerford said, “I’m a Republican. I’m proud to be a Republican. I don’t think that it’s a good idea to take the party out of it.”
Comerford said he also wants to review the policies relating to pardons and the commutation of prison sentences.
“To me, if you do the crime, be prepared to do the time,” he said. “A reporter said to me, ‘That’s kind of harsh.’ I said, ‘You may call it harsh, but I call it justice.’ The people who are hurt by a criminal’s act, the only way they get justice is to see this guy locked up for whatever his crime was. To me, it’s very important.
“They commuted the sentence of two murderers not long ago. If I were on the panel, I would have said, ‘No, absolutely not.’ To me, people go to prison and they suddenly find God,” Comerford said. “In my estimation, God visits an awful lot of prisons because suddenly they find God and they find reasons to apply to get out of jail. I would not have commuted those two sentences. The vote probably would have been 7 to 1, but I absolutely would have stood my ground.”
In January, Gov. Charlie Baker recommended that the sentences of Thomas Koonce and William Allen be commuted. Both were convicted of murder in separate incidents and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In February, the Governor’s Council approved Baker’s recommendation, the first time in 25 years the council had taken such action.
In conclusion, Comerford said, “I’m going to go in there and I’m going to listen and read the documents that are sent to us, because you get a package on people who are up for judgeships or parole board. I’m going to read and I’m going to talk to them and really make an effort to determine if they’d be right for the position. I’m going to use my common sense.”