NORTHAMPTON — A longtime Northampton resident will be taking the top clerk job in the Western Housing Court.
Michael J. Doherty will be sworn in as clerk magistrate of the court on Feb. 27. He has worked in the court for almost 15 years and has been the first assistant clerk magistrate for the last three. Doherty’s appointment by Gov. Charlie Baker was approved by a unanimous 5-0 vote of the governor’s council on Wednesday.
Doherty’s appointment was no inevitability; he said he was one of four candidates to make it through the judicial nominating committee.
“It’s humbling and an honor,” said Doherty, on getting the job.
The court’s jurisdiction covers all four counties of western Massachusetts. The court holds sessions in Greenfield, Hadley, Pittsfield and Springfield.
“We cover 2,200 square miles,” Doherty said.
Doherty said that the housing court’s purview encompasses all matters related to housing and that it seeks “to ensure that communities have safe housing.”
Doherty said it is a place where tenants can take action against slumlords, landlords can take action to evict people dealing drugs from their properties, and land use and zoning conflicts can be addressed.
Doherty will be assuming his position in the court without a law degree. Before his career in court Doherty was the assistant building commissioner for the city of Holyoke and was the director of operations for a property management company that had hundreds of units in Holyoke alone.
“We were in the housing court quite a bit,” Doherty said.
He said that while it is uncommon for someone in his position to not have a law degree, it is not unheard of.
Doherty, 53, has lived in Northampton for more than 20 years and has a fiancee and four children. He said that after he graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Northampton seemed like a good place to raise a family. And although he moved away twice, he returned after his first son was born.
As clerk magistrate, Doherty said he will be the court’s public face, and that his duties will be more focused on administration than adjudication.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.