Get updates from HorizonMass

A New Governor’s Council Already Made History; But Will It Bring Change To Massachusetts?

Pictured: Governor's Council hearing on Jan. 8 | Photo by Derek Kouyoumjian

Influential body welcomes first members of color in 30-plus years, plus vets groundbreaking transgender judicial nominee


Update (1/15/2024): On Wednesday, the Governor’s Council voted unanimously to confirm a pair of judges—Connor Barusch and Dana Pierce—for the Boston Municipal Court.

The Massachusetts Governor’s Council, a relatively obscure body which we brought into the light this past summer with a three-part series, Governing in Darkness, recently made history. On Jan. 8, this panel broke ground when it held its first hearing of 2025 with two newly-elected members of color.

The Governor’s Council, also called the Executive Council, has eight elected members from districts across the commonwealth. Each serves a two-year term and is paid $36,000 annually for part-time work. Councilors (originally spelled “councillors” in the state constitution) meet on Wednesdays and, according to their delegated duties, “record advice and consent on warrants for the state treasury, pardons and commutations,” and vote on “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.”

For the first time since its inception more than 400 years ago, voters have elected two women of color, both Haitian American Democrats, to serve on the eight-member panel. Previously, the only person of color to serve on the council was Michael M. Murphy. Now a Georgia businessman and community advocate, Murphy served for only two years starting in 1990.

There was no pomp and circumstance as the first Governor’s Council hearing of the year got underway last week, and Chair Christopher Iannella—the chair rotates based on where the nominee on that day’s docket resides—said nothing to mark the historic moment. But several of the roughly 20 supporters of the judicial nominee, Connor Barusch, and other observers attending the hearing made comments to each other. Lisa Berland, a member of the citizen’s group Parole Watch, said, “This is a sea change.”

Pictured: D2 Councilor Tamisha Civil (left) and D5 Councilor Eunice Zeigler | Photos by Derek Kouyoumjian

After 400 years, some diversity on the Governor’s Council

Tamisha Civil, a former probation officer, earned her seat by defeating former judge Francis T. Crimmins Jr. in District 2, which extends west and south of Boston and includes Framingham and Attleboro. The post had been vacant since Robert Jubinville left in 2022 to become a clerk-magistrate.

In District 5 in the northeastern corner of the state, Eunice Zeigler, a former Methuen city councilor and current VP of the nonprofit emergency housing organization Emmaus, bested both a mental health counselor who ran as an independent and Republican Anne Manning-Martin, a Peabody City Councilor and former Mass Department of Correction manager.

The other new member is attorney Mara Dolan, a public defender who defeated longtime incumbent Marilyn Petitto-Devaney in District 3. Dolan’s district includes parts of Boston and Cambridge and suburbs from Brookline to Burlington.

Pictured: D3 Councilor Mara Dolan | Photo by Derek Kouyoumjian

Dolan, Civil, and Zeigler join councilors who first won their posts years ago, including Christopher Iannella (1993), Terrence Kennedy (2011), Joseph Ferreira (2015), Paul DePalo (2020), and Tara Jacobs (2022).

Advocates and others who observe the council say the new blood will invigorate the body. Still, some are also asking if new members will have the clout to bring more transparency to a council that has been less than forthcoming in how it makes decisions.

Can new councilors bring reform?

Councilor Civil noted that she wants to have forums in her district to educate people about the council and the judicial and Parole Board candidates it screens. That sort of reform is currently underway in Tara Jacobs’s district. Recently, Jacobs held two public forums with panels showing constituents the pathway to pardons. “Transparency is key for me,” Civil said in an interview for this article, acknowledging that she was still “in process,” looking for partnerships, and wanting to connect with community members.

She added, “I’m here to work for democracy, to make sure we have fair and impartial judges who understand it’s a people’s court, and for people to see that substance abuse and mental health is a disease and doesn’t deserve incarceration.”

Zeigler said her main responsibility is to her constituents. In a phone interview, she expressed her commitment to making sure judges understand “the workings of the court.” Zeigler wants to know “what initiatives they will champion, and what impact they will make.”

In terms of improving transparency and the function of the council itself, the new District 5 councilor hopes to encourage her colleagues to summarize any private meetings they have with applicants when they come to the hearing at large—meetings which often can provide more insight on the candidate.

Historic nominee faces judicial confirmation questioning

The Jan. 8 Governor’s Council hearing was also groundbreaking in another way. Members vetted attorney Connor Barusch, who is in line to potentially be the first transgender judge in Massachusetts.

In December 2024, Gov. Maura Healey nominated Barusch to serve as associate justice of Boston Municipal Court (BMC). The nomination came as part of a slate of four potential judges, two of whom, including Barusch, came from the Committee for Public Council (CPCS), i.e. they are public defenders who have represented indigent criminal defendants.

Research by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism has shown that Mass has a cohort of judges with a 60% prosecutorial background. The People’s Parity Project, a national movement of attorneys and law students advocating for a more balanced judiciary, confirmed this data. 

These new nominees might go a long way towards rectifying that balance, according to advocates.

Pictured: BMC associate justice nominee Connor Barusch | Photo by Derek Kouyoumjian

Barusch currently is the director of criminal defense training at CPCS, and is also a founding advocate for the Massachusetts Transgender Legal Advocates and a member of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association. At the hearing, Barusch presented supporters of their candidacy and made a personal statement before being questioned by councilors.

New members jumped in with challenging but fair questions. One came from Councilor Civil: “As a judge at BMC, how would you hold attorneys accountable … making sure that they [attorneys] are bringing all the information forward to you … making sure that those they are representing are getting access and treatment that they need, and that they [attorneys] are doing their job and not just taking a case.” Barusch detailed clearly the competence required. 

Councilor Dolan asked about a new rule called Rule 14. That rule ensures that prosecutors must turn over evidence if they have it, even if that evidence could prove their client’s innocence. Dolan suggested “judges will have to hold prosecutors’ feet to the fire,” and asked Barusch if they agreed. Barusch answered that the Constitution demands such evidence be turned over, and that a judge’s responsibility is to enforce the law.

Reactions to a historic judicial hearing

The most shocking part of last week’s hearing was a virtual moment involving Councilor Joseph Ferreira.

As the Boston Globe noted in its coverage, while his microphone was unintentionally turned on, at one point during the hearing, Ferreira could be heard saying, “Would never happen with Charlie Baker,” possibly implying that the former Republican governor would never have appointed Barusch to the bench. Reached later, he told the Globe, “I was speaking about different things. I’m not going to elaborate any further. … It was a private conversation between me and someone else in the room, about things in general. I don’t recall the context, but it wasn’t about the nominee.”

As our previous reporting showed, Ferreira voted in favor of nominees put forth by Gov. Baker 98.1% of the time—more than any other councilor.

CPCS Chief Counsel Anthony Benedetti emailed the following statement: “Connor is an exceptional attorney and public defender, whose years of dedication to his clients and unwavering commitment to justice make him an outstanding choice for the judiciary. We are deeply troubled by the inappropriate and offensive remarks that were made during the Governor’s Council hearing regarding Connor’s nomination to the Boston Municipal Court that seem to suggest otherwise. This rhetoric distracts from Connor’s remarkable qualifications, including his significant contributions to training and mentoring of public defenders and his exceptional skill as a trial lawyer. Let’s remain focused on building a judiciary that reflects the diversity and excellence of our Commonwealth and reject any attempts to diminish the accomplishments of those who embody these ideals.”

Councilors will vote on Barusch’s nomination on Jan. 15 during their weekly meeting at noon with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll presiding. The public can watch virtually or attend these meetings in person.

Meanwhile, advocates are watching to see if the new council will take up reforms, some of which our previous reporting suggested: the open meeting law should apply to all areas of the council; councilors should hold educational forums for their constituents; and councilors should encourage their constituents to voice their opinions on candidates.

This article is syndicated by the MassWire news service of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. If you want to see more reporting like this, make a contribution at givetobinj.org.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Thanks for reading and please consider this:

If you appreciate articles like this one, please keep HorizonMass going strong by making a tax-deductible donation to our IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit sponsor, the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism!

BINJ not only produces longform investigative stories that it syndicates for free to community news outlets around Massachusetts but also works with dozens of emerging journalists each year to help them learn their trade while providing quality reporting to the public at large.

Now in its 10th year, BINJ has produced hundreds of hard-hitting news articles—many of which have taken critical looks at corporations, government, and major nonprofits, shedding light where it’s needed most.

BINJ punches far above its weight on an undersized budget—managing to remain a player in local news through difficult times for journalism even as it continues to provide leadership at the regional and national levels of the nonprofit news industry.

With your help BINJ can grow to become a more stable operation for the long term and continue to provide Bay State residents more quality journalism for years to come.

Or you can send us a check at the following address:

Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism

519 Somerville Ave #206

Somerville, MA 02143

Want to make a stock or in-kind donation to BINJ? Drop us an email at info@binjonline.org and we can make that happen!

Tags:

Related posts:

Receive the latest news

Subscribe To The HorizonMass Newsletter