🔨 Your Candidates for Governor's Council
Primary Election Information | Interview: Tamisha Civil | Interview: Muriel Kramer | Interview: Sean Murphy | Mayor's D8 Meeting Tuesday | The Civic Week Ahead
August slipped away into a moment in time, Framingham.
Happy Back to School to all of our students, families, faculty and staff! Today was 9th grade orientation at FHS. This Wednesday starts the school year. Have a wonderful year.
This issue features the candidates for the other competitive race this primary election - the Governor’s Council.
If you missed last week’s issue featuring Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis and Carlton Phelps, candidates for 7th Middlesex District, you can read it here.
Curious about something? Let’s clear it up! Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com.
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Election Information
Tuesday, September 3 is Primary Day. This is the primary for the general November election.
What is on the ballot:
United States Senate
United States Representative
Governor’s Councillor
Senator in General Court (Massachusetts Legislature)
Representative in General Court (Massachusetts Legislature
Clerk of Courts
Registrar of Deed
Where Do I Vote? What is my precinct?
Voting
On election day: Polls are open in Framingham from 7:00am - 8:00pm. Information about polling locations can be found here on the City Clerk’s website.
By mail: By the time this newsletter goes out, the applications to vote by mail in the primary deadline has closed.
Early voting: Began last Saturday, August 24 at the Memorial Building and McAuliffe Library. See below for the schedule.
If you have any questions, please contact the City Clerk’s Office or check out their very comprehensive website. We are incredibly lucky to have such a great team in the Clerk’s office!
Meet the Candidates for Governor’s Council
First: What is the Governor’s Council?
The Governor’s Council, also known as the Executive Council, has its roots in the old days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. With the arrival of John Winthrop and the colony’s first royal charter came the creation of a “council of assistants”. Over the centuries, the role and makeup of the Council changed.
Today the Governor’s Council is composed of eight individuals elected from eight districts, with the Lt. Governor serving as chair and ex officio member. Councilors are elected every two years, and the body meetings every Wednesday in the Governor’s Council Chambers in the Governor’s Office.
The Governor’s Council provides advice and consent on nominations of judges, clerk magistrates, and members of the Parole Board, appointment of notaries public and justices of the peace, issuance of pardons and commutations, and payment of warrants for the state treasury.
Our area is District 2, and it is a vacant seat. Our previous Councilor, Robert Jubinville, was appointed clerk magistrate of the Framingham District Court in December 2022 by Governor Charlie Baker.
UPDATE: David Reservitz contacted me after the issue went out wishing to participate. I have included his answers below.
Name: Tamisha Civil
Occupation: Associate Probation Officer
Elected and volunteer experience:
Stoughton Town Meeting Representative,
Member of the Stoughton Energy & Sustainability Committee,
Commissioner for the Eastern Regional Commission on the Status of Women,
Board member of the Greater Boston Early Educators Network,
Member of Canton Residents for a Sustainable & Equitable Future,
Board member Stoughton Equal Opportunity Committee,
Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
Website/Social Media: www.tamishacivil.com
Why are you running for Governor’s Council?
I'm running for Governor’s Council because it has the power to directly examine and combat injustice in our criminal justice system. The Council’s most important job is vetting and approving judicial nominations, a duty that I will use to ensure our justice system is filled with qualified judges who will do what they can to ensure what happened to my cousin never happens to another family. I will stand up against injustice, to make our system fairer for everyone in Massachusetts, and to be a voice for change. I was inspired to get into this work because my cousin was falsely imprisoned almost 3 decades ago, and seeing his struggles made me want to make a difference
What experience do you bring to the Governor’s Council?
I have spent decades gaining valuable experience working alongside judges, defense attorneys, clerks, assistant DA’s, and police officers. As an associate probation officer, I work to reduce recidivism and to help people who have served their time re-enter society. As a legal advocate for a domestic violence homeless shelter and a Victim Witness Advocate at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, I have spent years working to support victims of crime and guide them through complex processes.
How will you evaluate judicial nominees?
For 244 years there's never been a democratic woman of color on the council, ensuring that the judiciary reflects the diversity of society is a major consideration when evaluating judicial nominees.
Evaluating their legal qualifications and professional background of nominees is crucial.
Ensuring that nominees adhere to high ethical standards is critical. This includes reviewing their past conduct, financial disclosures, and any disciplinary actions.
Political affiliations, past statements and ideologies.
What are the main factors you consider when reviewing the Governor’s pardon recommendations?
The main factors would be the severity and nature of the crime for which the pardon is being sought, non-violent offenses may be viewed more favorably than violent crimes.
The amount of time that has passed since the offense was committed is significant. A longer period without further incidents of criminal behavior can indicate rehabilitation.
Public interest is important, the potential impact of granting the pardon on public safety and community standards is also a vital consideration.
Can the offender based on evidence be rehabilitated such as participation in educational programs, employment history, community service, and personal development, can weigh heavily when it comes to reviewing the Governor’s pardon recommendations.
What is your key criteria when selecting candidates for the parole board?
The parole board candidates should have relevant experience in criminal justice, law enforcement, social work, psychology, or related fields. Parole board candidates should understand the criminal justice system and rehabilitation. Parole board candidates should understand empathy and compassion in the line of work as a parole board member. Parole board candidates must have effective communication skills, which are essential for parole board members to interact with stakeholders, parole applicants and victims.
Name: Muriel Elaine Kramer
Occupation: Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Healthcare Consulting for those with Medicaid, Medicare, or for those who are uninsured
Elected and volunteer experience: I have twenty years of experience as an elected or appointed official in Hopkinton including two terms on the Select Board, serving as Chair for 3 of the 6 years. I have also served on the Planning Board, the Board of Appeals, as Commissioner of Trust Funds, as Deputy Town Moderator, and as Chair of the Master Plan Committee. Additional volunteer experience includes work with the Massachusetts Bail Fund, as a Religious Education provider at St Matthew Parish in Southborough, Scouting, Hopkinton Parent Teacher Organization, La Leche League International, and postcard campaigns to “Get Out the Vote” in communities of color nationwide.
Website/Social Media: www.MurielKramer.com and Muriel Kramer for Governor’s Council on Facebook
Why are you running for Governor’s Council?
I am focusing my candidacy and will focus my service on elevating the concerns of those who have been marginalized by our legal system and increasing equity and social justice in the system; including the criminal legal system, the civil legal system, family courts, workers compensation cases and more. Now more than ever, we need new voices and new priorities represented on the Governor’s Council. We need judges and Clerk Magistrates for the future that protect our existing rights including women’s healthcare and reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and everyone’s civil rights and who will invest in addressing the impacts of systemic racism, confront implicit bias, and expand options for diversion and treatment for substance use disorder in particular for those who appear before them.
We all know how important judicial appointments can be as we watch the Supreme Court lay waste to freedoms and rights we have in my lifetime fought to secure – for women, for Black, Indigenous and other People of Color, for those who identify as LGBTQ+, and more. For justice involved individuals, the work of the Governor’s Council is even more critical.
We can and must elevate judges, clerk magistrates, and parole board appointees that understand how important it is to confront and address bias, explicitly and implicitly; how important it is to provide access to treatment, diversion, and restorative justice pathways especially for Veterans, individuals with substance use disorder, those struggling with mental illness, and those who are from historically marginalized populations.
What experience do you bring to the Governor’s Council?
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works with underserved populations to expand access to all systems. We need the voices of those most affected by the justice system including in the criminal courts, family courts, civil courts and others, to be represented in the review and appointment process for judges, clerk magistrates, and parole board appointees. I will work to elevate those voices into the process. I have professional experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use disorder, mental illness, legal involvement and poverty. We need advocacy for treatment, diversion, and restorative practices to address the inequities that exist in the system.
While volunteering with the MA Bail Fund, I learned so much about the intricacies of our justice system and the ways the system works differently depending on a person’s socio economic status and demographic identity. Being held on bail ruins lives as just one example. People can lose their kids, their homes, and their jobs. They lose their ability to vigorously defend themselves as our Constitution holds as everyone’s right because they are often forced to accept plea deals to try to recover their lives. Justice shouldn’t only be available to those who can afford it.
I bring experience visioning and operationalizing needed change based in evidence-based practices and will seek to appoint individuals who are interested in improving the legal system for the future.
How will you evaluate judicial nominees?
Experience and judicial temperament are important factors that I will weigh carefully, but we also need judges for the future that represent the people they serve statewide. Judges that will protect our civil liberties as we know them and advance antiracist principles and equity in all court systems. Diversity of identity and life experience will be important to consider, along with diversity of experience with different facets of legal practice, those that are prosecutors and those that are defenders, those with experience in Diversion Courts like Mental Health Court and Veterans Court as examples, and those that are willing to advance all aspects of constructive change.
One truly key factor for me will be a candidate’s dedication to professional education in their field and also in the ways their practice intersects with other professions like substance use disorder treatment, homelessness services, or trauma informed care. Candidates that adjust their practice to accommodate research, data, and advances in evidence-base practices will be critically important in the future. We know some communities are overrepresented in the legal systems, and we will need judges that are willing to interact with advances in research and champion equitable change to correct for past inequities.
Lastly, we need judges and other appointees that look to the future, understand the people that appear before them often need supports to be successful following their interaction with the legal system, and maintain a growth mindset to build a better system for the future.
What are the main factors you consider when reviewing the Governor’s pardon recommendations?
I will endeavor to understand the circumstances of every case from multiple disciplines and perspectives, and consider:
The impacts of historical institutionalized racism; knowing that people of color and communities of color are overrepresented.
The ongoing impacts of implicit and explicit bias.
The fact that the incarcerated population ballooned 300% in the last 30 years in MA and that many of those incarcerated are struggling with disease like substance use disorder or mental illness and need supports and services.
The age and relative health of the individual(s) being considered for pardon.
The circumstances of the offense(s) and impact on others in the community.
Changes in the law that inspire broad pardons like the recent blanket pardon for misdemeanor cannabis offenses.
The advice and counsel of experts across the continuum of involved entities.
What is your key criteria when selecting candidates for the parole board?
Much like other appointees, we need to consider experience and temperament and appoint individuals that represent the people they serve statewide. Individuals that prioritize civil liberties and advance antiracist principles and equity in all proceedings and decisions. Diversity of identity and life experience will be important to consider, along with diversity of experience with different professional expertise that both qualify for the parole board and represent services and agencies adept at addressing victim impacts and adequately considering readiness for parole along with the services and supports returning citizens need to be successful when leaving a period of incarceration.
I will also consider dedication to professional education in their field and in the ways their practice intersects with other professions like substance use disorder treatment, homelessness services, or trauma informed care. We need parole board appointees that are willing to interact with advances in research and prepared to champion equitable change to correct for past inequities, working to capably bridge the gaps in multiple systems to address multiple needs when individuals are returning to their communities.
Name: Sean Murphy
Occupation: Attorney
Elected and volunteer experience:
Volunteer Youth Basketball Coach
VFW Member
Pro Bono Work for Indigent Veterans
Volunteered as the attorney of the day for Housing Court and Probate Court
Website/Social Media:
Website: www.electseanmurphy.com
Why are you running for Governor’s Council?
I am running to ensure that Judicial Nominees are qualified, impartial, fair, and unbiased.
What experience do you bring to the Governor’s Council?
As a father and former union member, I understand the struggles working-class families face every day. As a Veteran, I understand how difficult it can be to transition from the military to civilian life. As an attorney focused in litigation, I am in court in front of Judges constantly. I have seen firsthand how Judges impact the lives of Veterans and working-class families.
How will you evaluate judicial nominees?
First, Judges need to be qualified. In my opinion, the most qualified Judges are the attorneys that have substantial litigation experience. Litigators typically have a strong understanding of the law, rules of evidence, and civil and criminal procedure.
Second, Judges need to be unbiased. A Judge needs to set aside his or her own biases and base their decision on fact and law to ensure the fairest and most equitable outcome for the Parties involved.
Third, Judicial temperament is critical. A Judge needs to treat everyone with respect, regardless of their race, nationality, sexual orientation, background, or social/economic status. In my experience, people are more accepting of a judicial decision when they feel that they had an opportunity to state their case and that their position was heard.
What are the main factors you consider when reviewing the Governor’s pardon recommendations?
1. Type or severity of the crime;
2. Impact on the victim;
3. Steps the offender took in restitution;
4. Offender’s level of remorse; and
5. The amount of time that has passed since the offense.
What are your key criteria when selecting candidates for the parole board?
Like Judges, members of the parole board are very important to our legal system. I would like to see parole board candidates who are able to consider the particular circumstances surrounding the offense and consider whether the potential parolee has made progress such that they are not a risk to the community upon their release. Parole board candidates should have a keen sense of their community and the resources that are available to the individual upon release.
Name: Dave Reservitz
Occupation: Attorney
Elected and volunteer experience:
Judicial Nominating Commission, (JNC) Gov. Deval Patrick, 2011-2014
Joint Bar Committee on Judicial Appointments, (JBC) Massachusetts Bar Association, 2010-2012
President, Plymouth County Bar Association, 2007-2009
Vice President, Boys and Girls Club Brockton; 2006-2007
President, Plymouth County Public Defenders 2002-2006
Tailored for Education, Board Member, 2022-present
Website/Social Media: www.votefordave.net
Why are you running for Governor’s Council?
I have been a trial attorney for almost 30 years and I am passionate about our judicial system. I have tried cases of all types in most courts in the state and I have learned the many qualifications needed to be a good Judge.
I have never run for public office before, and I would only run for this position because I am qualified to vet other attorneys seeking judicial appointment. It is crucial that only the most qualified candidates become judges. Judges can affect the lives of people in this community in such a impactful way; whether it be a criminal matter involving liberty; a probate matter involving a Will; a Family Court matter involving child custody; A Housing Court matter involving eviction, A Superior Court action involving real estate, or an injury matter on a work site or other.
What experience do you bring to the Governor’s Council?
My general law practice has exposed me to a wide variety of legal matters. I have handled many criminal cases and civil cases as well as matters in the Housing and Probate courts and the Board of Industrial Accidents.
I was elected President of my county bar association by my peers and then to the Joint Bar Committee on Judicial Nominations (JBC) by the Massachusetts Bar Association. I was then appointed by former Gov. Deval Patrick to his Judicial Nominating Committee (JNC).
I have acquired the ability to determine what attorneys are qualified to become judges and also possess the appropriate character and temperament.
How will you evaluate judicial nominees?
I will first review any and all data from the initial vetting boards, the JNC and JBC. I will then review the candidate’s application and contact less obvious people who have had professional experience with the candidate such as opposing counsel. This is one of the best ways to get a candid view at how the candidate conducts themselves during a trial or other adversarial proceeding. I will also research and verify that they are reputable and respected members of their community.
What are the main factors you consider when reviewing the Governor’s pardon recommendations?
There are several important factors to review. I would first look at the severity of the crime vs. the effect on the victim and their family, if any. It is also relevant to consider how much of the sentence has been served and why is the Governor recommending a pardon? These reasons might include potentially mitigating factors such as age, addiction and/or mental health. They may also include their progress while incarcerated and whether the penalty was a result of minimum mandatory sentencing guidelines.
What is your key criteria when selecting candidates for the parole board?
Parole board candidates should have a more broad scope of experience than judicial candidates. Judges should be attorneys with a very technical legal knowledge and must possess a strong understanding of laws/rules to properly administer a trial and manage a courtroom. Parole board members must focus on the “post-conviction” portion which involves a thorough investigation into the convicted person’s potential entitlement to parole as well as their performance while incarcerated.
Parole board members might come from a diverse spectrum of the professional community which may include Social Workers, Phycologists or Therapists, former Probation Officers, or medical or legal professionals. The collective voice of the parole board should examine a potential parolee’s ability to reintegrate into society to lead a lawful and productive life.
Mayor's D8 Meeting Tuesday
Mayor Sisitsky continues his neighbor tour tomorrow, Tuesday August 27 in District 8. The meeting starts at 7pm in the Conference Room in Loring Arena.
The Civic Week Ahead
Monday, August 26
Tuesday, August 27
10:30am: Community Preservation Committee Review Panel Agenda
3:00pm: MRECC Operations Committee Joint Meeting with the Board of Directors Agenda
3:00pm: MRECC Board of Directors Joint Meeting with the MRECC Operations Committee Agenda
4:00pm: School Committee Teaching and Learning Subcommittee Agenda
7:00pm: Agricultural Advisory Committee Agenda
7:00pm: Traffic Commission Agenda
Wednesday, August 28
Thursday, August 29
7:00pm: Planning Board Agenda
In Closing…
Next week’s issue will be a look at all of the events, volunteer opportunities and the like in the month of September. If you have an event, fundraiser, volunteer opportunity you wish to share with The Ham’er community, please email me the details by noon on Sunday, September 1. I did this back in June and it was a huge success.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend,
Mary Kate