100 Pending Mass. Murder Cases: Governor’s Council Race

Mike Fenton is a Springfield city councilor and attorney running for Massachusetts Governor’s Council District 8. That’s the elected body that confirms judges, parole board members, and other appointments from the governor. District 8 is all of Western Mass. (Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire counties) Berkshire County currently has no Superior Court judge who lives here. District court benches are thin too. Fenton says that’s not an accident. He talks about five Superior Court vacancies at once last year, more than 100 pending homicide cases across the four western counties, and why the Berkshire DA, sheriff, and clerk of courts endorsed him over the incumbent, Tara Jacobs of North Adams. We get into: What the Governor’s Council actually does How judges get confirmed (and why some votes go no) Why local judges matter when the cases are local The difference between “bad decisions” and accountability What he’ll look for if voters put him on the council What a parole board looks like with no former prosecutor on there Democratic primary is September 1.