John Comerford of Palmer has announced that he has qualified for the November ballot as the Republican nominee for the 8th District seat on the Governor’s Council. The former veterans agent has no opposition in the September GOP primary.
“Two years ago or more, I discovered the (then) incumbent apparently had no opposition,” Comerford said. “I don’t think anyone should run unopposed. It bothers me when somebody is essentially given a free ride.”
The Governor’s Council approves nominations made by the governor, including lifetime appointments to judgeships and clerkships. Other nominations the council votes on include Parole Board members, Department of Industrial Accident judges and other administrative quasi-judicial positions.
The 8th District encompasses much of the four westernmost counties in the state as well as parts of Worcester County. Council terms run for two years and the position pays $36,025 yearly.
While Comerford may breeze through the Republican primary with no opponent, he will definitely have an opponent in November, facing one of three Democrats currently seeking their party’s nomination. Shortly after three-term incumbent Mary Hurley announced her intentions to step down in March, Springfield attorney Michael Fenton, lawyer Jeffrey Morneau of East Longmeadow, and North Adams School Committee member Tara Jacobs announced their candidacies.
“I said, ‘When the time comes, I’m going to run for Governor’s Council. I pretty much know the basics of the job,” Comerford, 77, said. “To this day, I know an awful lot of people don’t even know it exists. You say, ‘Governor’s Council’ and they say, ‘What’s that?’
“I want to make certain,” he continued, “that whoever the governor sends over as a nominee for the bench has been well vetted. I want to make certain the person looking to become a judge is well-suited to the position.”
Comerford said he was disturbed by the case of a Newton judge accused of aiding the escape of an undocumented immigrant from her courtroom before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could arrive. In March, the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the trial of now-suspended Judge Shelly Joseph on three obstruction of justice-related charges and one charge of obstructing a federal proceeding could move forward.
“She had an oath of office that she took,” Comerford said. “She should have stood by her oath. That prompted me to do this.”
Although running as a Republican, Comerford said he would not look at judicial appointees through a partisan lens.
“It’s not a partisan decision once I’m on the council,” he explained. “I’m not going to say, ‘You’re a Democrat, I’m not going to vote for you.’ I’m not going to say, ‘Because you’re a Republican, you’ve got my vote just for walking through the door.’ It’s not going to happen.
“Yes, I’m a Republican but I also know the difference between being impartial and being in somebody’s corner,” he continued. “If somebody came through the door who I knew, I would walk away from the vote — I would recuse myself. Once you’re a member, you have to be impartial, just like a judge has to be impartial.”
Comerford has been married to his wife, Mary, for 54 years. The couple have four grown children and five grandchildren. Comerford was born and raised in Dorchester and has lived in Palmer for 20 years.
He served in the U.S. Air Force during Vietnam, and later worked as a fraud investigator with this state’s welfare fraud bureau and the Attorney General’s Office. He is the former veterans service officer for Eastern Hampden County where, for 12 years, he assisted veterans and veterans’ families.