Watertown News asked the candidates for District 3 Governor’s Councilor about their campaign and about themselves. Incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney provided the following responses:
Why did you decide to run (for reelection) for the District 3 Governor’s Council seat?
I ran for Governor’s council after seeing my friend beg a judge on eight occasions to keep her abusive boyfriend in jail. The judge told her you have wasted my time and wasted the court’s time. A week later, my friend was murdered by her abusive boyfriend. I vowed to then be the Councillor who fights for justice for you and your families. I fought for reform, and I succeeded. I have spearheaded many reforms to make the process more transparent, to remove politics from the judicial nomination process, and to take the corrupting influence of political donations out of the process, giving you and your family a better chance for justice.
What is the most important duty of members of the Governor’s Council?
The most important role of the Governor’s Council is to decide whether to approve the Governor’s nominations to the judiciary and to the Parole Board as well as commutations and pardons.
I am especially proud to have voted for many historic firsts that reshaped our Supreme Judicial Court – to reflect the people of Massachusetts. The first black male Chief Justice, the first Jewish Chief Justice, a man- the first black woman Chief Justice, the first openly LGBT Justice-a
woman – first black woman Justice and first Asian Justice – a woman.
We cannot go back to the bad days before my reforms when decisions were made behind closed doors – like when a judicial nominee did not disclose a family member was on the Governor’s Council or when nominees could donate to the Councillors up until the moment of their
hearing.
Because of Governor Healey, I have never been more enthusiastic to serve you. Finally, we have a governor who is not afraid to use her power for pardons and commutations to right wrongs and free people who do not belong in prison. There are inmates who have been victims of racial prejudice during their trial or sentencing. I want to continue to advocate on behalf of prisoners who deserve to be released -and for pardons. SEIU/NAGE endorsed me, and in their endorsement, they said; “Councilor Devaney has long-supported NAGE and its members as a member of the Governor’s Council and has been a strong ally to the labor movement in Mass and
working families across the Commonwealth.”
Tell people about experience you believe will be an asset as a member of the Governor’s Council.
I have been a Governor’s Councillor for 25 years and have interviewed, investigated and vetted over 1000 judicial nominees, members of the Parole Board, Tax Appellate Board and Industrial Accidents Board. In 25 years, I’ve been absent once – when my husband died. I am not a lawyer, and I bring this important perspective to the office—it’s an advantage. Lawyers on the Council have conflicts of interest as they appear before judges they vote on. And although Councillors may not take donations from nominees, candidates for Council. I have introduced many reforms to the process and have taken a number of controversial positions as I do what I think is right, rather than what is popular. I successfully stopped judicial nominees from donating to governor’s councilors, the governor, and the Lt. Governor right up until their hearing. My work resulted in an executive order banning this corrupt practice. I fought successfully to live stream Governor’s Council hearings so the public could be informed. My extensive reform efforts have made the judiciary better, less biased, and more qualified, giving you a better chance for justice. I received support in this regard from the ACLU, Mass PIRG and other progressive organizations. I am proud to fight against racial, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination in our court. Even though I was inspired by the court’s failure resulting in my friend’s murder I remain compassionate about the treatment of criminal offenders. I continue to advocate for commutations working with our supportive governor. The Parole Board’s composition had been in violation of State law and consisted of only law enforcement officers and prosecutors who weren’t giving people a second chance even when it was deserved. I successfully worked to bring the Parole Board into compliance. Now the parole board includes a social worker, forensic psychologist, and a substance abuse expert. The quality of its decisions regarding re-entry has vastly improved. I visit prisons, meeting with inmates who have been wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced. My work has increased justice for everyone from every walk of life.
What changes would you like to see to how the Governor’s Council operates?
I am working on three reforms right now:
1. Making the Governor’s Council subject to the Open Meeting Law so that all of their deliberations will occur in public rather than in secret. This is a matter for the legislature, but the Governor is supportive.
2. Expanding the Governor’s Executive Order to also prohibit political donations from judicial applicants’ spouses as well as from judicial applicants and their spouses to candidates for Governor’s Council, Lt. Governor and Governor. I think this practice is wrong and that’s why I spearheaded reforms more than 20 years ago prohibiting such donations from being received by Governor’s Councillors. It’s a form of corruption that must be shunned. I will collaborate with the Governor on this.
3. Requiring the Judicial Nominating Commission to disclose all applications from nominees for a judicial position, so that we make sure that whoever the Governor nominates is the best candidate for the position when compared to the pool of applicants. Right now, the process is blind and the other applicants’ qualifications are not disclosed to us. I will work with the Governor on this.
5) Who has endorsed you in this election?
See partial list of endorsements below:
Elected Officials: Congressman Stephen Lynch; Frank Bellotti; former Lt Governor and Attorney General; Peter Koutoujian, Middlesex County Sheriff; Oliver Cipollini, former Governor’s Councillor, First District; Daniel Conley, former Suffolk County District Attorney; Robert Durand, former State Senator; Donald Landers, Marlborough City Councilor; George Dixon, Chelmsford Select Board; John McLaughlin, President of the Waltham City Council. Past Opponents: Ginny Allen, Frank Talty, Leonard Golder. Unions: Massachusetts Professional Firefighters, Boston Carmen’s Union, Local 159, SEIU/NAGE-National Association of Government Employees, Northern New England Laborers District Council AFL-CIO. Democratic Leaders: Phil Johnston, former Chair of the Massachusetts State Democratic Party; and State Representative Mel Poindexter, member of the Democrat National Committee.
What is something that people may not know about you? (i.e. hobbies, interests, etc.)
People may not know that I was born, grew up and married with a name that my father made up— Peters.
My father was a young, legal Italian immigrant who wanted to live, work, and support himself in Watertown. In those days, there were no anti-discrimination laws. Watertown would not allow Italians to work in the private or public sector. My father went to court and changed his Italian last name from Petitto to a non-Italian name — Peters. When my mother married, she was Peters as well. When I got my husband a coat of arms from Ireland, I decided — with my husband’s support — to get my father’s birth name back as my middle name. After I went to court, I went out to the car and cried — hoping my Dad would know. (He died in 1965.) When my Dad married my mother, an Italian immigrant, he did not allow Italian to be spoken in our home — when the children came along as well. He did not want us to be made fun of as he was.
People may not know that at the time I was the youngest elected town meeting member and supported the wonderful John Ryan selectman who had a dream to have our own municipal-owned skating arena, and he worked to make it come true. People may not know — I began college as a full-time student while I had four young children.