To the editor:
I am announcing my candidacy for Governor’s Council (a.k.a. Executive Council) for the Third District of Massachusetts, which includes much of Middlesex County and parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester counties. Lincoln is at the center of the Third District.
Many Massachusetts citizens are unaware of the important—indeed, vital—work the Governor’s Council is charged with by the Massachusetts Constitution. The Council plays a seminal role in our state’s justice system and consequently in the functioning of our society. The council is the last chance the people of Massachusetts have to make sure that the best candidate for the job is picked. The council provides the “checks and balances” for the governor’s appointments to our court system. If the elected councilor does his or her job correctly, political appointments (people that simply donate to the governor) are not shooed in as a political favor.
The most critical part of the Governor’s Council is to approve, by its constitutional power of “advise and consent,” the governor’s judicial appointments to all courts (Supreme Judicial Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, District Court, Probate Court) and all adjudicatory agencies, such as the Appellate Tax Board, the Department of Industrial Accidents, and other similar agencies of the Commonwealth. In addition to judicial appointments, the council approves clerk-magistrates, public administrators, members of the Parole Board, justices of the peace, notary publics and many other gubernatorial appointments. All critical to the function of our justice system.
As is evident, this position requires a Governor’s Councilor to have expert and specific experience as well as knowledge of our justice system. More importantly, it requires the background and depth of experience of an attorney—one who has been in the trenches of the justice system for a respectable number of years. I believe that this experience is mandatory because it is the only way one is exposed to the traits and skills that constitute a good attorney who would make a good judge and will serve the people of Massachusetts competently, fairly and honestly.
What kind of a person should sit in judgment of others? That is the critical question a Governor’s Councilor must ask. After more than 25 years as a trial attorney, having practiced before almost every court and adjudicatory agency in Massachusetts and having taught law, I have the experience and background to make such judgment and advice the governor of good, fair or bad choices of proposed judicial and other appointments.
My experience stems from having dealt with dozens of judges and other various court functionaries and hundreds of attorneys and various other players in our justice system. I have represented plaintiffs and defendants and have a perspective from both sides of litigation. I know what constitutes a good attorney and a good judge. In my practice I have been before judges almost on a daily basis and I can without reservation say that no one can be a good judge with first being a good attorney.
I have the background and frontline experience acquired over the course of over 25 years of trial work to make decisions as to which candidate qualifies to by a judge and which candidate does not. I would be proud and humbled to serve the people of the Commonwealth.
It’s surprising the person who is currently representing Lincoln on the Governor’s Council is not an attorney and has held the position since 1998 primarily because people of the Third District are essentially unaware of the Council’s importance and the lack of the current councilor’s qualifications. I am hoping to change this and earn the people’s trust and vote in 2016.
Sincerely,
Peter Georgiou
126 Lexington Rd.
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