Primary contests big and small have been shaping up across Massachusetts – but, come Sept. 1st, one in particular will appear on ballots in all four of the state's westernmost counties, plus some of Central Mass.
From Great Barrington to Athol and Springfield to Winchendon, few districts are as big as District 8 within the Governor's Council.
The council itself is small in size, but has long played an outsized role in the state's justice system and beyond, weighing in via judge confirmations, sentence commutations and appointments of all kinds, on top of other roles.
Representing virtually all of western Massachusetts since 2022 has been North Adams resident and school committee member, Tara Jacobs.
“Over a quarter of the judiciary has come through since I've been a part of the confirmation process,” Jacobs told WAMC in a phone interview. “… to be able to witness the increase in diversity, the kind of humans that I would love to see on the bench - compassionate people, incredibly smart people, qualified people, but people who genuinely understand the struggle of the community members who come to court and can apply the law with compassion and empathy - it's been incredibly rewarding, and so, I hope to continue to do it.”
The Berkshire County Democrat is now in her fourth year on the job - one that's featured over a hundred judges confirmed, advocating for filling the western Mass. bench when vacancies stacked up last year (and the year before that) and attempts at outreach - including organizing a first-ever session at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2025.
As Jacobs tells WAMC, those efforts double as being both educational and a chance to spotlight what's often an overlooked elected body.
“I'm doing it for two reasons, always: one is to engage people in the process and build awareness and involve people - include them and their perspectives in the work that I do - and also, to learn from them what kinds of experiences they're having across our courts, what kind of struggles are happening at the community-level that I am hopeful that our nominees will be informed about and be able to be responsive to,” she said.
All of this after a 2022 primary that saw Jacobs narrowly win a four-way contest in which she was the lone, non-attorney, and later won a general election contest over Republican John Comerford of Palmer.
As she seeks re-election (following an unopposed run in 2024), one of those primary candidates has returned: Springfield City Councilor Mike Fenton, who came up 2,300 votes shy last time around.
“I think that western Massachusetts deserves someone who has the experience to appropriately vet judicial appointments, make sure that we have a strong pipeline from the local bar associations, which I have very close relationships with, to having appropriate candidates considered for judicial nomination,” the former city council president told WAMC. “… and someone who will also use the proximity that this office has to the governor to advocate more broadly for our region.”
Fenton says the primary isn't so much a case of running against Jacobs, who he says has his respect, so much as it is a case of applicants seeking a job in which voters do the hiring.
It plays into one of his main arguments - that as a partner at the firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin and an attorney who’s practiced law for 15 years, he’s the strongest candidate: one well-versed in not just the court system, but other various state boards and tasks that also appear before the Governor’s Council.
He also argues that he would be more proactive in calling for action before judge retirements add up like they did last year, leading to docket delays, personnel shortages and other issues in the region.
“We deserve a Governor’s Council that will be not just reactive in terms of appropriately screening and reviewing applicants, but one that is also proactive in terms of building pipelines for lawyers to become members of the judiciary,” he said. “Doing that requires not just being planful and keeping an eye on when retirements are going to happen.”
Jacobs, meanwhile, stresses that last year’s shortage mostly came down to a critical lack of applicants – something she and local lawmakers have waged campaigns over, going as far as to call on the governor to prioritize western Mass.-related nominations.
It worked, with Jacobs vowing to do what she can to avoid such a crisis again going forward. It’s something she’s proud of, in addition to collecting input from advocates across the area when it comes to judicial nominations.
“I ask them to send me questions - if they were in my position, what would you ask a nominee to housing court or probate and family or the other courts?” Jacobs said. “I literally have a growing list of questions that I've solicited from people who care, who are paying attention, who have had pain in the process of going to our various courts, but who also have seen judges that they think are fantastic, and their questions sort of tease out both sides of that.”
As of early June, there does not appear to be an official Republican or unenrolled candidate vying for the District 8 seat. Few members of the all-Democrat council are facing non-primary challenges, either.
A relatively quiet body, the council only recently made headlines when it bucked a parole board nomination made by Governor Maura Healey.
Jacobs was among the four members who shot down Vincent DeMore’s bid, with opposition indicating his time as a prosecutor ran against the “rehabilitative expertise” they believe was needed on the board, according to the State House News Service.
In a statement sent to western Mass. news outlets, Fenton criticized the vote, arguing that the board should have a member who’s fought for various victims in court.
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This story originally aired on Thursday, June 12, 2026.
