Cartwright for SJC Clerk

Every campaign is essentially the same thing: A long arduous intense job interview. Voters will choose who they want to hire or fire. With Clerk Maura Doyle’s announcement that she is stepping down, voters are tasked with hiring a new Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC).  Two candidates are vying for the job. One, an at-large City Councilor of Boston, Erin Murphy, and the other a public attorney with 32 years of legal experience, Allison Cartwright.

The position for so many is an enigma. At its basic level the job is the bridge between the public and the SJC. The Clerk makes the court more accessible. Clerk Doyle recently did that by making all the decisions from the single justice session available online. The Clerk admits new attorneys to the bar allowing them to practice in Massachusetts. The Clerk also removes attorneys who have violated ethical rules.  Finally, the Clerk manages and coordinates hearings on emergency motions.  A recent example is the Karen Read trial. The trial was paused for the single justice to weigh the First Amendment rights of protestors and the protection of witnesses.

To be clear, you do not have to be an attorney to run for this office. However, Maura Doyle, our current Clerk, is an attorney and had 20 years of trial experience before becoming the Clerk.  As a side note, when Clerk Doyle was first appointed to replace a retiring Clerk, the Court had to hire a replacement.  When the SJC got to choose, the Court chose an attorney.

But the voters of Suffolk County get to choose who the Clerk will be.

Erin Murphy often touts her experience of teaching 4-year-olds as part of the experience she will bring to the table. However, she claims it is her role as a politician that has provided her with the most relevant experience.

Allison Cartwright, an attorney, currently manages the public defenders office for Suffolk County and Norfolk County. Allison has been a public defender or defense attorney for all of her career. She has chosen a professional career that at its core is about accessing justice in the courts.  No, Allison has never run for office before. But for many people, including myself, that is a breath of fresh air.  The Courts are already too political.  Do we really want to elect a politician with no legal experience as our Clerk?

Allison not being a politician however has not stopped her from getting more endorsements than Erin.  Allison’s qualifications have earned her support from Mayor Michelle Wu, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and the state’s top lawyer, Attorney General Andrea Campbell.  Allison has more City Council endorsements from Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea than Erin. Allison has amassed this support all while working a full time job and raising her son. She has also been endorsed by unions such as AFSCME 93 and the United Auto Workers.  Despite her opponent’s experience as a teacher, the Boston Teachers Union endorsed Allison. Also 7 of the 13 current Boston City Councilors have endorsed Allison over their colleague. The number of state representatives, state senators is too many for this letter. To find them all you can go to www.cartwrightforclerk.org.

Many of the people met Allison for the first time but only need one conversation to know she is more than qualified for the position.  She already wants to make the SJC more accessible and transparent by pushing for language access on the website and hoping to be a Clerk of the people by doing presentations in high schools and local libraries about the SJC and the legal process. Finally, when she is clerk she wants to make sure everyday people can access information about SJC cases on their phones by creating an app. Again, Allison wants to meet people where they are and bring the Court to the people.

On Sept. 3, 2024,  let’s hope Suffolk County hires the professional and not the politician. Vote for Allison Cartwright.

Sen Lydia Edwards, Third Suffolk District

Offshore wind

The article on the call for Nantucket’s offshore wind moratorium misses the big picture — our pressing need to combat climate change. The turbine blade failure at Vineyard Wind was highly unfortunate, but hardly justifies halting these critical projects. The short-sighted and reactionary approach of certain organizations funded by the fossil fuel industry works to disrupt progress and the steady transition needed to renewable energy.

Turbine mishaps are challenging setbacks, not dealbreakers. How can we ignore the devastating consequences of sticking to fossil fuels — oil spills, extreme weather events (including the hottest summer on record) and rising sea levels that will swallow coastal communities. Instead, let’s understand the blade failure and how to mitigate risks, while demanding better and more transparent communication.  Clean energy isn’t the enemy — inaction on climate change is.

Meg Clough

Belmont

Bike & bus lanes

Thank you, Joe Battenfeld, for pointing out the absolute absurdity of eliminating car lanes for bike and bus lanes. Last time I checked, Boston is a fraction of 1% of the world’s population. How eliminating cars from Boston’s streets will be a net asset is totally absurd.  Whenever I trek into Boston, I ALWAYS see bikers running red lights and stop signs, oftentimes while they are looking at their phones versus the streets.  And make note that I ALWAYS drive in the bike/bus only lane on North Washington Street, as it is the only way that I can secure a parking spot there, and the same is true in many other areas of Boston.  In summation, keep Boston as it was for decades, versus ruining it for no good reason.

Tony Siciliano

Framingham

Political rhetoric

After the failed assassination of Donald John Trump both President Joe Biden and Trump mentioned going forward to tone down the rhetoric between the candidates. Well, that lasted two weeks. Enough of this name calling between Kamala Harris and Trump, start telling the voters why we should vote for you and not why we shouldn’t vote for the other candidate.

Tony Meschini

Scituate