Progressive attorney Allison Cartwright was sworn in as clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, marking a first for the court as she became the first person of color to hold the six-figure administrative role.

Cartwright, 62, took the oath of office Wednesday at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston. The oath was administered by Chief Justice Kimberly Budd, the first Black woman to hold the role of chief justice, after a ceremony that focused heavily on the latest barrier-breaking milestone for the court.

“I now stand before you as the first black person to serve as clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County since its inception in 1693,” Cartwright said. “That’s a lot of years. I stand here very much understanding the significance of what I represent, not only to my race, but all of Suffolk County. I do understand the assignment.”

Cartwright’s remarks were preceded by those given by Mayor Michelle Wu and state Sen. Lydia Edwards. Both were key figures in boosting a public defender with no name recognition or political experience to victory over City Councilor-at-Large Erin Murphy, a moderate and antagonist of the mayor, in what unexpectedly became Boston’s hottest race this past summer — and a battle of the city’s progressive and moderate sectors.

Cartwright, who was endorsed by the progressive mayor and a majority of the City Council, defeated Murphy in the September Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the November general election. Edwards was the co-chair of her campaign and suggested that she run for the post when longtime SJC Clerk Maura Doyle announced her intention to retire.

Edwards, indirectly referencing Murphy’s lack of legal experience, said the race was about “qualifications” and the outcome proved “experience matters.”

“Welcome to a place where we proudly elect qualified black women to office,” Edwards said, making a reference to the rest of the nation and seemingly to the presidential election, which Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump.

Trump’s impending return to the presidency was also mentioned indirectly in the mayor’s remarks, which homed in on the “importance of our independent judiciary, especially now, especially today.”

“It’s not an easy time to step up, to put yourself in a line of duty when the fires are burning so intently,” Wu said.

Cartwright, a graduate of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Boston College Law School, has 32 years of legal experience. She began her career at the Committee for Public Counsel Services as a trial attorney for four years in the Roxbury office.

After a variety of other stints, including working as assistant corporation counsel for the City of Boston and owning her own law firm, Cartwright returned to the CPCS in 2019 for her most recent stint as attorney-in-charge and then managing director of the Central Region, where she managed offices in Suffolk and Norfolk counties.

Cartwright was elected to a six-year term as SJC clerk, a roughly $190,000 gig. The salary represents a raise from the approximately $150,000 she made last year.

Doyle was clerk for 28 years and the first woman to hold the position. She was present when Cartwright was sworn into her new role.

State Sen. Lydia Edwards and Suffolk SJC Clerk Allison Cartwright (Gayla Cawley/Boston Herald)