If you’ve been waiting for more than two decades for the chance to vote for one of the most obscure political offices in the state, this is your year.
For the first time since 2000 voters will have a choice in who becomes the Essex County clerk of courts. On Sept. 3, incumbent Thomas Driscoll and challenger James Doherty will meet in the Democratic primary.
The winner will advance to the Nov. 5 final election against unenrolled candidate Todd Angilly and independent candidate Doris Rodriguez.
The clerk of courts is the “keeper of the records and recorder of fact” for all matters before the Superior Court in Essex County, and is responsible for evidence retention, court sessions management and holding money for bails in criminal cases and escrows in civil matters.
Superior Court handles all major felonies as well as civil cases seeking damages over $50,000. There are three superior courts in Essex County, in Salem, Lawrence and Newburyport. The clerk of courts position has a salary of $174,532.
Driscoll and Doherty are both lawyers. Driscoll, who lives in Swampscott, has held the position for 24 years, since he beat out six other candidates in 2000. The term of office is for six years, and he has not faced an opponent in the three elections since then.
Driscoll, 65, said he’s running for reelection because he still loves the job and has the experience to do it well. He noted that Essex County is one of the few counties in the state with multiple superior court locations.
Asked about the lack of competition for the job in past elections, Driscoll said, “People have obviously been comfortable with the job I’m doing. It’s the people’s seat, not mine. They’ve had plenty of opportunity to run against me in the past.”
He said he’s served through many changes to the court, including the increase in remote hearings since the pandemic. He speaks to civic groups and high school students to “advocate for court integrity and get people educated and involved in the judicial system.”
Driscoll has been endorsed by several local officials, which he said is an indication that he’s doing the job well.
“They know the job I do,” he said. “They don’t get complaints about me.”
Doherty, who lives in Salem, said few people know about the role of the clerk of courts and said it should not be an elected position. But since it is, he wants to give people a choice. If he wins, he said he would advocate for the state Legislature to change it to an appointed position “just like judges or clerk magistrates.
“By being an elected position it in essence presents a barrier for people who are qualified for this job to be considered for it unless they have the time, money and resources to run for political office,” he said. “Those positions are part of the court and they really shouldn’t be elected because they really have nothing to do with the political process.”
Doherty was elected to the board of aldermen (now City Council) at the age of 24 in Beverly, where he grew up. He was elected four times as a delegate to the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention and served as treasurer for the organizing committee of the Democratic National Convention when it came to Boston in 2004.
Doherty said he later struggled with addiction and mental health issues. He was arrested twice, including in 2014 for threatening two Beverly police officers. In both cases the charges were dismissed after probation.
He is now in his seventh year of recovery. He has worked as a recovery coach in hospital emergency rooms and for a residential treatment facility operated by former NBA player Chris Herren. Doherty now works as an assistant clerk magistrate at Boston Municipal Court.
Doherty said his experience in recovery has helped him develop empathy for people who end up in court, many of whom suffer from addiction and mental health problems.
“It was never my grand design that I would at one point in my life destroy my career, my family, my health, my relationships, any amount of self-respect that I had, or almost even my life,” he said.
“But through my efforts that I make in recovery I think I’m at a point in my life where I really have something to offer.”
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
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Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
