Governor Maura Healey hit an unexpected snag this week when the Massachusetts Governor’s Council narrowly voted 4-3 to reject her pick for the state Parole Board, Vincent DeMore. The rare public rebuke leaves a seat open on the seven-member panel and instantly revives long-running fights over how parole in Massachusetts should weigh public safety, victims’ voices and rehabilitation.
Councilors Tara Jacobs, Paul DePalo, Christopher Iannella and Mara Dolan voted against DeMore, while Joseph Ferreira, Tamisha Civil and Terrence Kennedy backed him. Healey had taken the unusual step of making a personal pitch for her nominee, sending a letter urging confirmation and arguing that DeMore’s background as a prosecutor and representative for crime victims would strengthen the board, according to WBUR.
DeMore’s résumé includes years in the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, a later turn in private practice and service as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve. Healey’s office highlighted his work with crime victims and extensive courtroom experience as reasons to add a prosecutorial perspective to the Parole Board, according to the governor’s office. His nomination drew both backing and criticism at a hearing earlier this spring.
Why some councilors pushed back
Councilors who opposed DeMore argued that another former prosecutor on the Parole Board would tilt the panel toward law enforcement at a time when many advocates are calling for more expertise in mental health, substance use and reentry. Testimony at the hearing and council debate pointed to the board’s current mix of backgrounds, including psychology, reentry work and probation, and warned that adding DeMore could shift that balance, as reported by The Boston Globe…