Progressive Vs. Moderate: Suffolk County Clerk Race Heats Up In Democratic Primary‌

Allison Cartwright (D) and Erin Murphy (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Suffolk County clerk of supreme judicial court on September 3, 2024. Incumbent Maura Doyle (D), who was appointed in 1996, is not running for re-election.

The Boston Herald’s Gayla Cawley wrote that the race “is shaping up to be a battle of the more progressive contingent for Cartwright and the more moderate sector for Murphy.” U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu, and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell (D) endorsed Cartwright. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), former Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn, and Boston City Councilor Edward Flynn endorsed Murphy.

According to the official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the “Clerk’s Office for the County of Suffolk is primarily responsible for the single justice caseload of the Supreme Judicial Court, administrative and disciplinary matters filed by the Board of Bar Overseers affecting members of the bar, and matters relating to Bar Admission and the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

The Boston Globe’s Niki Griswold wrote, “Much of the campaign has focused on the debate over what credentials qualify a candidate for the job.” According to Griswold, “As an elected position, there are no specific, formal eligibility requirements for the role beyond the basic requirements for anyone running for public office.”

Cartwright is the managing director of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. She previously worked as an attorney and a public defender. Cartwright said her experience has prepared her for the office: “I have tried cases in District Court, Superior Court, Probate and Family Court, Juvenile Court. This is our state’s highest court and having that legal background, that legal training, only ensures that [I] can do a stellar job.”

Murphy was first elected as one of the four at-large representatives on the Boston City Council in 2021. From 1997 to 2021, Murphy worked as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools. Murphy said, “When you look at what the job requires, it 100 percent is management and record keeping. You’re the keeper of the records, something I’ve done my whole life.”

Cartwright said she is running to “build on her thirty years of experience in the legal profession, serve her community, and serve our state’s highest court.” Cartwright said she would work to ensure that “our state’s highest court is run effectively and efficiently” and “is open and accessible.” Additionally, she said she would work to “have a more diverse range of voices taken into account in decision making, but also that we see more diversity throughout our court system.”

Murphy said she is running because “the people of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop deserve an elected representative who will take an unwavering approach to ensuring that the court system’s caseload is managed responsibly, that we uphold matters relating to Bar Admission and the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts effectively, and that the court handle interactions with state boards and agencies in a manner that effectuates the competent, productive operation of the people’s government.”

Suffolk County is also holding elections for clerk of courts civil business, clerk of courts criminal business, register of deeds, and register of probate. 

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