A longstanding member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council is under criticism for an unintentionally unmuted comment he made during a virtual hearing last week of Connor Barusch, the openly transgender public defender nominated by Governor Maura Healey for a seat on the Boston Municipal Court. Despite the comment, which the councilor says has been taken out of context, the councilor says he will vote for Barusch’s appointment.
Reports the Boston Globe:
In an apparent hot mic moment, an official on the state council responsible for vetting Massachusetts judicial candidates said, “It’s all about the .01 percent” while an openly transgender nominee appeared before him and the rest of the panel.
Joseph Ferreira, a six-term member of the Governor’s Council, said his comments on Wednesday were not about Connor Barusch, a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services nominated by Governor Maura Healey for a spot on the Boston Municipal Court bench.
The comments, however, drew criticism from a leader at CPCS and the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, whose board members said they were stunned by remarks they called “hurtful” and said“suggested that Attorney Barusch’s nomination was based entirely on his gender.”
Ferreira, who joined Wednesday’s hearing virtually, unintentionally had his microphone unmuted while Barusch testified before the council. As Ferreira’s name flashed on the live feed of the hearing, the councilor could be heard saying, “would never happen with Charlie Baker,” an apparent reference to the former Republican governor who appointed more than half of the state’s judicial bench before leaving office in 2023.
Moments later, Ferreira added: “It’s all about the .01 percent.” It wasn’t clear whether Barusch or others in the room heard what Ferreira said. Barusch continued his testimony. Another member of the council then apologized for the interruptions and said officials were trying to mute those “who are participating virtually.”
Ferreira did not otherwise speak during Barusch’s hearing.
Reached later by phone, Ferreira said his comments were not about Barusch. But he declined to provide any further context or explanation for his remarks, other than to say he was speaking to someone else and believed his microphone was muted.
“I was speaking about different things. I’m not going to elaborate any further,” the Swansea Democrat told the Globe. “It was a private conversation between me and someone else in the room, about things in general. I don’t recall the context, but it wasn’t about the nominee.”
Ferreira, who was first elected to the council in 2014, said he does not take nominees’ gender or gender identity into account when weighing a nomination. He said he also intends to vote in favor of Barusch, saying that while he’s “very young” — Barusch turns 40 on Friday — he has handled homicide and other felony cases and has a “great résumé.”
“I have many friends who are gay, lesbian. I have three daughters, two of them that go to a lot of rallies on behalf of transgender, gay, lesbian people,” said Ferreira, an attorney and former police chief in Somerset. “I don’t really care who’s born with what or what anatomical parts as long as they’re good people and do a good job on the bench.”
Barusch, who identifies as he or they, would be the first openly transgender judge on the Massachusetts bench if approved by the entire eight-member Governor’s Council, according to the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association. About 0.9 percent of Massachusetts residents identify as transgender, according to a state survey published in 2023, and only about 0.5 percent of all US residents identify as transgender, according to a 2022 Williams Institute report.
Read the complete Boston Globe story here.
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