To the editor:
Few are those who come to public service with selfless motivation. These are the rare breed for whom the power that comes with responsibility is not intoxicating but sobering. Career public servants put the community’s well-being before their personal ambitions and spend their time protecting others; they become experts in their fields, tireless in commitment and devoted for decades.
Andrea Harrington has no experience as a prosecutor, and only a few years as a part-time public defender who tried her first case as a lawyer in 2011. The Democratic nominee for district attorney is the least qualified person to ever run, yet she is the beneficiary of help and support from those I believe ignored that critical fact. And I keep having to ask the question: Why?
Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, attempted to persuade Progressive Judith Knight to drop out of the race to advantage Harrington. Attorney General Maura Healey endorsed Harrington, stating she didn’t know Paul Caccaviello and had never worked with him. Healey diminished the stature of office of AG by making an endorsement without meeting the candidate with 30 years of prosecutorial experience in a DA’s race.
What does her gesture say to the dedicated men and women who work as prosecutors across the Commonwealth? How could Healey support an attorney qualified only for an entry-level prosecutor’s position for the highest law enforcement position in Berkshire County? Does Healey think so little of the folks of Berkshire County that she blindly recommends they vote for a politician who has already run for and lost a state Senate seat? Why does she support a candidate with no experience or record of accomplishments who routinely pads her resume, threatens non-supporters with political ruin and spreads falsehoods about her opponents?
Common among these events is a demonstrated lack of selfless motivation for public service. Healey failed to exercise due diligence before bestowing the benefit of her endorsement, making her endorsement hollow, meaningless and cynically political. In so doing, she ignored the selfless dedication to public service demonstrated by the 30-year career of DA Paul Caccaviello.
On Nov. 6, stand with me, noting that experience matters for our safety in Berkshire County, and please write in Paul Caccaviello for Berkshire district attorney.
Regina A. Hill
Adams
