ACLU: Mass voters should get to know their sheriffs. Bristol County is ahead of the game.

Kevin G. Andrade 

Standard Times

Published April 14, 2022

NEW BEDFORD — Bristol County voters know the name of their sheriff,according to a report released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts; that puts them ahead of most in the state.

Released as part of the organization's new "Know Your Sheriff" campaign, the poll found that 52% of registered voters in Bristol County could correctly name their sheriff: Thomas M. Hodgson.

Statewide, only 17% were able to answer correctly when asked to name their county sheriff.

“It’s time for Massachusetts to get to know our sheriffs,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “From increasing treatment options for mental health and substance use to rejecting policies that split families apart, these elected officials can set and carry out policies that make our communities safe and just for all.

"The civil rights and civil liberties of Bay Staters are at stake in these elections.” 

The ACLU said the campaign is a non-partisan effort to educate voters on a sheriff's role in state governance and thus increase participation in sheriff's elections.

"Information is power in the hands of voters," Rose said. 

According to the organization, 500,000 Massachusetts voters went to the polls during the last sheriff's election in 2016, but did not vote for a sheriff.

Beacon Research, the company which conducted the poll between Jan. 14 and 24, surveyed 970 registered Mass. voters.

The survey also found that 65% of voters viewed mental health, drug treatment, and emotional support services as top priorities in dealing with incarcerated populations. Only 47% viewed punishment as a top priority.

Researchers added that 41% of voters statewide did not know that sheriffs are elected and only 10% responded correctly when asked how long a sheriffs term was. 

The state's 14 county-level sheriffs have six-year terms – the longest term of any state official – and manage local correctional facilities. Many of the prisoners in those facilites will either serve short sentences or are in pre-trial detention.

'No surprise' to Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson

When asked why Bristol County residents knew Hodgson's name so well, his office said it's a result of the positive impacts of his policies.

"Sheriff Hodgson is not only the longest-standing sheriff in the state with 25 years at the helm, he has implemented many programs that benefit the community and the inmates," said Jonathan Darling, spokesman for the sheriff's office in an emailed statement. "It’s no surprise that the residents of Bristol County know their Sheriff."

Bristol County for Correctional Justice, a local advocacy group, had a different take on the sheriffs' name recognition.

"The current Bristol County Sheriff is notorious for his brutality and the revolving door that is the local jail system," Rafael Pizarro, the group's spokesman, said in an emailed response. "Numerous stories in the media – not to mention the Attorney General’s report – have documented not just his abuses, but also his disregard for programs that would keep people from committing crimes in the future, which is making for a less safe community."

The report Pizarro referred to, released by the Mass. Office of the Attorney General in December 2020, found that Hodgson violated the civil rights of immigrant detainees during a violent incident at the Bristol County House of Corrections in May 2020.

The Department of Homeland Security ended its contract with the prison to hold immigrant detainees in May.

Shortly after the termination, Hodgson criticized the decision as politically motivated and threatened a "possible legal action" regarding the matter.

Darling told The Standard-Times that that legal action is "in the works."

He also said the office has focused on support programs for inmates, contrary to the BCCJ statement.

"The BCSO is committed to diversity and inclusion, and offers inmates several programs dealing with substance abuse and more options on vocational training than ever before," said Darling. "Inmates have access to a wide range or programming from anger management and substance counseling to parenting, job skills and everything in between."

The office lists close to 50 such programs – including religious ones – on its website. 

Hodgson faces an election in 2022

The 2022 election will be his first contested election since 2010.

Though Paul Heroux, Nicholas Bernier, and George McNeil, will go up against each other in the September Democratic primary, they all agree: Hodgson's notoriety comes from a focus on publicity over substance.

"It's because of two things: the length of his term and the high-profile controversies that surround him," said Paul Heroux, the current mayor of Attleboro. "The sheriff likes to go on Newsmax and Fox News a lot."

Nicholas Bernier, a Fall River-based lawyer and former prosecutor, said that it's the result of misplaced priorities.

"For far too long, Thomas Hodgson has been about politics over safety," he said. "His priority is politics and that gets you name recognition."

When asked for comment, former Somerset police chief George McNeil pointed to the sheriff's support of former President Donald Trump's positions on immigration as a factor.

"There's some obvious factors," he said. "He was a vocal supporter of President Trump."

In 2017, Hodgson garnered national headlines when he offered to send immigrant detainees to the border with Mexico to help build the former president's proposed border wall.

The sheriff made headlines again in 2019 when a public records request revealed emails with Stephen Miller, then the president's chief of staff.

In them, he told Miller that St. Julie Biliart's in Dartmouth – Hodgson's own parish – was distributing flyers in various languages informing immigrants of their legal rights and on offering assistance to people who may be undocumented.

"I thought it was appropriate to make Washington aware when these things were happening," Hodgson said at the time. "If these kinds of things are going on in churches, then we should be aware of it."

LINK

FOOTNOTE FROM LINK: 


This particular email is one of some 74 emails the sheriff sent to Miller and were obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and provided to The Standard-Times.