Believe in Better

My name is Muriel Kramer, and I am excited to be running for Governor’s Council in District 2. I am proudly planning to focus my candidacy and my service on elevating the concerns of those who have been marginalized by our legal system and increasing equity and social justice. Now more than ever, we need new voices and new priorities represented on the Governor’s Council.

We all know how important judicial appointments can be as we watch the Supreme Court lay waste to freedoms and rights we have in my lifetime fought to secure – for women, for Black, Indigenous and other People of Color, for those who identify as LGBTQ+, and more. For justice involved individuals, the work of the Governor’s Council is even more critical. In the last fifty years, the incarcerated population in MA has increased 309% with 62% of people behind bars being held pretrial.[i] And while progress is being made to reduce the incarcerated population in MA, much more needs to be done.

We can and must elevate judges, clerk magistrates, and parole board appointees that understand how important it is to confront and address bias, explicitly and implicitly; how important it is to provide access to treatment, diversion, and restorative justice pathways especially for Veterans, individuals with substance use disorder, those struggling with mental illness, and those who are from historically marginalized populations.

Together, we can be better.