001[Music] hello and welcome to the Views expressed I'm Makita Keegan and on this episode we have a very very special guest with us it's Mr Frank crims Mr crims is running for Governor's Council District 2 um welcome to wca's the Views Express Mr cmans thank you Makita it's a pleasure to be with you well let's just get into it I have a series of questions that I've been asking all the governor's Council candidates and I'm going to ask you the same set so first off who is Frank kmn uh thank you my name is Frank kmn my legal name is Francis D KMS Jr I'm married father of four children I live in stolon Massachusetts where my wife and I have raised our children we have four grandchildren I grew up in town I happen
002to go to high school at seian Brothers High School After High School I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to Harvard College after college I worked with my father's small real estate and insurance business during the day while they went to law school nights I graduated from suffk University Law School in 1981 I opened up a practice in my hometown with stolon after that I got active in the community right away I was practicing law in the general practice of law from 1981 to 1992 when I was fortunate enough to be so elected by Governor weld to be a district court judge at the stolon district court I served as a district court judge from 1992 to 2010 at which time my career had a little pivot because my wife and I were putting
003four kids through college so we needed a little more money to do that so I got out of uh public uh Service uh went back to the private practice of law had some positions in the public uh service and continued in that and to this day I am a practicing lawyer I'm the managing member and founder of a Estate Planning and elder law firm called abano elder law Solutions out of Stoten and I've been active in a a few things and I'm running for this position thank you than fantastic so now we know a little bit about who you are Mr Kens um you're running for Governor's Council I'll ask you a couple of questions about that first off for the viewers who may not be familiar what exactly is the governor's Council and why
004are you running for this position the governor's Council that was first called the executive Council in the Massachusetts constitution of 1780 was that body that was put in place by our founding filers to make sure that an elected governor did not exceed his or her Authority uh in this awesome task of putting people in charge of the third independent branch of government which as you know at the time had no equal anywhere in the world there was no other government on Earth that had three branches of government and certainly none that had an independent Branch so that was the executive Council later became known as the governor's Council as it is today where there are eight elected members from eight different districts whose main function is to act on certain positions that were carved out
005in the Constitution to give advice and consent to the elected governor in case that Governor exceeded his or her Authority excellent so why are you running for this position I'm running for this position because because the governor's council is crucial in putting the people in place that are the most important members of that third branch of government our institutions are under attack today those institutions include the court system the judicial branch of government it's important that we remember we are a government under the rule of law not the rule of men everybody needs to take their part in this rule of law and it's important for us to have people in that third branch of government the judicial branch that know that that branch of government is not supposed to be partisan it's not the
006political Branch it's not where people are supposed to get different results based upon what party a a particular party is when they come before a court and it's important to have the best people occupy those positions who want to serve the public so we maintain the confidence of the public like the founding fathers wanted that is we have a system of government where the it is operated by the consent of the Govern and the only way the public consents to those laws is to have confidence that those laws are being applied fairly so I believe in the Constitution the Massachusetts Constitution the United States Constitution and I'm running to reinforce the rule of law and our respect for that rule of law and how we do that is make sure the people understand that the
007third branch of government the judicial branch is different from the other two branches of government and that is my biggest goal that I have so Mr cin um it's interesting you know it we know that the governor's Council has been exist in in existence since the 1780s um and its intention was to do exactly what you say but lately there's been a lot of commentary and uh debate around the utility of the governor's Council um you know I think folks want to make sure that uh you know that the the judicial branch is uh functioning properly that appointments are made appropriately but many other states don't have this body and a lot of folks in the Commonwealth think that this body has outlived its use usefulness could you could you share your opinion on on
008some of that talk that's going around right now sure I respectfully disagree for two reasons number one the reason is different from the other states is we were one of the first 13 colonies so our constitution of 1780 preceded the US Constitution of 1787 so other states had that Constitution to go by but in 1780 with our constitution we we called for an executive branch an executive branch not a legislative branch body to make sure there was not excess in the awesome power of the governor like if you look at the federal government for example the president of the United States will nominate people to serve as justices on the US Supreme Court and the inferior courts as you know those ninees go before the US Senate for advice and consent if they don't get
009enough votes by the US Senate they don't take their seats we have a system where those same people go before in executive branch body that are elected by the people the eight now I I'll I'll take issue with there was a movement probably 20 something years ago by some in the Commonwealth suggesting that the governor's Council may have may have outlived its usefulness then when they drilled down they discovered it was better than they thought when they looked at what the Alternatives would be some states for example have their nominees confirmed by their state senate then in Massachusetts that would mean you'd have to go through a process with 40 people I I would point out one thing to you a fairly recent thing in the last few years for example when when uh on
010the occasion that uh Governor then Governor Baker nominated uh judge Sharon L to be a judge and at her confirmation hearing before the governor's Council I remember the testimony in support of her that was given by the clerk of the courts the elected Clerk of Courts for Plymouth County Robert cedon and Robert cedon a former rep and a former state senator gave a great defense of for the role of the governor's Council when he spoke before that same Governor's Council in support of a request for them to approve the nomination of Judge Sharon L and if you you watch that cuz it's it's can catch it on live streaming on the uh government Channel mass.gov go to Governor's Council see the hearing it's on YouTube that's a great defense of why we should have the
011governor's Council and and it was he said it better than I could say it today and I I believe in that not only for the role that the council plays for judges and clerks but the role it has for warrants for the State Treasury commutations uh advice and consent for members of the parole board and the other duties of the office which include the appointment of judges on the department of industrial accidents uh the appell tax board and Etc so you know I I think uh we've heard some interesting Arguments for and against and I think it's good that we hear we hear both both at all sides around utility of the governor's Council so um so that that is important uh information to share uh you mentioned uh a lot of the other things
012that the governor's Council does um everything from you know the advice and consent for you know judges and um the industrial accidents for you know I guess my question to you Mr Kens is what are some of your top issues on Governor's Council that you care most about um in so far as uh some of the policies that govern's council is involved in the biggest role is defined in the Constitution and that's to give advice and consent to the governor when a governor is elected he or she may form their own judicial nominating committee but that judicial nominating committee does not vet prospective judges the way that the governor's Council does because first of all it's not public it's not open to the public and you don't get the same process the governor's council is
013public people have a right to a hearing and guess what after that hearing the person that gets appointed is going to serve longer than that Governor there's only one time you get a chance to really test the medal of who that person is who is going to be a prospective judge or Clerk and that's at the hearing before the governor's councel and if you watch some of those hearings you would might walk away and form an opinion that they could use a little more vetting at those processes in those hearings to make sure we have the best people to serve in those capacities so my policy that I'm concerned about is having the best judges and clerks to occupy those very important positions in the court because the judges and the clerks magistrate are the
014most important people in the court system and it is that court system where most people form their opinion about supporting the justice system the rule of law that we have the third branch of government that we put these people in is not supposed to be a political branch and when people think it's a political Branch they lose confidence in that system I am not running to change a bunch of laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts if I wanted to do that I would run for a state representative a state senate or something like that I'm offering myself as somebody who has been a judge knows what it takes to be a good judge has been in the system have been a a member of the bar since 1981 uh for almost 43 years I've been
015I've been in courts where I was a first Justice at stolon district court for nine years I was a uh acting first Justice at the Fall River Court I know the differences between the courts I have represented clients in the different courts and I know the difference between the type of Judge it takes to be a good juvenile court judge as opposed to a district court judge as opposed to a superior court judge probating family court judge land court judge appell judge and so on there are different competencies you certainly certain things you need for all all of those positions you need someone dedicated to public service but you need different competencies for those different type of Courts and the governor's Council is a forum where you have a chance to see what a particular
016nominee has done that is a good predictor of how he or she will be in the future sitting in the role that they are nominated for the Governor's Council has the opportunity to do that the judicial nominating committee does not have the the opportunity to do that it's a different position Jud IAL nominating committee takes a big pool and from that pool they select a certain number to offer up to the governor so he or she can can review those candidates and ultimately decide who to nominate for a particular position the governor's Council has a completely different role each counselor represents their district and gives their District members the public a chance to weigh in on the particular person being nominated couple of followup questions for you um so uh just a circle back and
017you you listed off your qualifications too and that was like one of my questions that I wanted to dig into so we'll talk more about your your qualifications for the position in a little bit but before we do that I have two follow-up questions for you the first follow question I have for you is that um you know you've stated uh many times that you want to make sure that the best judges and the best clerk M magistrates are selected and you know I think you you did uh let us know that you know govern's Council uh vetting process is public uh so folks can see those folks uh while they're evaluated but in your opinion what what makes a good judge generally or a good clerk magistrate somebody who has shown in their career
018in their history that they are dedicated to public service and they have shown that in the communities that they come from from all the diverse backgrounds and communities that they come from people have an opportunity to excel in their career but also show what type of person they have so we can have a gauge on not only their competency but their temperament and the ability to deal with the public and reinforce the confidence that the public has in the result that uh people have that will be dealing with them in the future that's how you do it you don't just say that somebody you know went to this school or that school or someone won some award somewhere that type of thing we need people that are going to serve the public on average in
019the era that I was at judges that were appointed and I went through the same process serve for at least 15 years so their tenure exceeds the time of office that the governor will serve so you have to make sure that you have the best people to do that and you have to make sure the people that occupy the positions of clerk's magistrate are held to that same regard because those are very important positions most people in the Commonwealth will have their first interaction in the court with someone for example on the district court that will certainly have more uh cases that the public will be dealing with than the interactions with the land court that type of thing so there are there are different competencies you need and the governor's Council has the time
020in the process to check that out to vet that out and all you have to do is check out the hearings they're they're on they're on live stream TV go to mass.gov Governor's councel check out the hearings and you'll see what I mean so it's not just competency but it's also temperament a combination of of okay so so and I understand that those are the standards that you are would adhere to if you were on governance Council so the next followup question I have is uh for a lot of folks though um when you it is a public process uh for for for for these appointments but uh there are folks who have been monitoring this public process and they push back and they say that in past years the governance Council has been nothing
021more than a rubber stamp uh for the governor um for these appointments what what do you say about those concerns and how would you how would you uh how would you address those concerns if you were elected um every case just like in a courtroom is Case by case when somebody nominates somebody it's that individual case and so to the extent that in the past there have been people that have gone to the hearing process and someone doesn't ask the question or whatever even if that particular counselor knows something about the background that the particular nominee in all likelihood would be a great uh candidate and a great judge or clerk they owe it to the public to say that at a hearing and say how they for have formed that opinion so the public
022will have confidence in that so I would address any nominee the same way I I worked on every case that was in front of me as a judge I handled tens of thousands of matters and made tens of thousands of decisions in a career in the court that uh lasted 17 and a half years and on every one of them the most important case I ever had was the one right in front of me that's that's the most important case and when you're a if you're fortunate enough to sit on the governor's Council to represent District to the most important case I will have is the one that's in front of me and you do it that way and that's how you have to do it and you do that over time and that's how
023a particular counselor one gets confidence with people in their district and then you have to be somebody that can interact with your other counselors you have to have relationships with the other counselors and over time there can be a culture on the council we're going to raise the bar a bit we're going to expect more of the nominees and the hearings will reflect that and the public will get that and that's how you get confidence in that third independent branch of government the judicial branch so people will know it's different from the other two branches of government you have throughout our conversation talked about your background and your qualifications but I would like you to pull out um perhaps a few of the primary reasons why you think you are qualified to serve on the
024governor's Council okay by way of background first I'm a I'm an attorney I found that a law firm I was appointed by Governor weld at a pretty early age I served for 17 and and a half years I'm sorry you you you said you were you were pointing at an early age do you want to share that early age yeah 36 36 I served for 17 and a half years while a judge I served as a first Justice I served on the appell division of the district court I had a lot of assign assignments where uh for example when you're first Justice you have to deal as you the head administrative person in the courthouse and you're the trial court representative on HR issues in the courthouse you deal with the unions you have different
025constituencies there I had the attorneys of course but the attorneys are defense attorneys and members of the staff of the elected district attorney we have the clerks we have separate unions for the clerks separate unions for probation department separate unions for the court offices most cour houses are in County buildings where you're dealing with County Commissioners you have to know how to get along in those different capacities I showed I knew how to deal with people and get the job done I I've served in my town as an elected member of the board of Selectmen back then you called a selectman now they call it a select board I after that I was the elected Town moderator for eight terms before I became a judge uh governor governor after I be uh after I left
026the bench I was the appointed uh Town manager in the town of stoton for two years I was appointed as a Town Administrator in the town of Avon for four years I've practiced law the whole time Governor Baker in 2002 appointed me as the chairman of the state ballot law commission I served as the chairman of the state ballot law commission until 20 24 this year where I gave that up so I could run for this spot I have been in the game I have been in the court system I have been a judge I know what it's like to be a judge I know what it's like to be in different courts I've been in courts all over the Commonwealth I know what it takes I know how to do that job I'm qualified
027for that job that that's why I'm running for it I running for it because our institutions are under attack the world my grandkids happen to be growing up in is a whole lot different world than the world I grew up in and I want to do my part to make sure that we emphasize the rule of law uh teach people what the Constitution's all about what the whole point of it is and show that by example by the decisions we make in court Mr kimmons I can't think of a better way to leave this but before we end this evening um how can people get in touch with your campaign well the amazing Dewey has me all in this high-tech world now so we have a website www. elect.com we have a Facebook page we
028even have a QR code I thought it was an IQ test at first but it's a QR code that get you there and we have those type of things that uh you know elect.com will get you on to the the website we we're on Facebook where um you know uh I don't think anyone has a problem getting in touch with me the office the campaign office is that um in the same building I have my Law Office in that's in ston 247 Washington Street um 020 02072 um so people can get in touch with me by email by snail mail by by the computer and that type of thing and you know I'd love to respond to anyone who has a request for any information I can share with them we have a we've been
029working all over the 37 communities uh that comprise District 2 we have a function coming up uh a week from uh Wednesday where we get a chance to uh you know meet some people and also do the worst part of campaigns which is try to raise some money that type of thing but I've been working every day in those 37 communities I'm happy to be in uh Ashlin via this process with you uh Makita and I've been to Ashlin already um several times working on the campaign and I'll be there again but uh we're working hard and I hope to earn the support of the voters in District 2 thank you very much Mr kimmons thank you so much for joining us on the views expressed uh remember that election day is when's Election Day
030well the primary day is the day after Labor Day which is September 3rd and then Election Day November 5th so it's right around the corner right so it's right around the corner so make sure that you view all of our candidates in our series but thank you for watching and listening to this episode of The Views Express Mr crims thank you very much for coming by and speaking with us this evening and uh thank again we'll see you again soon here on the views Express on waca TV for everyone at the station thanks for tuning in thanks Makita my pleasure thank you thank you a [Music]