Life, work experience propel Civil into political arena

Tamisha Civil is running for the Governor’s Council in District 2.

Tamisha Civil, an associate probation officer for Stoughton District Court, is the Democratic candidate running for Governor’s Council District 2 in the November 5 general election following her victory in the primary earlier this month. District 2 comprises more than 30 towns and cities in Massachusetts, including Canton.

In her role as a probation officer, Civil works with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police officers, and court magistrates. When a judge gives a defendant probation, Civil works with that person. “I help people reenter into society,” she said.

Civil makes sure that those on probation receive mental health and substance abuse treatment as needed, and attend a batterers’ program if warranted. She monitors their progress in their community in order to stop them before they commit another offense. If a defendant violates their probation conditions, Civil is tasked with bringing the case back to the judge.

Both her career path and her decision to enter politics were influenced in part by what happened to a member of her family. “My cousin was incarcerated for 27 years for a crime he did not commit,” she said. “He was exonerated for all of his charges in 2021 in the city of Boston.”

Her cousin had been charged with murder, and because of that experience, Civil is committed to working to overcome injustices and misrepresentations that people face, which can ultimately lead to someone being incarcerated unfairly.

Civil has always been interested in criminal justice and originally wanted to be a police officer. She has a master’s degree in criminal justice and leadership from Northeastern University and started her career working for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in the Major Felony Unit as a victim witness advocate. “I helped victims navigate the complexities of the criminal justice system,” she said. “I would educate victims on the process of the case and meet with them, to prepare with them with police officers and detectives on the case about what happened.”

Getting involved in politics was not something Civil saw herself doing, although she was very involved with advocacy work in the community. “I truly believe in order to make a great impact on a higher level,” she said, “being in politics is where you can actually be at tables where decisions are being made, where you can be a part of, and where your voice can be heard, so that the community that you’re looking to serve are able to have someone advocating on their behalf.”

Civil’s civic experience includes serving as a Stoughton town meeting representative, a commissioner for the Eastern Regional Commission on the Status of Women, a member of Canton Residents for a Sustainable, Equitable Future, and a board member of the Stoughton Equal Opportunity Committee.

Throughout her 10 years as a probation officer, Civil has worked with the Veterans Court, Mental Health Court, Drug Court, and Juvenile Court. She was able to refer veterans to Veterans Court so that their records could be preserved, allowing them to get the resources that they need.

The Governor’s Council is an eight-person board tasked with approving gubernatorial appointments of judges and parole board members, as well as pardons and commutations. The council meets weekly to record advice and consent on warrants for the state treasury, pardons and commutations, and gubernatorial appointments, such as judges, clerk-magistrates, public administrators, members of the Parole Board, Appellate Tax Board, Industrial Accident Board and Industrial Accident Reviewing Board, notaries, and justices of the peace.

Civil said that a number of people believe that members of the council should be attorneys, but she believes that people with lengthy work experience in the courts as well as education are strong candidates as well. “We need people with different perspective like mine who have lived experience, professional experience, and education,” she said. “And it’s important that we have someone like myself with the experience working with judges, that has been working for more than a decade in the trial court alongside judges, and being a voice for those who do not have a voice. After what happened to my cousin, I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen to any other family in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, especially in District 2.”

She also hopes to be a voice of change and to open the door for representation for everyone. “There’s never been a woman of color on the council for 244 years, in its entirety,” she said.

Restoring people’s trust in the judicial system is a goal of Civil’s. “I know our system is broken and given the opportunity that I have, I want to make sure that we have trust in our judicial system,” she said. “We have to do something in order to protect the next generation to continue the work that is being done now.”

Civil said that her long-term goal is to focus on the role of a Governor’s Council member to make sure that there is representation among the judges that are nominated, that the judges are pro-choice, and that they respect and understand the freedom of reproductive rights.

Civil was born here; her parents are from Haiti and moved to the United States to live the American dream. She feels very strongly that recent disparaging comments about Haitian immigrants and Haitian people from former President Donald Trump are both dividing the country and local communities and putting fear in people’s hearts.

“It’s distasteful and it’s hurtful and it has to stop,” she said. “This country was built on the backs of immigrants. We all come from different countries. My parents worked two jobs to provide me with the best education and the best opportunity to place me in positions where I can advocate for others the way people advocated for them. The Haitian people are very strong and resilient. They are hardworking people. As long as they have the resources and access and opportunity, they will do the job. It’s important that people are aware of the history of Haiti.”

Following the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804, Haiti became the second independent country in the Americas after the United States, and the first to be founded by former slaves.

Civil has received endorsements from U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Governor’s Council Representatives Tara Jacobs and Eileen Duff, and Indivisible Canton, as well as other politicians and organizations.

There is a birthday fundraiser for Civil planned for September 29 from 2-6 p.m. at Juanita’s Steak House at 577 Washington Street in Stoughton.

For more information, go to tamishacivil.com.

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