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Small potatoes or a sign of a larger problem? Candidate running for state court job a no-show in small claims court after allegedly stiffing her credit card company
That would be Allison S. Cartwright, a veteran attorney who helps run the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state program that provides legal representation for penniless criminal defendants.
Cartwright has won the backing of a powerful coalition of uber progressive pols in her bid to become clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
The Globe recently endorsed Cartwright, citing her legal background, with columnist Adrian Walker following up with his own endorsement.
Moderate Dems are backing her rival for the job, Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy, as voters get set to go to the polls in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in what has improbably become a hot race, featuring a showdown between two warring party factions.
Supporters are touting Cartwright’s legal experience and her management of dozens of lawyers at the CPCS as a good fit for the $190,000-a-year clerk job, which is heavy on paperwork and administrative tasks.
But Cartwright’s handling of a pair of pretty significant personal debt issues, which Contrarian Boston uncovered after a review of court records, might give some voters pause.
A Boston Municipal Court judge issued a default judgement of $1,818 on Feb 7, 2012 in favor of Capital One, after Cartwright failed to show up in court.
Cartwright and Cartwright Law, her law firm at the time, were listed as defendants in the case, which was first filed in November 2011.
Needless to say, blowing off court proceedings is a no-no for an attorney.
The case then dragged on for years until it was finally listed as disposed in 2017, in part because the default judgement of the court was sent to the wrong address on the Dorchester street where Cartwright was living at the time.
Contrarian Boston made a number of attempts to reach Cartwright, to no avail, through her campaign, by emailing questions to her work account, and sending questions to the spokesperson for CPCS, the public defenders agency.
Before that, in 2010, an Allison S. Cartwright is listed has having lost her home in Attleboro to foreclosure, after defaulting on her $179,000 mortgage, according to records at the North Bristol County Registry of Deeds.
A year ago, Cartwright made another foray into homeownership, buying a single family home in Hyde Park for $760,000. Her mother, who lives with her, was listed as a co-signer on the mortgage.
So far, so good, there.
Clearly, none of this is disqualifying, but there are certainly grounds to be concerned.
After all, part of the relatively narrow scope of the clerk’s job - only in Massachusetts would this be an elected position - is occasionally overseeing attorney disciplinary issues.
But if it were left up to the mainstream media, it’s worth asking whether these issues would have ever come to light.
The Globe, in its editorial endorsing Cartwright, noted the lack “any red flags about their integrity,” in reference to the long-time public defender and her opponent, Murphy, the Boston city councilor.
Yes, clearly nothing to see here.
Justice delivered: Big win for star reporter unfairly canned by the Globe
One of the Globe’s most dogged and resourceful reporters in years, Andrea Estes was unceremoniously fired last year after a T expose gone awry.
But Estes, now a reporter for the upstart Plymouth Independent, has emerged with a significant victory after having filed a union grievance following her firing in the spring of 2023.
After going into arbitration, the Globe was found to have erred in firing the veteran investigative reporter, according to a source close to the matter.
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