Tara Jacobs, a North Adams School Committee member, has earned the Democratic nomination to be the region’s representative to the Governor’s Council.
Holding a narrow lead over a Springfield lawyer in a four-way race, as votes continued to be tabulated on Wednesday, Jacobs shortly after noon posted on her campaign’s Facebook and Instagram pages that she was honored to be the Democrats’ choice for the seat, and thanked those who voted for her.
“From the start of this campaign, I wanted to be the voice of the people of Western Massachusetts,” Jacobs wrote. “I listened and talked to voters from Williamstown to Wilbraham. The people have spoken.”
With nearly 97%, of the vote in, Jacobs had 27,506 votes, according to an Associated Press tally, or 2,756 more votes than Michael Fenton’s 24,750.
At around the same time, Fenton used Facebook to concede and inform his supporters that he had called Jacobs to congratulate her.
“She deserves her moment to celebrate,” Fenton wrote. “She is a class act.”
“We ran a great race start to finish. I could not be more proud of the support and encouragement we got along the way from friends near and far,” Fenton added.
Trailing Jacobs and Fenton were Shawn Allyn, a Holyoke attorney, with 16,996 votes, and Jeffrey Morneau, an East Longmeadow lawyer, with 13,797 votes.
Jacobs will go on to face John Comerford of Palmer, a Republican, in the Nov. 8 general election for the part-time position being vacated by Mary Hurley. Comerford, 77, a retired veterans services officer, faced no opposition in the primary.
The Governor’s Council is charged with advising the governor and approving or rejecting the governor’s appointments for judicial and other positions, as well as pardons and commutations and warrants for the state treasury.
The 8th District covers most of western Massachusetts, including all of Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties with the exception of Ware, as well as towns in Worcester County.
Jacobs was the top vote getter in three of the four largest communities in Hampshire County, including Northampton, Amherst and Easthampton, while Fenton earned the most votes in South Hadley.
Jacobs, 50, has called for dismantling systemic injustice and promoting equity and transparency, and also that she is not an attorney.
In addition to her School Committee membership, Jacobs is the chairwoman of the board of trustees for the North Adams Public Library and is the chairwoman of the North Adams Democratic City Committee.
Jacobs has also served on the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women and as a member of the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire. She said that she’s been inspired by advocating for western Massachusetts on Beacon Hill, and wants to give voice to all the needs of the region.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.