Mastroianni said that early job burnout had nothing to do with the decision to throw his hat in the ring for the judge's seat.
SPRINGFIELD - Two years into his first term as the county's top prosecutor, Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has applied to a sought-after federal judgeship.
Mastroianni said that early job burnout had nothing to do with the decision to throw his hat in the ring for the judge's seat. He noted that countless state judgeships have come and gone without any interest from him.
"I’m happy with what I'm doing and with the type of work this office is doing. A federal judgeship is something that comes around so infrequently," Mastroianni said during an interview, declining to speculate on how the search is progressing but acknowledging he had surpassed early hurdles.
Mastroianni, 47, of Westfield, captured the district attorney seat in an upset against former state Sen. Stephen J. Buoniconti, after Mastroianni switched his party affiliation in advance of the 2010 election and averted a crowded Democratic field. Buoniconti was still the presumed winner until Mastroianni swept nearly every city and town to take the position vacated by 20-year District Attorney William M. Bennett.
The judgeship became open when U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor took senior, or semi-retired status, in 2011. The federal courthouse on State Street in Springfield has just one district judge, a federal magistrate judge and a bankruptcy judge. Ponsor announced his intentions to lighten his workload a year before, voicing concerns that a presidential election and other political maneuvers could get in the way of a speedy replacement.
Traditionally, the senior U.S. senator assembles a search committee which chooses three names for the senator's review. The lawmaker then advances a single name to the president, who then nominates someone to be scrutinized and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Despite Ponsor's best efforts, politics have gotten in the way, but in a mysterious way. While former Sens. Scott P. Brown, a Republican, and John F. Kerry, a Democrat recommended a local state judge as a nominee, the recommendation never even made it to the president's desk.
Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder, a Republican, was expected to sail through the nomination process with widespread respect and support from the legal community and both parties. Not to be. He withdrew his name from the process when U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the senior senator in January.
Warren signaled her intentions to convene her own committee and Kinder wrote her to report that he did not care to go through the process again, and had become disillusioned with the climate in Washington.
According to statistics from the U.S. federal courts, 10 percent of federal judgeships are open, primarily due to filibusters in the Senate. Kinder had no apparent vulnerabilities that would hold up his nomination, according to local attorneys and Ponsor himself.
Warren's office did not return a call for comment. However, those with knowledge of the search process said Mastroianni's name was advanced along with two others - a federal prosecutor and a civil rights lawyer from Connecticut.
Mastroianni said the decision to apply was a soul-searching one; he conceded it could hurt him politically if he pressed forward to campaign for another six-year term.
"If I was able to stay in this job and run for a second term knowing that I’m very invested in this job and like what I’m doing, but took the chance to explore a once-in-a-lifetime professional opportunity - would that hurt me politically? I've thought about that, sure," Mastroianni said, adding that he will suspend fund raising while he is in contention for the judgeship.
Campaigning for his second term would begin in earnest in late 2014 with a November election.
"I can't account for timing for things that come up that could affect the rest of my life," he said.
The current salary for Hampden District Attorney is $148,000 annually while the federal judgeship pays $174,000.
Mastroianni said his office is "more energized than ever" and cited increased community outreach as one of the most significant changes under his administration.
In cases where a district attorney leaves mid-term, the governor names a replacement. For instance, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. left for private practice in April and Gov. Deval L. Patrick named Michael Pelgro, the first assistant Middlesex District attorney, to serve as acting district attorney.
Mastroianni eliminated the first assistant position after taking office.