SWAMPSCOTT — Essex County Clerk of Courts Tom Driscoll, who lives in town, has announced that he is running for reelection.
If reelected, Driscoll would earn his fifth six-year term since he was first elected in 2000. He described his role as the “keeper of the record and recorder of fact” for felony criminal charges and civil lawsuits with damages totaling more than $25,000.
“We hold large sums of money from civil cases in terms of bonds,” Driscoll explained. “It’s one of those things that was historically elected because of the kind of influence and the importance of the matters that come before the Superior Court on a countywide basis.”
Originally from Lynn, Driscoll received degrees from both the New England School of Law and Bates College. Before becoming the clerk of courts, Driscoll worked as an assistant district attorney, civil litigator, and criminal defense lawyer. He also owned his own law firm, Driscoll and Associates.
Driscoll described how his previous experience has helped him as clerk of courts.
“It’s really a job that gives me great satisfaction because I know, having been an attorney and prosecutor, I know the importance of a clerk’s office and how that makes the whole administration of justice better,” Driscoll said.
He said his two passions are law and politics. He developed his passion for politics because of his late father, Tom Driscoll Sr. Driscoll Sr. represented Ward 6 on the Lynn City Council, and later served on the Swampscott Select Board. Driscoll directly succeeded his father on the board in 1990, and went on to serve for four years.
Driscoll has also served on the Swampscott Retirement Board for three decades, and noted that he has served far longer than he ever envisioned.
“After I was a selectman, they needed someone to fill a seat,” Driscoll said. “I said ‘I’ll do it for a while.’ That was like 30 years ago.”
Driscoll has also been a Swampscott Town Meeting member for the last 32 years.
In his role as county clerk, Driscoll oversees the court offices in Salem, Newburyport, and Lawrence. His name will appear on the Democratic primary ballot for all 34 municipalities in Essex County on Sept. 3.
