The supporter of criminal judiciary Andrea James got involved in the governor

Andrea James, an advocate of imprisoned and previously imprisoned women and girls, submitted the documents for the governor as a democrat on Monday and created a potential matchup with governor Maura Healey.

James is the founder and executive director of the National Council for imprisoned and previously imprisoned women and girls. James is a formerly detained woman and criminal defense lawyer and, according to her biography, has worked for a long time to reduce the prison population.

She did not immediately return several calls from the Herald on Monday afternoon.

James is also the founder of families for justice as a healing, which raises public awareness of women as “the fastest growing detainees and uses their voice in order to shift society from a criminal legal system that focuses on punishment, a system based on human justice,” says its website.

“Your work focuses on ending the detention of women and girls and contributing to the handling of a criminal legal system that focuses on the police and prisons, a system that is based on directly affected people from their communities and on the basis of the accountability of the individuals and the community,” said James' website.

James acquired a degree in law at Northeastern University, but was suspended in 2008 before practicing lawyers after being accused of misusing client funds.

“For all the above reasons, information is submitted to the Supreme Court in which the respondent, Andrea C. Good-James, is recommended to be retrospectively from February 26, 2008, the date of the entry into force of their temporary suspension,” the letter said.

James said she was sentenced to two years in the federal prison in 2010 after working as a criminal defense and real estate placement lawyer. In an article she wrote for the time, James said that she was found in a “Connecticut prison for a mistake”.

“I left my husband, adult children, parents, the 12-year-old daughter and a 5-month-old son, whom I still breastfeeded at the time. My new home was the prison facility, in which I was provided with over 200 other women who were stacked side by side, ”she wrote in the article.

James is the first democrat to raise a challenge for Healey for Healey who wants to make a re -election in 2026 last month. A survey by the University of Massachusetts at the fact that Healey had an approval assessment of 52%, had a slight waste of 58%, which she had in October.

Several Republicans said they were considering jumping into the race, including Mike Kennealy, a former secretary for residential and economic development under governor Charlie Baker, and Peter Durant, a Senator of the State of Spencer.

Brian Shortsleeve, a risk capital provider and former MBTA officer, also consider to run for the governor. He drew one of the first confirmations of the 2026 election cycle by State Rep. Marc Lombardo, a Republican of Billerica who unsuccessfully ran for a top management position in the house.