Cheryl Ann Jacques (born February 17, 1962) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and attorney who served six terms in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

, was the president of the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

for 11 months, and served as an administrative judge in the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents. Jacques graduated from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 1984 and received her J.D. from

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the Private university, private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in Downtown Boston, downtown Boston, across the street from the Boston Common and the Fr ...

in 1987. Jacques was Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex County and Assistant Attorney General of the state. She ran for U.S. Congress, but lost in the Democratic primary to Stephen Lynch. Jacques was the first openly lesbian member of the

where she served six terms, and came out as a lesbian during her fourth, citing the statistic that one-third of gay and lesbian teens attempt suicide as part of her motivation for coming out. She was succeeded in the state Senate by Scott Brown. Jacques became president of HRC in 2004, succeeding Elizabeth Birch. She addressed the

2004 Democratic National Convention The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North ...

in this post. She resigned on November 30, 2004, citing "a difference in management philosophy" with her board, following criticism of the HRC's failure to defeat voter

referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

in 11 states banning

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and, in some cases, civil unions. After leaving HRC, she was

of counsel Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special couns ...

to the law firm of Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten and was a consultant on diversity issues to corporations and non-profit organizations. In 2008 Jacques was named a Department of Industrial Accidents Administrative Judge by Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

. On March 12, 2012 the State Ethics Commission charged her with violating Massachusetts' conflict-of-interest law after she allegedly tried to use her clout as a judge to have a dentist office reduce her brother-in-law's bill. Jacques contended that she never intended to introduce her position, but did so "inadvertently". The ethics commission found in favor of Jacques on the grounds that the enforcement division failed to prove that Jacques used her official position to intervene in the dispute. In 2013, Jacques and two other administrative judges filed charges with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, alleging the agency provided a higher salary and a parking space to a male judge appointed after them. In 2014, Governor Patrick chose not to reappoint Jacques, which she alleged was in retaliation for the gender discrimination lawsuit.

Personal life

In 2004, Jacques married Jennifer Chrisler. They have three sons.

References

External links

HRC biography
(

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

link, was

dead Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sho ...

)
Interview in ''The Advocate'' magazineMetro Weekly interview series
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques, Cheryl 1962 births American lesbian politicians American LGBTQ rights activists Living people Massachusetts state senators LGBTQ state legislators in Massachusetts Suffolk University Law School alumni Boston College alumni Women state legislators in Massachusetts Massachusetts state court judges 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court