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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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 ...

, 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 LGB ...

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 Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

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, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...

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 Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

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 Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

. 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 Car ...

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 (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

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 sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and, in some cases, civil unions. After leaving HRC, she was of counsel 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, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

. 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 The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) is the primary agency for civil rights law enforcement, outreach, and training in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Following the recommendation of a 1944 committee appointed by Governor o ...

, 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 ...

link, was

dead Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

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