After 14 years on the job, Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan announced this week he will retire at the end of the month.
Donelan, who turned 60 in December, would have been up for re-election in 2028 for a third term. In 2022, he ran unopposed.
"I maxed out on the amount I can earn in the pension," Donelan said, "and opportunities to do some [other] things in my retirement popped up on the radar screen. So it all kind of came together for me."
Going forward, Donelan said he is planning on working with the future criminal justice professionals.
"Maybe teaching or training," Donelan said, "those of us who have some experience and knowledge — and hopefully decent temperament to be able to work with these folks and help to guide them — I think is going to be very important for the future of law enforcement."
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is expected to appoint an interim sheriff in the coming weeks. In a statement she wished him the best in his retirement.
"I’m grateful to Sheriff Christopher Donelan for his lifetime of service and commitment to public safety in Franklin County," she said. "We will soon be posting a job opening for applicants to express their interest in the position and look forward to appointing a highly-qualified interim Sheriff."
Donelan's tenure
During a pandemic and through the ongoing opioid crisis, Donelan has been credited with creating major changes at the Franklin County Correctional Facility.
"We have been able to make this a really a kind of a positive work environment and a place where people want to come to work and try to effectuate change," Donelan said.
While sheriff he said the jail "kind of morphed from a public safety facility to a public health facility."
The Franklin County Corrections Facility was the first in the state to allow the use of Suboxone, according to Donelan's office, and the first in the country to be licensed as a Methadone clinic.
Ruth Potee, medical director at the Franklin County House of Corrections, praised Donelan as an extraordinary leader in local law enforcement.
"I think we're —all of us — sad to see him go," said Potee.
The general public think of the sheriff as a gun toting, badge carrying person Potee said, "but really, their job is to ensure the safety of both the inmates and the staff at the jail and the community."
In addition to important security needs for violent offenders, Potee said much of a county sheriff's work is helping people get better.
"What happens to people who get incarcerated has a big impact on everybody else's lives," Potee said.
The most important thing from her perspective is that Donelan had a public health mindset.
Potee, who is also director of addiction services for Behavioral Health Network, credited Donelan with changing how people in jail are being treated.
"It matters because the people who are incarcerated are most often there with a mental health diagnosis or a substance use diagnosis," Potee said.
During his tenure, Donelan has been praised for remaking the Sheriff’s Office from a place where the mission was containment of offenders to what today resembles a locked treatment facility and for bringing in evidence-based treatment, including mindfulness and DBT.
According to his office, Donelan began his career as a police officer, serving ten years in uniform before leaving to become a probation officer.
He worked in drug court and eventually became Probation Officer in Charge of the Franklin County Community Correction Center.
In 2002, Donelan was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 2nd Franklin District consisting of towns including Athol, parts of Belchertown, Orange and others. He served four terms, working on the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee, Ways and Means Committee, Higher Education Committee and Public Safety Committee.
