Massachusetts Democratic Party chair Steve Kerrigan is facing operating-under-the-influence and marked-lanes charges after a late-night traffic stop in Southborough, according to town police records. The arrest, logged in the Southborough police blotter, lands as Kerrigan leads the state party and runs a major Worcester-area community health center, sparking some uncomfortable chatter in political circles while Boston courts the Democratic National Committee for a possible 2028 convention.
Southborough officers pulled Kerrigan over around midnight on June 13 on Turnpike Road and recorded charges of negligent operation and a marked-lanes violation alongside an OUI-liquor allegation, according to the Boston Herald. The police log lists his age as 54.
Court records reviewed by the Boston Globe show Kerrigan registered a 0.089 on a breath test just before 1 a.m. and pleaded to "sufficient facts" on June 15 in Westborough District Court. The case was continued without a finding for one year, and he lost his driving privileges for 45 days, the Globe reports. Police observations in the report included glassy eyes and slow, slurred speech, and an officer noted an inability to smell alcohol "due to an overwhelming odor of cologne," according to the same account.
Kerrigan is a well-known figure in state Democratic politics. He was elected party chair in 2023 and serves as president and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, according to WBUR. He was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014, and official state election records show he received roughly 222,562 votes statewide, according to Massachusetts Election Stats.
Legal process and next steps
The "sufficient facts" admission and continuance without a finding used in Kerrigan’s case are a common way OUI cases are resolved in Massachusetts and, in this instance, produced the 45-day license loss documented in court records, the Boston Globe reports. Any further hearings will appear in the Westborough District Court docket and the Southborough police blotter. As of publication, reporters noted that neither Kerrigan nor his attorney had made a public statement and the state party had not issued a comment.
For now, the case remains active in Westborough District Court and in local police records, and media requests to Kerrigan’s office and the Massachusetts Democratic Party were still pending at the time of the reporting.
