GREENFIELD — There’s about to be a new sheriff in town.

Christopher J. Donelan has announced he will retire at the end of the month, ending a 14-year tenure that saw the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction transform from a typical facility focused on incarceration to one with a trauma-informed treatment model.

“I think we’ve transformed the way people look at and approach corrections generally,” he said on Monday, noting that he also has fostered a relationship between the sheriff’s office and local law enforcement that didn’t exist before he took the reins. “Now, here we are 14 years later, the police and our deputies are all working side by side routinely, in a collaborative partnership that both sides really appreciate. And I think all the citizens of Franklin County benefit from that kind of collaboration. So I’m very proud of that, too.”

Donelan, who turned 60 on Christmas Day, cited his recent landmark birthday and 37 years of public service as signs that it is time to step down. He explained that Gov. Maura Healey will appoint an interim replacement to serve until the 2026 election. Then, whoever wins that contest will serve for two years and can determine if they wish to run again in 2028, which will begin a new six-year term. Donelan was last elected in 2022.

“It’s the best job I ever could have had. My father told me one time many years ago, the best job in government is being sheriff, and he was absolutely right,” he said in his office on Monday. “It’s just time. I’m healthy, I have beautiful grandchildren and a beautiful wife. Who could ask for anything more?”

Donelan said he has no major plans for retirement, though he intends to spend more time at his house on Cape Cod, where he would like to volunteer at a homeless shelter.

“He’s a caring human being that wants to see people get back on their feet,” said John Merrigan, the Franklin County register of probate. “He’s just a good person.”

Merrigan said their fathers were prominent Democratic community leaders in a time when the county was predominantly Republican. Merrigan and Donelan nearly ran against each other for the Democratic nomination for the state House of Representatives seat representing the 2nd Franklin District in 1995, until they met up for lunch and came to an understanding. It was agreed that Merrigan would run for office and, when he won, Donelan became his first legislative aide.

“And we’ve been like brothers since,” Merrigan remarked.

He stepped aside in 2002, at which point Donelan ran and won.

“We have never argued about any initiative or priority that has been important to Franklin County,” Merrigan said. “He’s brought in millions of dollars in grants for the jail. He’s been a leader with the [Opioid Task Force]. He tried to figure out a way to treat people differently that are in the correctional facility.”

Donelan, who lives in Greenfield, entered the state Legislature committed to leaving politics once he felt he had done his part. When he was ready to transition from the House of Representatives, he decided to throw his hat in the ring for sheriff after learning Frederick Macdonald planned to retire.

Donelan is credited with making dramatic changes at the sheriff’s office. In 2016, guided by Medical Director Dr. Ruth Potee, the house of correction on Elm Street became the first correctional facility in Massachusetts to introduce medically assisted addiction treatment with suboxone. Franklin County took the next step in 2018, with the correctional facility becoming licensed as a methadone clinic. This led to all county facilities in the state providing medically assisted treatments and a growing number of correctional facilities across the country following suit.

Donelan said he will most miss the people he works with and the feeling of improving people’s lives.

“That’s probably been the best part of the job,” he said.

Donelan graduated from Westfield State College with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1987 and was hired as a police officer in Orange. He completed his police training at the Western Massachusetts Police Academy, which was located in Agawam at the time, and went on to work in Orange until 1991, when budget cuts forced layoffs throughout the town, including the police. He was appointed to the South Hadley Police Department a few months later and served that community until 1995.

He was next a probation officer in both Orange District Court and the Franklin County Community Corrections Center until running for state representative in 2002. He served on several committees, including Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Housing, Higher Education, and Ways and Means during that time. He also was vice chair of the Public Safety Committee and secured funding for the completion of major Greenfield Community College renovations that had been cut from the bond bill at the time.

Donelan led the work to require state colleges and universities to accept college credit transfers, so students do not have to pay to take the same courses twice. The transferring of credits was not a common practice at the time. Donelan also filed the bill that enacted the first sales tax holiday in Massachusetts in 2006 after he talked with a business owner in Athol.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.