Tom Rooke was in the race early, announcing a year ago that he planned to run for Hampden County District Attorney regardless of whether incumbent Bill Bennett planned to stay in the race.
But now the Springfield attorney has changed course, announcing that he’s decided to opt out of the race this November.
“After much thought and consultation with family, close friends, colleagues and long time clients, I have decided to withdraw my name as a candidate for District Attorney of Hampden County,” Rooke said in a press release last week. “This has been a difficult decision and I regret that it will result in my foregoing a long contemplated opportunity to serve the community I have lived in all of my life. I have received so much encouragement from many people who enthusiastically offered support to my potential candidacy. I am very thankful for that support.
“In the end, however, my love for private practice, its professional challenges and the great satisfaction I have been privileged to experience for the last 25 years in serving a loyal clientele have made this decision the right one for me.”
Rooke (not to be confused with his brother, Springfield City Councilor Tim Rooke) has a well-established law practice in the city. Among his clients are a number of downtown bars and nightclubs, which has made him the nemesis of recent mayors. Rooke butted heads with former Mayor Charlie Ryan over Ryan’s attempts to crack down on the Worthington Street entertainment district. In the 2007 election, the lawyer supported Ryan’s challenger, Domenic Sarno.
More recently, though, Rooke and Sarno have been on opposite sides of a well-publicized case, with Rooke representing that owners of the Skyplex nightclub in a lawsuit against the city following Sarno’s decision to deny them permits to hold “under-21” events at the club.
In court, the owners testified that the mayor was punishing them for failing to hold a fundraiser event for his campaign in 2007—a charge Sarno emphatically denied.
Bennett announced in December that he was not seeking re-election to the seat, which he’s held since 1990. Even with Rooke out of the race, the field to succeed Bennett is still filling up.
Stephen Spelman, an assistant DA in Bennett’s office, has announced that he’s running, as have former prosecutors Brett Vottero and Mark Mastroianni. State Sen. Stephen Buoniconti is also rumored to be considering a run, although he’s made no official announcement yet.
