BOSTON (SHNS) – Gov. Maura Healey gaveled the Governor’s Council into its new session Wednesday, and while this week’s workload was light, councilors are already looking ahead to the judicial nomination process that’s just around the corner.

While the lieutenant governor normally presides over council meetings, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was out of state Wednesday due to a family matter. Healey brought the session to order with a little history lesson.

The governor showcased a “significant gavel” made from an original beam of the White House, which was donated to the corner office by former Gov. Foster Furcolo in 1982. It was among the artifacts handed over to Healey by departing Gov. Charlie Baker in their ceremonial meeting on the eve of Inauguration Day.

“Moments and traditions like this, I think, are important to be attendant to,” Healey told councilors as she described the history of the gavel.

After taking care of some routine business, like approving the treasury warrant to allow the state to pay its bills, the council adjourned after what first-term Councilor Tara Jacobs called a “short and sweet” assembly.

There was an empty chair in the council chamber — the District 2 seat last held by Councilor Robert Jubinville, who was reelected in November but departed the council before Inauguration Day after Baker made hiim his final appointee to the judiciary and his colleagues confirmed him.

The state Constitution directs the Legislature to fill council vacancies when they arise, but legislative leaders have not indicated whether they plan to do so.

In the meantime, the council could be seen as operating with a bit more clout than usual. When there is an odd number of councilors, like the current seven, there is a decreased likelihood that the body reaches a tie vote. Tie votes of 4-4 usually result in a win for the administration because the lieutenant governor is able to serve as a tie-breaker. Still, tie votes are rare and the council usually confirms most nominees.

Baker filled virtually all judicial vacancies before departing office, though new vacancies routinely arise as judges reach their mandatory retirement age of 70. To get the ball rolling on new nominations, Healey’s first step would likely be to issue an executive order reconstituting the Judicial Nominating Commission, the panel that pre-screens potential nominees before they interview with the governor.

Embarking on his first term in office in 2015, Baker organized his JNC on Feb. 5, with a Feb. 27 application deadline for people interested in serving on the commission.

He appointed the panel’s 21 members on April 10, including EMC Corporation’s general counsel Paul Dacier as chairman. Other members included prominent criminal defense attorney J. W. Carney, Jr. and retired Superior Court Judge Howard Whitehead.

Gov. Deval Patrick organized his JNC on Jan. 19, 2007 and named the bulk of its members on March 21.

While the JNC picks out candidates to lay before the governor, final approval power rests with the elected Governor’s Council who conduct their own research on judicial candidates.

“We’re the only body in the state with complete veto power over the governor,” Councilor Eileen Duff said Wednesday. “It is the most important thing no one’s ever heard of,” she added, referring to the council.

As for what kind of nominees the councilors want to see coming out of the Healey administration, three councilors raised a desire to increase the judiciary’s diversity — not just ethnic diversity, but broader professional diversity, too.

“Because the thing that is important is what’s not on a resume, it’s what you can’t quantify — you know, what informs somebody in their life,” Duff said. “That’s why I’ve said to people in the past, I’ve asked people that question, what was the thing that’s informed you the most. You know, what was one of the most challenging things you’ve ever had to face in your life. Those are things that tell you a lot about somebody.”

First-term councilor Jacobs, a North Adams Democrat who represents western Massachusetts, emphasized she wants to see professional diversity.

She said “there just seems to be a heavy weight towards former prosecutors” when it comes to judgeships, and she wants to see a slate of appointments that includes “a more holistic landscape of the legal community.”

“So diversity in just kind of every way, to be representative of the people who are served, and able to bring compassion, empathy, and an understanding of the struggle, while delivering justice that is fair and just for the society but also the people in front of the bench,” Jacobs said.

Worcester Councilor Paul DePalo said the Juvenile Court bench would particularly benefit from greater diversity because that’s the bench where “representation will have the absolute most impact on the justice system.”

“On the Juvenile Court, I look in Worcester, really I look around the state, how many minority judges are in the Juvenile Court? I don’t have an answer for that, but I do know that the kids in Juvenile Court are wildly, disproportionately boys of color,” he said.

Councilor Marilyn Pettito Devaney said she is “over the moon” about the new Healey-Driscoll corner office. “Honest to God. I was counting the days. I can’t tell you how much I respect these two leaders,” the Watertown Democrat said.

Asked about the sort of judicial nominees she does not want to see, Devaney said it’s the “political” ones. She was a frequent critic of Baker appointees she perceived as having an inside track, such as through family connections or campaign contributions.

DePalo and Devaney both raised their desire for more pardons and commutations, with DePalo throwing his support behind pardons for simple possession of marijuana.

“The decision to exercise executive clemency is very difficult, but I did find the prior administration to be too timid,” the Worcester councilor said.

DePalo said he also wants to see a social worker appointed to the Parole Board this term, and a social worker from Worcester would be his “dream.”

“I want someone in the second-biggest city in New England who knows all the diversion, all the wraparound services, all the reentry services. Because if you don’t know those, then you’re not making a fully-informed decision about releasing someone into the community, so it’s a public safety issue,” he said.

One of the most important things to Councilor Duff? Treating the council process with respect.

“I don’t want to see somebody who feels entitled to the job,” the North Shore Democrat said. “And I think, on occasion — I think for the most part people are vetted well. … But somebody who does not feel entitled, someone who’s prepared for the interview with us — it is a job interview. And, you know, Councilor Jubinville used to say it all the time — We hire them, right?”