The business partner of Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s husband was involved in an alleged conflict of interest stemming from a $2 billion, 40-year contract deal to rebuild a Springfield courthouse. John Barros, partners with Pressley’s husband Conan Harris at CoJo Real Estate, recently won the lucrative contract to rebuild the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse. The Boston-based CoJo Real Estate is a partner in the Liberty Junction Team, a joint venture development group that formed with a separate real estate company. Barros became interim director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) while the courthouse bid was still pending in January 2026, according to a lawsuit. “For that reason, John is divesting himself … he will not have any economic interest in the project.”