Charlie Breitrose
A lot of money was raised and spent on the 2015 Watertown Election.
More than $61,000 was raised in campaign funds for the 2015 Watertown Elections. Money came from small donors and for the first time in recent years in big amounts from labor unions. The campaign funds did not guarantee success for a candidate, but it was a big help.
Labor unions spent $5,890 on candidates in the various Town Council races, with mixed results. Two candidates were elected, but four lost their bids for the council (including the candidate in the preliminary election).
Tony Palomba received $500 from Watertown Firefighters Local 1347, but also raised $7,700 from individual donors – 75 giving $50 or more. He got second place in the Councilor At-Large race and was one of the top vote-getters in 2013. He was the only sitting Councilor to get a union donation, likely because he voted to support the Firefighters Arbitration Award in December 2014.
Michael Dattoli also won an At-Large Council seat by coming in fourth, and he received $1,390 from unions – $500 from Local 1347, $500 from the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM), plus an in-kind donation of $390 from the National Association of Government Employees. Dattoli, who was running for the second time, added $1,080 in other donations.
The other successful Councilor At-Large candidates had large war chests – Aaron Dushku – the second place finisher – raised $6,505 (with 67 donors giving $50 or more) and third place Susan Falkoff raised $4,069 and had $2,026 left from the previous election.
Patryce Georgopoulos finished fifth. She raised $2,650 in funds, including $1,000 from labor unions – $500 from Local 1347 and $500 from the PFFM.
In the District Council races, two candidates got help from the unions, but neither won. In District A, Bob Erickson received $1,000 total from the firefighter unions, and raised $2,370 total. He lost a close race to Angeline Kounelis, who spent just $38.37 of her own money on her campaign.
Rossella Mercuri got the most union help, with $500 each from the Watertown firefighters and the state fire union, plus $500 from the National Association of Government employees. She raised a total of $2,520, but lost soundly to Vincent Piccirilli, who raised a total of $450.
District B had the most money raised in the district races, none from unions. Lisa Feltner, the challenger and winner, raised $3,760, while Cecilia Lenk raised $2,810. That race had a preliminary election in September, in which challenger and Watertown Firefighter Kevin MacDonald came close to beating Lenk for the second spot in the November election. He got $500 from Local 1347.
District D candidate Ken Woodland had the most donations among district candidates, with $4,159.81. Originally he had an opponent, but former firefighter Bob McCarthy withdrew.
Town Council President Mark Sideris got re-elected and raised $4,875 with 45 donors of $50 or more. Clyde Younger did not file a campaign finance report.
The biggest fundraiser, surprisingly, came in the School Committee race, in which Kendra Foley raised $10,692 – all from individual donors (126 over $50). She topped the results in the School Committee race, and second place went to Candace Miller, who raised $3,811 of her own.
Eileen-Hsu Balzer, who got the third spot on the School Committee, did not file a campaign finance report. Neither did Julie McMahon, who came in fourth. Fifth-place finisher Michael Shepard raised $20.
The Library Trustees race was not void of money. Challenger Penelope Peoples, who received the most votes, spent $894.18 of her own money on the race.