Elections

LETTER: Councilor At-Large Seeks Re-election to Second Term

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Dear neighbors,

I am currently in my first term as a Watertown Councilor At-Large. Throughout
the past two years, I have worked to create positive outcomes for residents
through my involvement advocating for school building improvements, open
space, housing affordability, and increased transparency. During this period, the residential exemption was increased for homeowners for
the first time in fifteen years, as were affordable housing and LEED sustainability
requirements for many new development projects. Members of police and fire
departments are now both carrying Narcan, and several new town positions were
created and funded in the recent budget for Recreation, the Library’s Hatch, and
wellness services. The town has a new ambulance, which accommodates the
recently implemented Advanced Life Services (ALS) program.

Elections

LETTER: Town Councilor At-Large Candidate Seeks to Continue Serving the Community

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To the Editor:

Whether you have lived here your whole life, you moved here years ago or you are new to town, I think we can all agree that Watertown is a special place. 

Growing up, my parents were always very involved in Watertown with organizations such as the PTO, youth sports and events such as the town-wide raffle. At an early age, they instilled in me and my siblings the importance of giving back to the community. I can remember countless Sunday mornings cleaning up the Watertown Boys and Girls Club after Saturday night bingo to help support Watertown Youth Soccer. I attended kindergarten at the Hosmer School and completed my elementary school education at the Cunniff School. After finishing eighth grade at the Watertown Middle School, I attended Boston College High School before graduating from Wake Forest University.

Election 2017

Councilor Dushku Struggled With Decision Not to Run for Reelection

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Having successfully run for Town Council twice, and getting the most votes in the At-Large race both times, Aaron Dushku will not to run for a third time – but the decision was not an easy one. 

With children growing up and parents growing older, Dushku said that felt he should to spend time with his family rather than on the Council. “My kids and this time with them – and my father has some problems – I would never get these years back,” Dushku said. “It was a really hard decision. I really like being a Town Councilor. I love being a Town Councilor.”

Election 2017

6 Running for Council, But Second Incumbent Out; School Comm Race Draws 6

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Half a dozen people will run for both Town Council and for School Committee, but a second incumbent Councilor has decided not to run for reelection. There will also be a race for Board of Library Trustees, but several will not have contested races including Town Council President and the two-year School Committee seat. The Town Council At Large race will have six candidates for the four seats, but there will be at least two new faces on the board after Aaron Dushku decided not to run for a third term. Earlier, Susan Falkoff announced she would not seek another term. On Monday, challenger David Stokes got his papers certified and Michelle Cokonougher turned in her papers and Flynn said he is confident she will have the 100 signatures of Watertown residents necessary get on the ballot.

Elections

Watertown Man Running for Seat on Watertown Library Board of Trustees

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Watertown’s Daniel Pritchard announced his candidacy for Board of Library Trustees in November’s Town Election. 

Pritchard sent out the following press release:

Writer, editor, and nonprofit professional Daniel E. Pritchard is a first-time political candidate running to join the Board of Trustees of the Watertown Free Public Library. Raised in Quincy, MA, Pritchard learned the values of hard work, common decency, and public service from his single mother, who also instilled a love of libraries that would set the trajectory of his life. “The library was a home away from home,” he remembers. “I read everything — fantasy, biography, crime, poetry, the classics. The library was my window to the wider world.”

A graduate cum laude of Boston College, Pritchard has pursued a successful career in the business of letters.

Election 2017

List of Candidates in Watertown Growing as Filing Deadline Nears

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More potential candidates in Watertown have taken out papers to run for elected office with less than a week before the deadline for candidates to be certified. Several candidates have officials made the ballot in November by having their candidate papers certified, while more than a dozen have taken out papers to run for office. The races with the most candidates are for Town Councilor At-Large and the four-year School Committee seats. Candidates must gather 100 signatures of registered Watertown voters, and they must be certified by the Town Clerk’s office. The signatures must be submitted to and certified by the Town Clerk by 5 p.m. on Monday, July 31, and the Town Clerk has until Aug. 14 to certify the signatures.

Elections

Candidate for 2-Year School Committee Seat is a Parent and Teacher

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The first candidate for the two-year School Committee seat has been certified to be on the ballot, and the first-time challenger has experience as a Watertown parent and as a teacher in another school system. Lindsay Mosca will run for the School Committee seat being vacated by Candace Miller, who announced she will step down because she is leaving town. The two-year seat will be on the Town Election ballot in November, but will be separate from the four-year School Committee seats. Mosca sent out the following information:
I have lived in Watertown with my husband, Justin, since 2005. Our two young children, Jennie and Jacob (5 and 7 years old), attend the Lowell Elementary School. I teach mathematics at Lexington High School, and my husband is an engineer at VHB in Watertown.

Elections

Big Interest in Running for Town Councilor At-Large & School Committee

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The latest list of people who have pulled papers to run for office in the 2017 Watertown Town Election includes many possible candidates for Town Councilor at Large and School Committee. 

If everyone who has pulled papers gets enough signatures to be on the ballot, all the open seats will have at least one person running for them, but two have attracted more interest than the rest. There will be an uncontested seat in the Councilor-At-Large race, with Susan Falkoff announcing she will not seek reelection. Six people have pulled papers, including the three remaining incumbents: Aaron Dushku, Michael Dattoli and Tony Palmoba. There are also three challengers, all of whom are running for Town Council for the first time: David Stokes, Caroline Bays and Michelle Cokonougher. For the other Council seats, so far, the only ones to pull papers are the incumbents: Town Council President Mark Sideris, District A Councilor Angeline Kounelis, District B Councilor Lisa Feltner, District C Councilor Vincent Piccirilli and District D Councilor Ken Woodland.