Dear Editor:
I am writing to join those in thanking Marilyn Petitto Devaney, for her Fifty years plus of service as Town Meeting Member, Original Charter Commission Member, Watertown Town Council Member, Governor’s Councilor and Member of the Commission on Disabilities, to Watertown and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I knew Marilyn loved her community. We often observed her going to just about every Wake in town. This was because growing up here she knew everyone. That is where the name Townie came from. People were either related to each other or had strong relationships with Neighbors. I learned to watch how I say something. One may say I am talking about Uncle, Aunt and or Cousin. We are taught to be sensitive to the feelings of all people. I met Marilyn in the 1970’s when she was a Town Meeting Member.
Mara Dolan won the Democratic Governor’s Councilor District 3 race on Tuesday. Mara Dolan of Concord defeated longtime incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney of Watertown in Tuesday’s Democratic District 3 Governor’s Council race. With no challenger on the Republican side of the ballot for November’s General Election, Dolan appears headed to the Governor’s Council. The Council votes on the Governor’s nominations for judges and nominees for other boards, as well as voting on the Governor’s proposed pardons and commutations of prisoners. According to results compiled by the Associated Press (AP), Dolan received 52.5 percent of the vote.
The candidates for District 3 Governor’s Council: Marilyn Petitto Devaney, left, and Mara Dolan. Democrats will have a contested race that includes a local candidate to vote on during the Sept. 3 State Primary, the District 3 Governor’s Councilor, or “Councilor” as it appears on the ballot. Watertown resident and incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney is challenged by Concord’s Mara Dolan, who lived in Watertown for a time. The same two candidates faced each other in 2022, and Petitto Devaney won after receiving nearly 51 percent of the votes.
Marilyn Pettito Devaney seeks re-election to the Governor’s Council. Watertown News asked the candidates for District 3 Governor’s Councilor about their campaign and about themselves. Incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney provided the following responses:
Why did you decide to run (for reelection) for the District 3 Governor’s Council seat? I ran for Governor’s council after seeing my friend beg a judge on eight occasions to keep her abusive boyfriend in jail. The judge told her you have wasted my time and wasted the court’s time.
The race for District 3 Governor’s Council continues to grab headlines as one of the candidates claimed support from Massachusetts politicians that it appears she does not have. Also, the City officials want voters to be aware — with many polling places located at schools — that election day falls on the same day as Watertown students head back to school. During a recent League of Women’s Voters forum District 3 Governor’s Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney, from Watertown, stated that she had endorsements, which were later refuted. The 12-term incumbent faces Concord’s Mara Dolan in the Democratic Primary for the seat on the board which, among other things, votes on the Governor’s nominations for judges and nominees for other boards, and on vote on the Governor’s proposed pardons and commutations of prisoners. In the debate, which was shown by NewTV (Newton’s public access channel), Devaney said she had been endorsed by Congressman Jim McGovern and Democratic State Auditor candidate Chris Dempsey.
WCA-TV
For more than two decades Watertown’s Marilyn Petitto Devaney has served as the Governor’s Councilor for District 3, but in 2022 she faces an opponent in the Democratic Primary, Mara Dolan, who questions her voting record on judges and her relationship with other members of the Council. The Governor’s Council, also known as the Executive Council, votes on the Governor’s nominations for judges in all levels of state courts, clerk magistrates, as well as members of other state boards, including the Parole Board, the Appellate Tax Board, and the Industrial Accident and Industrial Accident Reviewing boards. They also vote on the Governor’s proposed pardons and commutations of prisoners, as well as, the warrants for the State Treasury. The candidates debated each other Monday night on Watertown Cable Access TV, and covered a range of topics, including a recent Boston Globe article that focused on Devaney’s relationship with the other members of the Council and a vote to approve a judge who refused to publicly reveal her stance on abortion rights. Candidates
Devaney pointed to her record as an independent voice on the Governor’s Council who often went against the others, and cited some reforms she has spearheaded including continuing to broadcast meetings on YouTube after the pandemic restrictions ended and prohibiting contributions by nominees to members of the Governor’s Council.
Watertown’s Marilyn Petitto Devaney prevailed Tuesday in a tough primary election for the District 3 Governor’s Councilor seat. Devaney will not face a Republican challenger in her bid for a 16th term on the Governor’s Council after defeating challenger Nick Carter of Newton. Devaney received 56 percent of the vote, districtwide, with 95 percent of the precincts counted. There Republicans have no candidate on the ballot for Governor’s Council District 3. Carter, an attorney, ran a well funded campaign and sent out several mailings to voters, while Devaney, a former Watertown Town Councilor, self-funded her campaign.
Editor,
I am running a basic grass root campaign in a Governor’s Council District larger than a congressional district (difficult without money) representing 32 towns and cities from Ayer to Back Bay. What I am most proud of?:
Just to mention two of the reforms I made on the council that I am proud of:
1. Changed the Parole Board whose members were all prosecutors — not in compliance for 30 years. 2. Stopped long-time practice of Governor’s Councillors, Governor, Lieutenant Governor accepting money from nominees right to the time of the vote.
