Just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder in the District 3 Governor’s Council contest between incumbent Marilyn Devaney and challenger Charlie Shapiro….
A couple of days ago, I received this letter, allegedly from six out of the eight serving councillors, on behalf of “the Devaney committee to re-elect.” Devaney herself being one of the others. The other one endorsed her challenger, Shapiro. The allegations aren’t all that clear, but the rambling tone of the letter itself is unclear and unprofessional, which made me wonder if this was some sort of forgery. It struck me as unusual that sitting elected officials would participate in this type of communication, and while I hesitated to give it more circulation, I felt this bizarre tactic itself is newsworthy. Any reactions?
Your intuition is spot on, Adam.
Here’s what MA State Rep. Jay Kaufman sent out to his constituents today:
I could not have said it better myself.
The link to my official response can be found on the home page of http://www.voteshapiro.org
No Adam, these words so closely match what Devaney has been saying in debates, it would be more like plagiarism. But maybe they just heard them on WBUR and thought they sounded good. ;-)
Wow. Even for Marilyn Devaney that’s a lot of chutzpah.
Perhaps I was premature believing Alderman Schwartz endorsed her just because she says he does!
As veteran visitors to this blog and TAB readers will recall, I’ve had my disagreements with Charlie Shapiro over the years but this man is JFK and FDR combined compared to her. There is no way anyone should endorse Marilyn Devaney for reelection.
Charlie is livid about this and rightfully so. I just can’t recall anything this vicious, unprincipled and so blatantly false coming this close to an election. I doubt that any of her fellow Councillors saw this letter or knew of its contents. If this campaign had just one more week, there would be time to expose it for what it is, and Devaney would be blown out of the water. There isn’t so I fear a lot of voters are going to believe it’s true. It’s up to all of us to let our neighbors know the truth of this matter before the polls close tomorrow night. This really is despicable.
Final note: The fact that Charlie has Representative Jay Kaufman on his side speaks volumes about who has the good guys on his side in this race. Kaufman is a gem.
Chutzpah? Seems more like a personality disorder. I don’t get it – why didn’t the other Councillors immediately put out public statements refuting it? Why isn’t the Globe all over it?
@Tricia: Personality disorder fits as well.
And while it would be preferable if the Globe, MetroWest Daily News and even Wicked Local are paying attention, Bob’s right. you can tell your friends. I also see that quite a few people have shared Adam’s thread on Facebook.
I just received confirmation from one of the Councillors that this letter was not endorsed or signed by at least the Councillor I spoke with.
I agree, this should be a big story. It won’t be, because of the nature of this race, but this should be the deciding factor against Devaney.
What @Greg and @Bob said. Charlie has put forth a direct, thoughtful, and engaged case for why he should be elected. He’s ready to talk issues and the role of the council. Interestingly, that has not led to an actual engaged debate about issues and the role of the council.
The “letter” is on the MetroWest Daily News site under opinion letters. The placement makes it seem as if it’s an ordinary letter addressed to the editor and actually signed by individuals. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140906/NEWS/140907494/11609/OPINION
That MetroWest Daily News letter that Hoss had linked to has been removed, although some might suggest that it would be best if it was replaced with an explanation.
The headline is Letter: Governors Council Members Defend Devaney followed by the letter and the council members by name as having signed it. It should be taken down now. Why are the Concillors not saying this is not a letter from them?
Charlie – I hope you’ve contacted Bill Galvin’s office about this. This is despicable behavior on Marilyn’s part. Tricia nailed it in her comment.
I also hope you’ve called the MetroWest Daily News and asked them to remove the letter from their site. They should know Marilyn well enough to have checked the validity of the signatories on that letter.
Greg — The Facebook counter on this site has never worked. It shows the same number under every article, always has
sorry, carry-on…
And this woman sits in judgment on the honesty and integrity of judicial and nominees? Oh the gall.
If this is a fabrication…What balls! Yet somehow she’s a vote machine.
Turnout will be different, but going by last election’s results, Charley needs about 75% of Harry Margolis’ votes (14573)- plus his own(10069)- to beat Devaney (17570) . Not an easy task. She timed this fraud well. Let’s hope that she’s not rewarded.
I have to break my silence just to say that this act is despicable and wreaks of desparation. I even saw something on facebook where people advertise where she was advertising the letter and at the top of the ad said: “Vote NO to Charlie Shapiro” and then the letter. Since I’ve read the ad, it’s been taken down.
If she gets by the primary, I know she’ll turn this into her being the victim (thats what she does so well) and Charlie was the one attacking her.
I just sent this thread to my editors at the Lowell Sun. Part of the district is in our circulation area.
I wish Alderman Schwartz would comment here in his endorsement or lack thereof.
To clarify: I have no idea whether this was a faked or not. Even if it was not, it was a very strange tactic and a very poorly constructed letter, potentially slanderous in its own right.
Adam, have you watched the debates? I think there was an earlier one, too, before last week’s NewTV one. These sentences and anecdotes are basically word-for-word.
Probably shouldn’t wade into these waters, but just so folks know, both candidates in this race are listing endorsers who aren’t endorsers, even after the candidates have been told as much. This race is a bit uncomfortable to watch and in my view not representative of what we strive for in the Democratic Party.
Shawn
Most of the times I come out to vote, it’s to support whomever Devaney is running against. That should tell you all you need to know about this woman.
Julia, I haven’t had the pleasure of watching the debates. Even if these are Devaney’s words, ghostwriting for her colleagues would be awkward, but perhaps still ethical *if* they actually gave permission. Actual names, references, and first-hand sources here or in commercial media would certainly be welcome.
Shawn, who are they?
Adam, I agree. It shouldn’t be that hard to track down six people and get them to verify whether they did or didn’t see/sign onto the letter.
Take a look at the last paragraph in this Mass Lawyers Weekly post. It claims the bizarre part is Village 14 posters question the letter: http://masslawyersweekly.com/2014/09/08/a-lawyers-guide-to-primary-day
Apparently it is that hard to get answers from six Governor’s Councilors, judging by Jim Morrison’s article. Three still hadn’t returned his emails, one wasn’t sure which of several versions of a letter he signed, but thinks he signed this one, one initially refused to say whether he signed or not, then said he did, and one said she signed a different, shorter letter. (Are the other councilors afraid of her?)
I’ve been re-listening to the August 18 Arlington Public TV debate. Here are three direct quotes, and I didn’t even get all the way through:
Then later on:
And further on:
My guess, it now appears that what she really meant was, ‘I’m writing a letter and trying to come up with a version they’ll all sign.’ It sure doesn’t sound like a spontaneous expression of support.
Once again Fitzibbons makes claims to the actions of others without naming names. If he is going to make accusations, why not specific or shut up?
I happily endorsed Shapiro in this primary race. If Fitzgibbons has the time, why not double check on the endorsements instead of making empty comments? Commentary like this belittles Fitzgibbons’ role in Newton’s Democratic party.
Devaney’s 11th hours shenanigans in this race are callow and unbecoming of an incumbent representative of the people in government. If the sitting Governor’s Council member from the District 3 can’t perform as competent candidate, how on earth can we expect any intelligent voter to re-elect her? It’s antics like this that aid in making the GC the laughing stock of elected offices in Massachusetts.
Congratulations, Marilyn. Good job!