Elections

LETTER: Candidates Violating Election Rules, Posting Signs on City Property

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Because There are No Kings…

I’d like to comment on the way people conduct themselves when running for office. Hundreds of Watertown residents were in the Delta a few weekends ago, proclaiming that there should be no kings in the United States, that rules are for everyone! I believe that it’s important to take that into consideration when making our very important choices. Here’s an example:

I had heard rumblings of candidates for City Council, School Committee and Library Trustee skirting the election rules that are clearly spelled out in the election information available to them when they sign up. I contacted Noelle Gilligan, our City Clerk and Chief Election Officer, to ask about any rules that apply to those who submit papers to run for a city office.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Opposed to Resumption of Nuclear Testing

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Dear Editor,

Tariffs vs. Resumption of nuclear testing: A Wake-Up Call

Thus far, there has been no formal request for clarification from Donald Trump’s administration by Senators Ed Markey or Elizabeth Warren, nor by Representatives Jim McGovern, Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley or Seth Moulton regarding the president’s nuclear testing directive. That silence is deafening. We need our lawmakers — not just from Massachusetts, but across the aisle and across the country — to right the ship in Washington. Tariffs are reversible.

Elections

LETTER: Statement from City Councilor At-Large Candidate

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My name is John Gannon, and for three terms, I’ve had the honor of representing Watertown as your city councilor at-large. I’m now running for re-election this coming Tuesday, November 4. I was inspired to a career in public service by my family, teachers, coaches and members of this welcoming community. I grew up in Watertown and developed my own life here. My father, a partially-disabled WWII veteran, worked at the Watertown post office, delivering mail to our neighbors, and my mother, a first-generation American, worked as a secretary.

Elections

LETTER: Trick or Treat from the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)?

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Yesterday I received a second postcard from the MTA. They appear to have a lot of money to burn on their candidate endorsements. For those who are unfamiliar with the MTA’s agenda, please review the 2025 Watertown Educators Association Candidate Questionnaire and the support materials at:https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLSf30p8erVdxVlgShgKeq2ljGBj8GVqvHyCm4lvmMY6Q78J5tQ/viewform?usp=preview&urp=gmail_link&pli=1

I am curious – How many MTA members work in our schools, and how many of them live in Watertown? Could someone from the MTA or WEA provide an answer to this question? IMO, there is an information gap regarding the support for our public schools in Watertown.

Around Town

Final Watertown Swap Shop of the Year This Saturday

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Residents can donate and pick up items at the Watertown Swap Shop. The program had to be cancelled multiple times during the Trash Strike, but the Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee, and Watertown Faces Climate Change added one opportunity for residents to take part. See details below. The Watertown Swap Shop will be open on Saturday, November 1, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Watertown Recycle Center at 76 Stanley Ave. You must park on the street on Green River Way or Stanley Ave if you are shopping at the Swap Shop. 

If you have donations, you can pull your car into the Recycle Center up to the Swap Shop to unload.Learn more about the shopping and donation guidelines at the Swap Shop.

Around Town

Watertown Community Gardens Gets Grant to Remove Invasive Plants from Watertown Greenway

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Watertown Community Gardens received a state grant to improve the path from Watertown to Cambridge. (Contributed Photo)

By Linda RelsonWatertown Community Gardens, Board Chair

Volunteers have been working on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway all year, and their efforts got a boost earlier this month with the award of a MassTrails Grant. The Watertown-Cambridge Greenway is a treasured ribbon of green space that connects School Street in east Watertown to Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge. The path is a rail trail converted from the former B&M Railroad’s Watertown Branch, now owned by the State of Massachusetts’ Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). It is frequented by commuters, dog walkers, and bicyclists every day of the week. Unfortunately, since the path’s construction, many of the shrubs, trees, and perennial flowers that were originally planted have been overcome by invasive plants.

Around Town

Director of Award-Winning Documentary Film on Armenian Women During Wartime to Appear at Upcoming Screening

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The following announcement was provided by West Newton Cinema:

The West Newton Cinema Foundation is presenting a special screening of the internationally acclaimed documentary There Was, The Was Not on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at 7 p.m. at the West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington St., West Newton. Following the screening, the film’s writer and director Emily Mkrtichian will participate in the Director’s Spotlight, a program of the West Newton Cinema Foundation. The Q&A discussion will be moderated by Paul Boghosian, President of Harbor Side Films. The film company produces documentaries (PBS), public affairs programming as well as major television and cable and streaming projects for networks and private clients. Presently in development is Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet, Peter Balakian’s memoir, “Black Dog of Fate.”

Entertainment

Watertown Author Launching New Historical Mystery at MCA

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Jonathan Bockian

Watertown author Jonathan Bockian announced he will launch his new historical mystery novel What Was Forbidden: a Venice Ghetto mystery, in discussion with Pia Owens, author of the “Let’s Have It Out” newsletter, on Sunday, November 2, 2-4 p.m., at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. The event is free and open to the public. Advance registration is encouraged at the webpage linked here. What Was Forbidden is based on a true event in the Ghetto of Venice in 1672. A is brother is murdered, a truth is buried.