Elections

LETTER: Library Trustee Candidate Seeks Re-election

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Town of Watertown residents, my name is Tim Tracy and I have been a Library Trustee for the past two terms. I am running for re-election, and would like for you to consider casting your vote for me once again. During my tenure as a Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) Trustee, I have seen such positive continued growth and accomplishments in our facility. The Library continues to be overwhelmingly well received by residents, taxpayers and neighbors from surrounding communities. I have prided myself in being a trustee who doesn’t micro manage, and have always been of the opinion of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Watertown Free Public Library is far from being broke. On the contrary, it s a highly motivated, efficiently run, and well respected organization, and as a Trustee I am proud to be associated with such a town asset.

Election 2015

School Committee Candidates Show Differing Philosophies at Forum

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The School Committee candidates displayed some of their differences during the Candidate Forum hosted by the Watertown Education Foundation on Thursday night. For the second week running the School Committee members answered questions about serving on the School Committee, and the challengers and incumbents had differing views. (See highlights from the first forum here.)

The candidates did not share the same view of using test scores and making goals to measure the district’s progress. School Committee member Julie McMahon said she has participated in the Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald’s evaluation every year and she thinks the goals and evaluation are good ones for Watertown. “Some people say other towns have these goals,” McMahon said.

Election 2015

LETTER: A Clear Choice for District A – Angie Kounelis

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Dear Editor,

We are writing you because we believe there is a clear choice for District A Councilor in the upcoming town election. Angeline Kounelis has been advocating for East Watertown long before she became a Town Councilor. It goes back to the East Watertown Betterment Association {see the Boston Globe clip below}. This has been a very busy year for all our Councilors, but nobody has been as busy as Angie. She has been out almost every night front and center for the best interest of District A.

This is the list of the many district projects and issues she has dealt with on our behalf: Athenahealth, the Arsenal Project, the Marriott Hotel, the Verizon building, CVS, Greenough Boulevard, the Crossroad on the Charles water break, snow dumping on Elm Street, the Elm Street Hotel and rodent problems.

This is in addition to her council work on townwide issues.

Elections

Candidates for Council President, At-Large Councilors Air Views

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Sustainable Watertown hosted the second of two Town Council Candidate Forums Monday night, this time featuring the candidates for Council President and Councilors At-Large. Moderator Karen McDonald asked questions put together by members of Sustainable Watertown, a citizens group focused on issues including development, transportation and the environment. The election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3. Attending the forum at the Apartments at Coolidge School on Monday were Candidates for Town Council President – incumbent Mark Sideris and former president Clyde Younger – along with those running for Concilor At-Large – incumbent Tony Palomba, challenger Michael Dattoli, challenger Patryce Georgopoulos, incumbent Susan Falkoff and incumbent Aaron Dushku.

Elections

LETTER: Resident Supports Michael Dattoli for Town Councilor

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Dear Editor,

I have known Michael Dattoli for 3 years. During that time, he has been involved in the community with us in many activities from scouting events to sporting events and many more. On November 3rd, I am voting for Michael Dattoli for Town Councilor At-Large because of his dedication, devotion and commitment to the town of Watertown. Michael is a true leader. Please join me in voting for Michael Dattoli.

Election 2015

See What the District Council Hopefuls Said at the Candidates Forum

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The candidates for district councilors made their case at a Candidates Forum hosted by Sustainable Watertown on Sunday evening. The hopefuls for the council seats, which each represent one quarter of Watertown, talked about issues such as development, the environment and traffic, among other subjects. These are some of the issues that are most important to members of the citizen-run Sustainable Watertown. The candidates are:

District A (Precincts 1-3; East Watertown) – incumbent Angeline Kounelis and challenger Bob Erickson
District B (Precincts 4-6; East of Common and Spring streets to School Street and South of the Charles River) – incumbent Cecilia Lenk and challenger Lisa Feltner
District C (Precincts 7-9; West of Common and Spring streets to Lexington Street) – incumbent Vincent Piccirilli and challenger Rossella Mercuri
District D (Precincts 10-12, West Watertown) – incumbent Ken Woodland

Development
Development has been the top issue in Watertown for the past two years, and moderator Pia Owens asked each about their views about whether the town should implement limits on commercial building square footage, frontage and setbacks. Piccirilli said the new rules in the Design Guidelines and Comprehensive Plans seek to create storefronts like you might have seen in the early 20th century where people can walk the sidewalks and window shop.

Elections

League of Women Voters Forum Features All Candidates in the Town Election

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The League of Women voters will host a candidates forum for candidates in all races on the ballot for the Nov. 3 Watertown Town Election. The Candidates Forum will be held on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library. This is a chance to hear from all candidates running for Town Council President, Councilor-at-Large, District Councilor, School Committee, and Library Trustee.

Election 2015

Watertown Firefighters Announce Town Councilor Candidate Endorsements

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The Watertown Firefighters have announced their endorsements for Town Council in the upcoming Town Election, and not surprisingly none of the councilors who voted down the arbitration agreement in December made the list. 

Rob Mannix, president of Local 1347 Watertown Fire Union, announced the endorsements this week on his Facebook page. Earlier this year, the Fire Union sent out questionnaires to Council Candidates (click here to see details). The firefighters endorsed the following candidates in the Nov. 3 election:

Town Council President – Clyde Younger
District A – Bob Erickson
District B – Lisa Feltner
District C – Rossella Mercuri
Councilors at large – Tony Palomba, Patryce Georgopolous, and Michael Dattoli

The only sitting councilor to get an endorsement was Palomba, who cast the lone vote to support the Arbitration Award. The other councilors voted against the award because they said it was not fair to other town employees because firefighters would have gotten raises in two years during the economic downturn in which other unions took no raise.