Government

State Rep. Jonathan Hecht Holding Office Hours in November

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Representative Jonathan Hecht will hold office hours twice in Watertown through the end of the year, his office announced. Constituents are invited to meet with Representative Hecht at the following times and locations:

Monday, November 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St, Raya Stern Trustees Room

Tuesday, December 12, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main St, 3rd Floor hallway

Anyone unable to attend these office hours can call Representative Hecht at 617-722-2140 to schedule an appointment at another time.

Elections

Town Council Winners Reflect on the Election, Look Ahead

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The dust has settled after the Watertown Town Election, and the Town Council will have two new members, and two returning for another term. The victors reflected on the election and looked forward at their upcoming term. Anthony Donato took the most votes on his first run for Town Council. He fared well across town. “I was fortunate to have a lot of support spread throughout town and for that I am grateful,” Donato said.

Elections

See the Library Trustees Precinct by Precinct, and Voter Turnout by Precinct

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Leanne Hammonds won the race for Library Trustees by more than 500 votes, and got a lot of help from two precincts. See how each of the four candidates fared in each precinct. With 2,536 votes, Hammonds won all 12 precincts in Watertown and got more than 300 votes in precinct 7 and 8 and won the precincts by 90 and 46 votes respectively. Second place finisher Michael Hanlon narrowly beat Daniel Pritchard, who won the third and final spot. Hanlon did better than Pritchard in eight precincts (1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12) while Pritchard was ahead in four, precincts 3, 4, 5, and 8.

Election 2017

See How the Watertown Candidates Did in Precinct by Precinct Results

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Anthony Donato won the race for Watertown Town Councilor At-Large by nearly 400 votes, but he did not win every precinct in Tuesday’s Watertown Town Election. See how the candidates for Council and School Committee fared in the precinct-by-precinct results. In the race for the four Town Councilor At-Large seats, Donato got the most votes in seven of 12 precincts – 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 – while second place Caroline Bays won three precincts – 2, 4, 9. Third place candidate and incumbent Tony Palomba won Precincts 3 and 5. Donato’s best showings were on the west side of town – precincts 10-12 – where he won each by at least 85 votes, and precinct 10 by 134 votes.

Election 2017

Two New Faces Elected to Watertown Town Council, Lead the Vote Totals

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Voters elected two newcomers and two incumbents in the race for Watertown Town Councilor At-Large on Tuesday. 

First-time candidates Anthony Donato and Caroline Bays got the most votes, followed by incumbents Tony Palomba and Michael Dattoli in the six-way race for the four Councilor At-Large spots. Donato received 3,053 votes, or 23.32 percent of the vote. With 2,657 votes (20.30 percent), Bays got the second most votes, just 13 votes ahead of Palomba, who had 2,644 votes (20.20 percent). Dattoli received 2,337 and finished fourth. He got 17.85 percent of the vote.

Election 2017

Watertown Voters Elect 2 New School Committee, See Who Won the Library Trustee Race

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Only one incumbent will return to the Watertown School Committee, as two newcomers won seats on the board in Tuesday’s election. First time candidate Amy Donohue took the most votes, with 2,549, which was 24.20 percent of the ballots. Incumbent John Portz took second with 2,101 votes (19.94 percent). In a narrow race for the third and final seat on the School Committee, newcomer Lily Rayman-Read received 1,691 votes (16.05 percent), just 26 more than incumbent Liz Yusem’s 1,665 (15.81 percent). Incumbent Guido Guidotti got 1,532 votes, or 14.54 percent, followed by Michael Shepard, who was on the School Committee for four years, but lost his re-election bid two years ago.

Election 2017

Watertown Town Election: Whose Running, Where Do You Vote and More

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Watertown’s Town Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7 and voters will be able to cast their ballots for Town Council, School Committee and Board of Library Trustees. 

The 2017 election features numerous contested races, while other candidates have no opposition. Follow Watertown News on Election Night for the results. Town Council
The big race for Town Council is for Councilor At-Large. There are four seats being contested this year but only two incumbents seek re-election after Susan Falkoff and Aaron Dushku announced they would not run this year.

Campaign Finance

UPDATED: See How Much Watertown Candidates Raised and Who Gave Them Money

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{Updated Nov. 7 at 8:50 a.m.: The reports for School Committee candidate Liz Yusem and Council Candidate David Stokes was left off the first version of the story.}

One candidate for Town Council raised nearly $17,000 and two others raised several thousand for their run this year according to campaign finance reports filed at the Watertown Town Clerk’s office. The Town Council drew some big bucks this year. Here are the candidates, from highest funds raised to lowest:

Anthony Donato raised $16,695 as of Oct. 30, and spent $5,997.06.