Entertainment

Watertown Director’s Film on Election Officials to be Shown at West Newton Cinema

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Daniel Baxter speaking with election workers in Detroit, from the film “The Officials.” (Photo by Cai Thomas)

A short film directed by Watertown’s Margo Guernsey will be shown during a special screening at West Newton Cinema in March. Following the screening, a conversation will be held featuring the filmmakers. See details in the announcement provided by the West Newton Cinema, below. Two short documentaries that shed light on public service, civic engagement, and fair elections will screen as part of a larger conversation about the value of government and the individuals who help democracy function and thrive. 

“Dukakis: Recipe for Democracy” offers an intimate look at the unflappable former Massachusetts governor, Michael Dukakis, three decades after his historic presidential bid. “The Officials” tracks how elections officials in four battleground states prepare for the 2024 presidential election despite organized attempts to undermine their nonpartisan work. 

The poster for the documentary film about former Governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

Letters

LETTER: Actions People Can Take Before the Midterm Elections

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Dear Editor,

I just attended “Protecting Democracy in the Era of Donald Trump including a Discussion of Citizens United” with State Senator Brownsberger at the Watertown Library. Attendees from Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, and Brighton got to express their concerns about the current situation in Washington, D.C., and asked how to impact it. The most salient point was to participate in the electoral process. Last night, we shared our concerns and asked Party representatives there what we can do?  I invite those who attended to share here because the local paper is a media, we the people, still possess. Some of you were so eloquent and some of you hit the nail on the head! I agreed with all of you. Remember it was pamphleteers, including our own Samuel Adams, that spread the unpopular idea for independence. Fair warning there will be responses from idolaters but there are more of us, left, right and center who share very similar concerns. An election won by 1.5% does not a mandate make. I will go first.

Around Town

Watertown Upgrading Technology at Voting Sites for Next Election

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Charlie Breitrose

Watertown voters will see some new technology when they vote in 2022. The City Clerk’s Office will use computer tablets which officials hope will streamline the check-in at the polls, and speed up the counting process. Last week, City Clerk Janet Murphy told the City Council about the poll pads that will be used in Watertown. They replace the large paper voter list books that have been used at precincts in Watertown. She was asked if the poll pad comes on an Apple iPad tablet.

Elections

Council Approves Changes to Watertown Voting Precincts, Some Worried About Lack of Detailed Map

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

Some Watertown residents will be moved to a different precinct, and vote in a different location, after changes to the precinct boundaries were approved by the City Council Tuesday night. Precincts are changed every 10 years after the results of the Census are released. The changes were complicated by the fact that Watertown’s House districts also changed, with Precinct 9 moving from the 29th Middlesex (represented by Steve Owens) to the 10th Middlesex (John Lawn’s district). The Council had been scheduled to considered the changes at a previous meeting, but they found that the precincts didn’t match up for state and local elections, said City Council President Mark Sideris. “The first time we tried to do this there was going to be a situation where a constituent would have to vote in a city election in one place and a state election in a different place,” Sideris said.

District D

Process for Filling Empty Council Seat Delayed Due to Error in Voting Process

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The Town Council heard a proposal for how to fill the vacant District D Town Council seat, but could not make a vote due to an error during the subcommittee meeting held the previous week. One of the rules changes made by the Governor impacting remote meetings requires all votes to be made by roll call. During the May 5 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on District D Vacancy the group made a unanimous vote to recommend a process for filling the seat that became vacant when Ken Woodland had to resign to take a job that does not allow him to serve on the Council. However, the vote was not done by roll call — with each committee member being called upon and voicing their vote. Town Attorney Mark Reich, from KP Law, said that the vote should have been made by roll call, and added that since the plan was not put on the May 11 Council Meeting’s agenda as an action item the Council might be in violation of the Open Meeting Law if the it took a vote to approve the plan.

Around Town

Watertown Voters Will Continue to Directly Elect Council President After Vote by Charter Review Committee

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Watertown Town Hall

Voters in Watertown will continue to elect the Town Council President directly, rather than having the position chosen by a majority of the Council. The decision was made by the Watertown Charter Review Committee on Tuesday night. The decision came on the same night that members discussed the makeup of the Town Council and the councilor compensation. Also, if the Council President should serve on the School Committee, or have a designee. The group reviewing the document that defines how the Town’s government operates looked at the Legislative section of the Charter on Tuesday.

Elections

Watertown Library’s Democracy Talks Focusing on Future of Voting Rights

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The Watertown Free Public Library’s Democracy Talks will host a talk on “The Future of Voting Rights: 2018 and Beyond,” the library announced
During the event, the sixth in the Library’s ongoing series, Professor Rachael Cobb of Suffolk University will talk about what’s at stake in the 2018, according to the event announcement. Cobb is an associate professor and chair of the Government Department at Suffolk. She studies elections, election administration, the electoral politics, civic engagement and political participation. She established the University Pollworkers Project, a non-partisan program designed to recruit college students to serve as poll workers in partnership with the City of Boston’s Election Department. The event will be on  Thursday, Dec.

Elections

See Who Won the Democratic Presidential Straw Poll at the Faire on the Square

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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was the choice of Faire-goers for the Democratic nomination for President in the Watertown Democratic Town Committee’s annual straw poll at Saturday’s Faire on the Square. Sanders won 42 percent of the nearly 200 votes cast, while former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came in second with 34 percent. The poll was held at the Democratic Town Committee’s booth at Watertown’s annual Faire on the Square, Saturday, September 26, 2015. Participants were asked to choose between the likely candidates in the 2016 Democratic Presidential Primary. Coming in third place with 18% of the vote was Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to declare his candidacy. Other candidates receiving votes were former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley with 2 percent, and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee with 0.5 percent each.