Public Defender Mara Dolan Running for Governor's Council District 3

BROOKLINE, MA — On Tuesday, Public Defender Mara Dolan submitted certified signatures to qualify for the ballot for Governor’s Council, which votes on nominations to the judiciary.

The Governor’s Council is made up of eight elected Councilors who vet and vote on judicial nominations, commutations and pardons, and members of the Parole Board. Dolan seeks the Democratic nomination for District 3, which includes parts of Boston, all of Brookline, Newton, Waltham, and her hometown of Concord among its 32 cities and towns.

“I’ve been a public defender for 15 years,” Dolan said in a statement. “It’s time we had a public defender on the Governor’s Council to help us decide who our judges are going to be.”

“I personally collected 1,400 signatures from voters from 25 cities and towns, and was honored to speak with them and listen to their concerns,” she continued.

Dolan is challenging incumbent Marilyn Petito Devaney in the Democratic primary, which will take place on September 6.

“I respect and appreciate a lot of the work the incumbent has done,” Dolan said. “But in her 22 years on the Council, she has never done what I have done thousands of times: stand with a defendant in a court of law as they face a judge.”

For more information on Dolan’s campaign, go to MaraDolan.com.