Councilor apologizes to Patrick
Flier wrongly implied governor's endorsement
After a major transgression in a minor race, Governor's Council member Kelly A. Timilty called Governor Deval Patrick yesterday and apologized for wrongly using his signature on a campaign flier that implied she had his endorsement.
But the governor's office did not immediately react to the mea culpa, and Timilty could be open to criminal penalties if it is proven that she used Patrick's name without his permission.
Timilty's campaign yesterday called it a "terrible" error that she sent out a flier bearing a picture of Timilty with the governor and a phony letter of support, complete with bogus signature.
"Campaigns move quickly, and things like that happen," said spokesman Larry Rasky, who said he was representing Timilty. But Rasky declined to say how it happened or to detail who sent out the 116-word letter and why.
"It was a misunderstanding. Somebody moved quickly without running the traps. All I can tell you is it was a terrible mistake, and she conveyed that to the governor," he said. "They obviously felt they had the approval to do that. And they obviously didn't."
The flier was mailed out in the waning days of the campaign, and it was not revealed that it was a fake until the afternoon of the primary election on Tuesday - too late to have any negative effect on her candidacy.
Timilty, of Dedham, handily won reelection, getting 66 percent of the vote to the 34 percent for her opponent, Robert L. Jubinville of Milton. No Republican is running for the seat, so Timilty is virtually assured the seat in November unless someone emerges to run a write-in campaign.
Rasky continued to maintain yesterday that Timilty "felt like she had" the governor's endorsement, although he wouldn't specify why the campaign felt that way. It could be an important legal distinction, because state law prohibits candidates from promoting themselves by using someone else's name without "the express consent" of that person. The penalty is imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of not more than $1,000.
David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William Keating, said, "Our office is not in the habit of confirming or denying what we're investigating." Norfolk County contains most of the district for Timilty's council seat. The district includes portions of 39 cities and towns.
Timilty has not returned repeated phone or e-mail messages left for her.
It is difficult to measure how much the race was influenced by the phony gubernatorial endorsement.
Timilty had reasons to be nervous about retaining her seat. She was chided in a recent issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for attending fewer than half of the weekly council meetings over the past year, a post that annually pays her $26,000.
Jubinville was also outspending Timilty by more than a 10-to-1 ratio. He spent $91,200 on the race this year, compared with Timilty's $7,900, according to finance reports as of Aug. 31.
Several residents who contacted the Globe expressed outrage yesterday over Timilty's flier, which hit their mailboxes in the final days of the campaign and made them feel that the governor was endorsing her.
"The voters have been betrayed," said Deborah Vatcher, a 49-year-old retired physician from Plainville who said she voted for Timilty strictly because she thought the governor was backing her. "I thought this candidate really mattered to the governor. It cemented my vote, that was it."
Vatcher said she was planning to vote for US Senator John F. Kerry, but probably would have left the Governor's Council portion blank had it not been for what she thought was Patrick's endorsement.
"I feel duped," said Pamela Ruby Russell, a songwriter and photographer from Norfolk. "I wasn't even going to vote in that particular contest because I felt I didn't know enough about either of them."
Jubinville declined to comment on whether he would take any action to protest the results.
"We're monitoring the situation right now, but we don't have plans to do anything at this point," said Joe Lally, spokesman for Jubinville's campaign. "Bob ran a vigorous campaign. He took it to the public. He ran a good campaign."
Several hours before polls closed on Tuesday afternoon, Patrick alleged that Timilty had forged his signature on her campaign mailings and falsely implied that the governor had endorsed her campaign.
"The governor has not endorsed any candidate for Governor's Council," Liz Morningstar, executive director of the governor's political committee, said in a statement.
Morningstar also said the committee was exploring its legal options, but she did not elaborate on the statement yesterday.
The mailing had a picture of Timilty and Patrick smiling together, with a headline reading, "Timilty means public service."
It also had the governor's signature, with a message that reads: "Please join me in supporting Kelly Timilty for Governor's Council. Kelly has proven time and again that she is up to the challenge of representing her district in the Governor's Council. She knows the true meaning of public service, and she is a tireless advocate for he [sic] constituents."
The flier was one of three Timilty sent out last week, in the final days before voters went to the polls, and it left Jubinville little time to react.
Timilty, seeking her eighth two-year term, comes from a storied political family. Her father, Joseph Timilty, is a former state senator and Boston city councilor. Her brother James E. is a state senator, and her cousin Walter F. is a state representative.
The main job of the Governor's Council, which consists of eight elected members and the lieutenant governor, is to confirm or reject the governor's nominations for the judiciary. The council also considers pardons and commutations and reviews government spending orders.
"She doesn't feel like she'll have any problems performing her duties," Rasky said. "She won by a very wide margin."
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com. 