Patrick says Gov. Council candidate forged his signature
(State House News Service)
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
Governor Deval Patrick is alleging that a candidate running for re-election to the Governor’s Council forged his signature on campaign mailings and falsely claimed that he was endorsing her campaign.
The allegation is a bizarre, last-minute twist on a primary election day where a low turnout is expected. Councilor Kelly A. Timilty, of Dedham, is running for re-election against Democratic primary challenger Robert L. Jubinville, of Milton.
“The mailing sent out recently by the Timilty campaign was not approved by the Deval Patrick Committee, nor did the Governor approve or author the letter that bears his signature,” said Liz Morningstar, executive director of the Deval Patrick Committee. “The Governor has not endorsed any candidate for Governor's Council.”
Morningstar also said the committee was exploring all legal options.
Timilty did not return phone or email messages left for her this afternoon. But her father, Joseph Timility, a former state senator and Boston city councilor, said putting the governor’s signature onto the postcard was “a terrible error.”
“It was a terrible mistake, an error which we apologize for,” he said. “I can’t say strongly enough that the signature on that document is an error and a mistake. For that we will apologize to the governor.”
But he still maintained that the campaign thought the governor had endorsed her, although he wouldn’t specify why the campaign felt that way.
The mailing featured a picture of Timilty and Patrick smiling together, with a headline reading, “Timilty means public service.”
It also bore the governor’s signature, with an endorsement that read, “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 postcards Timilty sent out last week, in the final days before voters went to the polls, and it left Jubinville little time to react.
“There’s nothing we can do at this point,” said Jack LaLond, who is Jubinville’s campaign manager, calling the move a “desperate and pathetic attempt to try and hang onto a job. ... It’s the type of politics we thought was over eons ago. Timilty ought to be ashamed.”
The main job of the Governor's Council, which consists of eight elected members as well as the lieutenant governor, is to confirm or deny the governor's nominations for the judiciary. The council also considers pardons and commutations and reviews government spending orders.
The annual pay for councilors, who meet once a week, is $26,000.
Timilty, who is seeking her eighth two-year term, is also the sister of state Senator James E. Timilty.
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