“I’m running, and I’m running as fast as I can.” 

That’s how longtime Wellesley resident Margie Palladino describes her campaign to join the Massachusetts Governor’s Council, an eight-member elected body that votes on the governor’s judicial nominees.

With just three weeks before the ballot deadline, Palladino decided to join the race for the District 3 Councilor position. Despite the short notice, her supporters quickly gathered the 1,000 signatures needed to secure a spot on the ballot, setting up her campaign against incumbent Mara Dolan.

A retired trial attorney, Palladino has never held elected office. But she believes decades of local advocacy work — including securing a school bus route for students in her neighborhood and installing a stop sign on a busy residential street — have prepared her for the role. 

Palladino is also the co-founder of the Massachusetts Family Advocacy Coalition (MFAC), a nonprofit advocating for reforms to the family court system. There, she has worked with lawmakers to address domestic violence and coercive control.

“I live by this rule that if you don’t like what’s happening, you have to step up and make change,” Palladino said.

Palladino, a Democrat, is challenging fellow Democrat Dolan, who currently represents Wellesley in the Governor’s Council. Prior to serving on the Council, Dolan worked as a public defender for 15 years. 

Palladino said the catalyst for her campaign was Dolan’s April 2026 vote to confirm Mary Ferriter as a Probate and Family Court judge. 

According to Palladino, Dolan had sought the support of members of the Massachusetts Family Advocacy Coalition during her 2024 campaign, promising to confirm judges who were informed about domestic violence and trauma.

Palladino said MFAC “immediately jumped on her bandwagon,” with members donating money, setting up lawn signs and encouraging friends and family to vote for Dolan. 

“And she did get elected, and we just went on to our other silos of work, never concerned that the promise that she made would be breached,” Palladino said. 

Then, fourteen months into Dolan’s term, Governor Maura Healey nominated Ferriter to serve on the Probate and Family Court. 

Before her nomination, Ferriter practiced family law and served as the director of a controversial class for parents experiencing separation. The class, which is now discontinued, sought to create a better environment for children by facilitating healthy interactions between parents, such as meeting for coffee or finding “positive traits” about each other. 

Although the class is meant to screen out families experiencing domestic violence, many participants say they were still required to attend classes alongside their abusers. Refusing to attend or failing the class could impact their custodial rights, according to attendees. 

Rebecca Epstein, a member of MFAC who was ordered to participate in Ferriter’s class despite having a no-contact order with the parent of her child, described her experiences with Ferriter as “frankly traumatizing.”

In an interview with The Swellesley Report, Dolan said she is proud of her vote to confirm Ferriter, who Dolan described as well-qualified and thoroughly vetted. 

“[Ferriter] has helped countless victims of intimate partner violence,” Dolan said. “And I am disappointed that someone would suggest that Maura Healey …  would ever have nominated someone to be a probate and family court judge who would not be sensitive to these issues.”

Dolan maintained that she is “by far more qualified” for the Governor’s Council seat, as she currently practices law — while Palladino has not for years — and it’s important to have a councilor with a legal background.

Following Ferriter’s confirmation, Palladino said many members of MFAC asked her to challenge Dolan’s seat. 

However, Palladino emphasized that her decision to run was not solely about Ferriter. 

“I get asked, ‘Is this only about one vote?’ And it certainly is not,” Palladino said. “It’s really about trust, integrity, and judgment … she let down a group that typically does not have much power at all, that often is not listened to.” 

As councilor, Palladino said she would work with her colleagues to make the Governor’s Council more transparent. This includes publicizing councilors’ voting records, which currently can only be attained through a public records request, and establishing rules regarding conflicts of interest between councilors and nominees. 

Palladino is not the only one who thinks the Governor’s Council could benefit from greater transparency. David Harris co-founded Who Governs the Governor’s Council (WGGC), an educational resource aimed at increasing awareness of and improving the Council. 

Although the Governor’s Council has existed for hundreds of years, many Massachusetts residents are not even aware of its existence. On ballots, the office is listed simply as “Councilor,” a title that can leave voters unsure of what the position entails.

As a nonpartisan organization, Harris said WGGC is glad to see competitive races for the Governor’s Council. 

“I respect and admire [Palladino] as someone who learned about the Governor’s Council, didn’t like it and decided to try to do something about it,” Harris said.

Because Palladino and Dolan are both Democrats, and no Republican has entered the race, the District 3 seat will be decided in the Sept. 1 Democratic primary. 

More: 2026 State Primary Election information

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Wellesley residents turnout out in big numbers as part of the 3rd major round of country-wide “No Kings” rallies since June 2025. The events started up shortly after Donald Trump was inaugurated into his second term as president in Jan. 2025.

Protesters were there to stand up against what they said were the authoritarian policies of the Trump administration, the need to protect democracy, and to speak against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE raids were on the minds—and placards—of many. “It’s the violence and the lawlessness against people that I object to,” said a member of the crowd who did not want to be named.

Wellesley police were on hand and would occasionally ask people to keep the sidewalks clear.

Against the backdrop of Wellesley’s historic Town Hall, an estimated 600-700 people, some costumed, put in a showing and enjoyed the support of drivers who honked horns as they passed through the busy Washington Street strip. No counterprotests were in evidence at the event.

The peaceful protest was supported by  groups including the League of Women Voters of Wellesley; Neighbors United Indivisible; Immigration Justice Group at Temple Beth Elohim; UU Wellesley Hills; World of Wellesley; Wellesley College Young Democratic Socialists; and Wellesley College Democrats.

Many “No Kings” rallies were held in the area, including in Natick, Newton, Needham, and Boston.

News reports say that this was the biggest outcry yet, with over 3,000 organized events from small towns to big cities that drew an estimated 8-9 million people.

White House officials and Trump supporters have been widely quoted as disparaging the protests and saying that they are of no concern to the administration or those who agree with the president’s policies.

 

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More: On Sunday, local college students rallied in front of Wellesley Town Hall to demand the return of Babson College freshman Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, who was mistakenly deported while trying to visit her parents over Thanksgiving. (Boston Globe)

Some 200 people turned out on Friday, Jan. 23 in front of Wellesley Town Hall to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, a day before another Minnesota resident was killed during an encounter with ICE personnel.

An ICE Out for Good rally was held at the same spot just a few days earlier.

The Wellesley News, the Wellesley College student-run newspaper and site, covered the latest protest.

Thanks to Iris Zhan (@wellesleystudent) for sharing photos.
 

More than a hundred people gathered in front of Wellesley Town Hall and across the street on Tuesday afternoon in front of the library as part of the nationwide “Free America” walkout on the one-year anniversary of the current federal administration taking office.

People held signs, spoke out, and waved to passersby in the latest rally along that stretch of Washington Street.