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Mayor Ruthanne Fuller recently nominated David Power to serve a four-year term on the Election Commission, representing the Republican party.

There was one problem: Power was not on the list of candidates submitted by the local Republican committee.

The City Council approved the appointment on Tuesday night but not before a lengthy debate.

While the appointments to the Elections Commission are partisan, the work the Commission does is not.

The controversy

Power, who serves as CEO of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, has lived in Newton for 31 years. And although he’s been a registered Republican since 1980, he acknowledged at the Jan. 8 Programs and Services Committee meeting that he has not been active with the party.

“I became aware of this position through the mayor, whom I’ve known since the ‘80s, professionally and personally,” Power told the committee. “And I’m interested in the role because I believe in free and fair elections. I think it’s a cornerstone of democracy, and I have a nonpartisan interest in serving Newton, if you’ll have me.”

He was met with several voices in opposition.

Newton Republican City Committee Chair Jessica Flynn, who also serves on the Massachusetts State Republican Committee, asked that the appointment be suspended and that the city use a thorough nomination process for the Election Commission.

“The Election Commission is distinct in its mandate for political balance, with appointments representing the two leading political parties, a fundamental safeguard for fairness in our democracy,” Flynn said.

Flynn pointed out that Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office recommends soliciting names from local party committees.

“This has historically been the practice in Newton, as well as in cities like Waltham and Quincy, where local political parties hold an election and then nominate three individuals for consideration at the end of a commissioner’s term,” Flynn said.

Flynn said that after a Republican commissioner announced he would step down after the 2024 election, the Newton Republican City Committee sent the names of three candidates for the mayor to consider. None of them were David Power, who admits he has not been active with the local Republicans.

“Our local political committee was disenfranchised, and our candidates—who have earned sufficient esteem to be elected, by being engaged with a local political party, working as poll workers and running for public office—were dismissed,” she said.

There’s also the fact that commissioners who step down before their term ends are typically replaced for the remainder of their term and then a new nomination comes for the following term. In this case, Power is nominated for the remainder of the term ending in March of this year and also nominated for the four-year term starting April 1.

Others spoke out against the nomination, citing both ethical and legal concerns, while some spoke in support of mayor’s pick.

The Programs and Services Committee voted to oppose the nomination before sending it to the full City Council, despite the Law Department saying the mayor is legally allowed to appoint anyone who has been a Republican for two years.

Better solution?

On Tuesday, Councilor John Oliver (who also serves on Programs and Services) asked for the City Council to find a “better solution” and have the Republicans and the mayor come up with a nominee they can all agree with.

“I simply would like to see us be able to vote, up or down, on a candidate that not only the Republican committee is amenable to but the mayor is OK putting forward,” Oliver said. “Ultimately it is her decision. I’m not debating that. I just want the person that is in front of us as a recommendation for the appointee not be as objectionable to one of the two parties—no pun intended—that have a stake in this.”

City Councilor Bill Humphrey, another Programs and Services member, said the question is about Power as the nominee, not a hypothetical nominee or process.

“Over and over and over again, many people expressed great admiration for this nominee and felt the nominee was very qualified, etc., but obviously some people had some objections or concerns because they preferred somebody other than this nominee, which I don’t really think is in front of us,” Humphrey said. “But also, at this point, the mayor has made very clear—in her communications with us and her communications privately—that she has no intention of going through some sort of alternative process.”

Most of the City Council agreed with Humphrey and approved the David Power appointment with 13 in favor and nine against. One councilor was absent, and Council President Marc Laredo, who is running for mayor, recused himself.

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