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FRAMINGHAM – Both of the co-presidents of the League of Women Voters Framingham chapter have pulled nomination papers to run for City Council in District 4.
On Tuesday, June 1, Stephanie Deeley of 10 Yorks Road pulled nominations papers for the District 4 City Council seat.
Yesterday. June 1, SOURCE emailed Deeley to see if she had resigned from her position as co-president, and if yes, if the news outlet could have a copy of her resignation letter.
” I have not resigned from the League of Women Voters of Framingham, nor do I plan to,” wrote Deeley at 10;20 a.m. today, June 2, to the news outlet.
Later today, June 2, James Pillsbury, who also lives at 10 Yorks Road, and is co-president of the League of Women Voters Framingham chapter with Deeley, went to the Memorial Building and pulled nomination papers to run for the District 4 City Council seat.
SOURCE reached out to Deeley & Pillsbury today, and asked if either planned to resign as co-president, since both pulled papers for the City Council seat.
On the League of Women Voters website it states, the League is “proud to be nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing candidates or political parties at any level of government, but always working on vital issues of concern to members and the public.”
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The League’s policy also states “candidates for elective office and their campaign managers cannot serve on the Board of Directors.”
Pillsbury did not respond to the SOURCE email, but Deeley did.
“I answered the question you asked about resigning from the LWV, which is very different from asking me if I resigned as the co-president. Your assumption that my statement in answer to your initial question means “…you do not plan to resign as co-president while you are running for City Council” is quite a leap! Why would you assume an answer to one question to be an answer to a totally different question? I guess I just don’t understand the rules of being a journalist. In answer to that question you just asked, I will tell you that your assumption is still wrong. I have not resigned as co-president of the LWV Framingham,” wrote Deeley to the news outlet.
“Your quote from the non-partisan policy is correct, Any candidate for elected office cannot serve as an officer of a LWV group,” wrote Deeley to SOURCE.
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“If I am certified as an official candidate for district council, I will not resign but I will take a leave of absence from my position as co-president. I will still be an active member of the LWV of Framingham. The requirements are very clear for members of the LWV and for a Board member when it comes to running for office, and I will follow all those requirements of course as have many other members of the LWV who ran for office in the past here in Framingham,” wrote Deeley to the digital news outlet.
Deeley knew the policy back in 2017 when she told Michael Cannon he needed to step down as a officer of the Framingham League of Women Voters chapter as he was a candidate for office.
SOURCE reached out to the Massachusetts chapter of the League of Women Voters, and has not heard back as of the publication of this report.
But the League of Women Voters policy states “Board members shall not chair a political campaign or administer fundraising for a political campaign, chair a campaign event, be a spokesperson, attend a fundraising event, endorse or work in any other significant way in the campaign of a candidate at any level of government.”
Nomination papers are due by July 15. All nomination papers must be certified by July 29 to appear on a Framingham ballot.
Michael Cannon has been the District 4 City Councilor since Framingham became a City on January 1, 2018. He also has taken out nomination papers, seeking re-election for a third 2-year term.
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