Alison Leary issues apology for comments made during debate

Middlesex 10th District representative primary candidate Alison Leary has issued an apology for comments she made about Nonantum in last week’s debate.

During a debate on July 22 between Leary and incumbent John Lawn, Lawn remarked that “all the neighborhood groups” associated with where Leary lives in Newton have endorsed his campaign.

In response, Leary explained that because the neighborhood associations that Lawn referenced didn’t share her values, they didn’t endorse her. She clarified that she remains on friendly terms with the groups and plans to continue working with them.

“They don’t want housing, they don’t want immigrants. Many of them are Republicans. They don’t share my values or my politics,” she said.

“You owe the people of Nonantum an apology,” Lawn said in response to her comments. “Those are the people she represents, and I don’t know how you’d represent an entire district if that’s what you’re saying.”

Leary eventually issued an apology via Facebook on July 27, taking back her comments. 

“I made a mistake at last week’s debate. I referred to some of my constituents — the people I’m asking to trust me with their vote — as anti-immigrant and anti-housing. That was wrong, disrespectful, and I own it fully,” Leary wrote in her statement.

She went on to say that the diversity of opinions that exist in Nonantum aren’t a drawback, but a strength.

“Reducing any of my neighbors to a label is exactly the kind of politics I’ve said I don’t want to practice. I failed that standard in last week’s forum, and I’m sorry,” Leary wrote.

Leary invited residents to reach her via email at alison@alisonleary.com to to discuss the issue further. 

“I’d rather earn back trust through that conversation and not just through a statement,” she said. “I’ve pledged transparency and accountability in our government, and I want to live up to those values.”