Election 2026: Mara Dolan

Mara Dolan was the breakthrough challenger in the last Governor’s Council election, defeating a 25-year incumbent for the position. This time around, she says she’s more than ready –  and qualified – to continue her work. 

Dolan is running in the Democratic primary for reelection to the Governor’s Council, where she currently represents District 3, which includes Waltham. The Governor’s Council is responsible for reviewing and deciding whether to confirm appointments made by the governor, including judges, public administrators, parole board members, and more. It also votes on pardons and commendations recommended by the governor.

At a July event hosted by the Waltham Democratic City Committee, Dolan highlighted her experience on the council and her 20-year career as a public defender. She described told attendees about her journey to the bar, which included supporting herself financially through college and law school. She then started her career as a defense lawyer while balancing the responsibilities of a single mom. 

“I had to make it on my own. I had a lot of fights and a lot of battles, and those made me very strong,” she said. “There’s no one who is a stronger and more effective advocate for the vulnerable thant I am.” 

Over the course of her campaign, Dolan has emphasized her support for reproductive rights, rehabilitation for incarcerated people, efforts to fight systemic racism and protect courtrooms against ICE intervention.

As a practicing defense attorney, Dolan said she has a direct view of the issues that come up in court and can help create balance in a system historically dominated by former prosecutors. She puts a strong emphasis on education and has a long list of topics she wants nominees to understand. For juvenile court judges, she asks about their knowledge of juvenile brain development, and she places particular importance on their understanding of the science of addiction.

In her first term, Dolan has consistently voted to confirm Governor Maura Healey’s judicial appointments — something she attributes to Healey’s selection of qualified and informed candidates. “Our criminal justice system at its best helps people to get to a better place, and the nominees that we’re seeing share that view,” she said.

Dolan points to her long list of endorsements from labor unions and government officials, including Waltham’s current state representatives John Lawn and Tom Stanley, as further evidence of her record. 

She also has a history of political advocacy beyond the governor’s council, having served as a Massachusetts Democratic Party State Committee member and worked on the campaigns of several Democratic candidates.

This campaign season has become more contentious since Dolan’s challenger, Margie Palladino, entered the race. Palladino, a former supporter of Dolan, is running against her in part to protest Dolan’s April vote to confirm attorney Mary Ferriter as an associate justice in family and probate court.

Ferriter has come under fire from some domestic abuse survivors for her former role as the director of the High-Conflict Parent Education Course, which some Massachusetts family court judges ordered divorcing couples to attend. At her confirmation hearing, Ferriter told councilors the program screened out potential participants in active domestic abuse situations. However, before the program was shut down in 2024, some domestic violence survivors publicly stated it forced them to interact with their abusers over extended periods.

Dolan maintained that Ferriter was not responsible for requiring participation in the program. She said she heard positive testimony from many of the program’s attendees and said other aspects of Ferriter’s record further justified her candidacy. “[Ferriter] was a multiple award-winning person. Her application came with 23 pages of commendations and recommendations –  so she was really, really rock solid. And [she was] also compassionate, and had a track record of really helping people.”

Dolan said she stands by her vote, and expressed frustration that much of Palladino’s campaign has centered on it, describing her opponent’s effort as a “single-issue campaign.” Other parts of the Governor’s Council job, Dolan says, are equally as important, but haven’t been getting as much airtime. 

She pointed to the parole board, which oversees parole decisions and advises the governor on pardons, as an example. Until recently, the board was down a member, and Dolan said she would support expanding it further. 

Dolan was one of the “no” votes on the only one of Healey’s appointments the council blocked this term – a parole board nominee who Dolan said didn’t address her concerns about wrongful parole.

Dolan said she’s worked hard throughout her campaign to educate voters about the work of the governor’s council and make its proceedings more transparent. She encouraged members of the public to get involved by watching council hearings, either via livestream or in person at the state house at noon on Wednesdays.