A Hot Battle for Governor’s Council

Campaigns for the Massachusetts Governor's Council, which approves judicial appointments, are usually low-key affairs. But the primary rematch between long-time District 3 councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney and challenger Mara Dolan is shaping up to be quite the contest. Dolan, an attorney and public defender who came close to unseating the cranky, outburst-prone Devaney two years ago, has lined up an impressive list of endorsements. Those backing her in the last month or so include US Representative Seth Moulton, Massachusetts state senators Mike Barrett, Will Brownsberger, Jamie Eldridge, and Cindy Friedman, Massachusetts House Majority Leader Mike Moran, and Assistant Majority Leader Alice Peisch, and eight other members of the Massachusetts House. The question: Will Devaney decide that discretion is the better part of valor and call it a career rather than risk a humiliating defeat in the Sept. 3 primary?