Family of Late State Sen. Donnelly Endorses Cindy Friedman for Seat

BEACON HILL, MA – The family of late state Sen. Ken Donnelly announced its "unanimous and enthusiastic" endorsement of Cindy Friedman for his vacant seat. Friedman is one of three candidates so far to run for the 4th Middlesex District seat, which will be decided in a special election July 25.

Donnelly, an Arlington Democrat who represented the 4th Middlesex District's Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Woburn, and parts of Lexington, died earlier this month following an eight-month battle with a brain tumor. He was 66.

Friedman, Donnelly's chief of staff, faces 23rd Middlesex District Rep. Sean Garballey and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education parent representative Mary Ann Stewart in the special election. All three are Democrats.

"Ken loved serving the people of the 4th Middlesex district, and nobody did more for nearly a decade to help him do his job than Cindy," Ryan, Keith, Brenna and Judy Donnelly said in a statement. "The thousands of hours they worked together to ensure that the people of this district got their fair share of services from the state; the thousands of hours they dedicated to move Ken’s agenda forward; and the thousands of hours they put in together to help individuals navigate the often overwhelming state bureaucracy, are three of the big reasons we as a family intend to work for, and vote for, Cindy."

Brenna Donnelly is co-chair of Friedman's campaign. She said her family will "knock on doors, hold signs, make phone calls, and, of course, vote" on June 27, the date of the primary. So far, no Republican has announced a bid for Donnelly's seat.

"I’m humbled beyond all measure that Ken’s family has the confidence in me that they do," Friedman said in a statement. "I will always treasure their friendship and the years I worked alongside Ken and will work to ensure that Ken’s remaining agenda, that he wished to see debated and enacted, is aggressively pursued."

According to Secretary of State William Galvin, whose office oversees elections, nomination papers are due by May 23. Candidates must gather at least 300 certified signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Nomination papers will be available at the city and town halls of the communities in the district and at the state elections division, located in Room 1705 of the McCormack State Office Building, One Ashburton Place, Boston. The elections division may be reached at 1-800-462-VOTE.

Read the full statement from the Donnelly family below:

"It is important to us that the voters whom Ken served understand that this endorsement of Cindy is an affirmative action on our part to support the person we believe is ready on Day One to do the people’s business. And, because we know how long and how hard Cindy thought about whether or not to be a candidate in this contest, we deeply appreciate her ultimate decision to continue Ken’s legacy and initiatives, especially in the areas of mental health care, worker rights, support for unions, educational opportunity, and wage inequality."

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