Around New England

Attleboro State Rep Candidate Took Campaign Donation From Marijuana Business That Sought Her Zoning Help As City Councilor

February 22, 2018

An Attleboro city councilor running for state representative took a $1,000 campaign donation from the chief executive officer of a medical marijuana facility who sought her help in getting a zoning dispute resolved by the Attleboro Municipal Council.

Julie Hall, a Republican, told The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro that she doesn’t see the donation as a reward for the special permit that the marijuana facility got from the city council she serves on.

“Absolutely not, I don’t think any of my supporters do it to reward me. What would they be rewarding for?” she said. “I would hope they are doing it because they believe in me; do it because they like the way I handle issues and challenges and think I will make a super representative.”

Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux, a Democrat who held the now-vacant state representative seat until recently, initially said he planned to hold onto it even after he was elected mayor, in part so it could stay in Democratic hands. He said he was concerned that Hall, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, would win the seat for the Republicans.

“She is very popular and I think she has a very strong chance. In fact I would say she would win if we went into a special election and only had 60 days. I don’t think there’s a single Democrat in the city that could beat her,” Heroux told State House News Service shortly after the November 2017 election.

Heroux eventually resigned as state representative, triggering the special election.

Hall’s opponent in the Republican primary, Jeff Bailey, called Hall’s acceptance of the donation “disappointing” and pledged to avoid backroom deals if elected, according to The Sun Chronicle.

The primary is Tuesday, March 6.