Newton City Councilor and Democratic state representative candidate Allison Leary has apologized after remarks she made during last week’s Charles River Regional Chamber debate with incumbent State Rep. John Lawn. Her remarks about residents of Nonantum prompted criticism from neighborhood leaders, elected officials, and community members.
During the July 22 debate, the candidates were discussing their involvement in Nonantum when Lawn criticized Leary for missing the neighborhood’s annual Village Day celebration. Leary responded that she had attended the village’s Festa and parade days later, and she proceeded to defend her ties to the community.
“I know all those people,” Leary said of Nonantum residents. “I work with all those people. They don’t want housing. They don’t want immigrants. Many of them are Republicans.”
Lawn immediately challenged the characterization, responding, “You owe the Nonantum people an apology.”
“I do not,” Leary initially replied before adding, “I love the Nonantum people. What I said is they don’t share my values. They don’t share my politics.”
The exchange quickly circulated on social media and drew criticism from Nonantum residents who said the comments unfairly portrayed one of Newton’s oldest neighborhoods. The debate was later covered by several local and regional news outlets, further amplifying the controversy.
An apology
Several days later, Leary issued both a public Facebook statement and a written statement to Fig City News acknowledging that her remarks were inappropriate.
“I made a mistake at last week’s debate,” Leary wrote. “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 described Nonantum as “a neighborhood built by immigrants” and acknowledged that residents hold a wide range of views on housing and development.
“Our diversity of opinions is not a weakness, it’s what makes it strong,” she wrote. “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.”
She said she has begun reaching out to residents personally “not to defend what I said, but to listen,” adding that she hopes to rebuild trust through conversations with constituents rather than through a public statement alone.
“I’ve pledged transparency and accountability in our government, and I want to live up to those values,” Leary wrote.
Neighborhood reaction
For Terry Sauro, president of the Nonantum Neighborhood Association, the apology was an important first step but did not erase the impact of the remarks.
“When I saw the debate, I was shocked,” Sauro told Fig City News. “I was disgusted by her comment. That’s not who we are.”
Sauro said Leary’s comments painted an inaccurate picture of a neighborhood with a long history of welcoming immigrants and embracing cultural diversity.
“She’s lived here for 25 years,” Sauro said. “She knows who we are. She knows we’re welcoming. It makes no sense to make such a hurtful, disgraceful comment.”
Sauro said residents’ concerns over recent housing proposals on Crafts Street have focused on density, infrastructure, traffic, and parking – not opposition to housing itself or to new residents.
“It’s not that we’re against development,” she said. “Good development with sufficient parking. But two 40B developments in one location [causes] a lot of traffic concerns.”
Sauro said residents have consistently supported projects they believe are thoughtfully planned while raising concerns about developments they feel could strain neighborhood infrastructure.
“We support good development,” Sauro said. “It’s about putting it in the right location.”
Sauro also disputed Leary’s suggestion that many Nonantum residents are Republicans, saying it did not reflect the neighborhood’s political makeup.
She said reducing Nonantum residents to a partisan label ignored the neighborhood’s diversity of political views as well as its long history as an immigrant community.
“Everybody comes together,” she said, recalling this year’s Festa celebration. “Whether you’re Asian, Black, White, Hispanic – everyone comes. I watched a family who had just immigrated here showing their son his first fireworks at the Festa. That’s who we are.”
While Sauro said she appreciated Leary’s apology, she believes rebuilding trust will require more than a written statement.
“A heartfelt apology is only meaningful if it’s followed by accountability and a genuine change in how people are treated,” she said. “Many in this community are still waiting for apologies for past attacks and disrespectful comments that were never acknowledged.”
She added that residents deserve “leaders who unite people, not divide them.”
The controversy carries added political significance because Nonantum is one of the largest and most active voting neighborhoods in the 10th Middlesex District, making it an influential constituency in the closely watched Democratic primary. Long known as the heart of Newton’s Italian-American community, the village has become increasingly diverse over the past several decades while maintaining a strong sense of neighborhood identity. For many residents, the current concern was not solely about housing policy or partisan politics, but about what they viewed as an inaccurate characterization of a community that prides itself on welcoming newcomers while actively debating how future growth should be managed.
Candidates prepare for primary election, Sept. 1
Leary is challenging Lawn in the September 1 Democratic primary for the 10th Middlesex House seat, which includes portions of Nonantum and Newton Corner, Waltham, and Watertown. The two candidates are facing each other again after Lawn defeated Leary in the 2022 Democratic primary.
Throughout this current campaign, the candidates have clashed over housing policy, government transparency, and leadership on Beacon Hill:
- Both candidates indicate that they support allowing religious institutions to build housing, though Leary has advocated for giving the state greater authority to override local zoning restrictions.
- Lawn has emphasized a collaborative approach to housing development, arguing that new housing can be achieved by working with residents and local officials while preserving neighborhood character. Leary has advocated for a more aggressive state role in expanding housing opportunities.
- Leary has criticized the Legislature’s stipend system, arguing it concentrates power among legislative leadership and discourages independent voices.
- The candidates have also differed on energy policy, with Leary advocating for a faster transition away from natural gas and Lawn supporting a more gradual approach.
- Leary has argued that Lawn’s long tenure on Beacon Hill makes him part of the legislative establishment, while Lawn has pointed to his role as Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing as evidence that his seniority benefits the 10th Middlesex district.
See the Charles River Regional Chamber’s video of the debate.