Tewksbury board votes down member's own surveillance bylaws
Other Committee · Meeting of September 15, 2026
Tewksbury Select Board rejects a member's own surveillance-camera bylaws after a contentious debate. Board member James Mackey filed two citizen petitions restricting town surveillance technology and license-plate readers; Town Counsel Kevin Feeley warned they could conflict with the town charter and create "unintended consequences" for existing security cameras. The board voted 4-0 with one abstention to take no action on the broader bylaw and 4-1 against the license-plate-reader measure, with Mackey dissenting both times; both still go to the October 6 Special Town Meeting regardless.
Fellow member Todd Russo said the petitions felt like an attempt "to end run a vote that you lost." The board also recommended a $1,007,900 budget amendment, a $5,686,040 Shawsheen Tech assessment, $985,380 in capital spending, and two MBTA Communities Act overlay districts after Russo said the town has already lost roughly $1.7 million in state grants to noncompliance. The meeting briefly recessed after the chair ejected an unidentified audience member for repeated interruptions.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,317 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of September 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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