Political career
Taunton City Council
In 2021, Dooner was elected to the Taunton City Council, becoming the youngest woman ever to hold the position. During her tenure, she served as the council president and worked to designate Taunton as a Purple Heart City. She also collaborated with Mayor Shaunna O'Connell to double the senior tax credit and addressed the city's financial issues.Massachusetts State Senate
In November 2024, Dooner won election to the 1st Plymouth and Bristol district State Senate seat, turning the seat Republican for the first time in decades. She defeated Democrat and long-term Raynham Selectman Joe Pacheco in a tight race. Dooner assumed office on January 1st, 2025.Political positions
Dooner has expressed concerns about the state's spending and policies regarding undocumented migrants. She has criticized the use of hotels as emergency shelters for migrants, advocating for prioritizing housing for military veterans and indignant families who are U.S. citizens. Additionally, she made headlines when she called for audits of the state's Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card system, saying the state was "handing them out like candy"; she claimed that the (larger) number of cards issued compared to the number of food stamp recipients indicated potential fraud. However, a spokesperson for the Department of Transitional Assistance explained that the number of "active cards" also includes former recipients of aid, and those who have applied but have not been approved. In addition, 200,000 new EBT cards were issued to administer the federally-funded Summer Child Nutrition Program".Personal life
Dooner lives in Taunton with her husband, Louis Picardi. She works as a paralegal for a Boston law firm.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dooner, Kelly Living people People from Taunton, Massachusetts Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts Women city councillors in Massachusetts Massachusetts city council members 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court Year of birth missing (living people)