Paul DePalo represents District 7 which is the central part of the state. It includes the city of Worcester as well as  Gardner, Fitchburg, Leominster, Westford, Barre, Brookfield, Brimfield, Sturbridge, Bolton, Westborough,  and Grafton; in all 65 cities and towns.  See the map above for more details. These areas represent both urban and rural areas, and ethnic as well as economic diversity.

DePalo was first elected to the Governor’s Council in November 2020 and re-elected in 2022 and 2024. He is a Democrat, and in the 2024 election, he ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He was challenged by Republican Andrew Couture in the general election, who he defeated by some 60,000 votes, 57.3% to 42.5%.  

Councillor DePalo earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, a J.D. from Northeastern University, and an M.Ed. from Fitchburg State University. His career experience includes working as an attorney in Massachusetts state and federal courts, and as a public-school teacher who specialized in alternative special education programming for at-risk kids. He has been recognized for his pro bono work in education law. He has also served on the Worcester Planning Board. He is currently an attorney with Duddy, Goodwin and Pollard.

DePalo was an outspoken critic of the Parole Board under the chairmanship of Gloriann Moroney (April 2019-October, 2022), faulting them publicly for failing to conduct commutation and pardon hearings, failing to issue parole decisions in a timely way, and failing to address racial and ethnic diversity issues in parole. On July 29, 2021, in a rare event, the Governor’s Council rejected then Governor Baker’s nominee for the Parole Board. In a video clip from the vote, Councillor DePalo used the opportunity to call for Parole Board reform: “justice delayed is justice denied.” He criticized the Board for inordinate delays in parole decisions, locking people up for technical violations while on parole, and the lack of commutations and pardons, all responsible for perpetuating racial injustice. 

DePalo has called for a judicial system that reflects the geographical and racial composition of Massachusetts. In a letter to the Worcester Telegram, he pointed out that is has been over 20 years since there was a judge on the Supreme Judicial Court from central Massachusetts. And he noted that only 11% of MA judges are people of color.

According to Depalo’s website, he is committed to: 

• ending persistent racial disparities in sentencing and incarceration rates

• using commutations and pardons as a tool to address inequities

• recognizing the Importance of mental health and addiction specialists throughout the criminal legal system

• protecting bodily autonomy and LGBTQ rights.