It may not have seemed possible, but Patricia Campatelli has further besmirched the honor of the office of the Suffolk County register of probate. The register, who was elected to her position in a 2012 upset, has already compiled a long enough record of erratic behavior to raise serious doubts about reelecting her. To many voters, the office itself is inconsequential, and some might have been tempted to support her just for the entertainment value. But her latest antics — falsely claiming to have an endorsement from Senator Elizabeth Warren — leave no doubt that voters need to pick one of her opponents in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.
On her Facebook page this week, Campatelli or one of her campaign staffers wrote, “Big thanks to Elizabeth Warren for endorsing Patty Campatelli.” As Warren’s office quickly confirmed, the senator never endorsed Campatelli. The campaign simply lied. The escapade caps off two years in which Campatelli has been suspended from office for allegedly punching an employee at an office Christmas party, found to be doing little on the job except scratching lottery tickets and taking lengthy smoke breaks, and publishing profanity-laced posts on Facebook. Campatelli remains suspended, though she continues to collect her paycheck for the $134,691-a-year job.
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The other Democratic candidates are former city councilor Felix D. Arroyo, lawyers David T. Keenan and Martin J. Keogh, East Boston resident John Sepulveda, and probation officer Richard J. Joyce. Even if voters don’t care who wins, it would be a humane gesture to the register’s employees to pick someone other than Campatelli for the job.