Divorce has become an issue in campaign
Auditor candidate Amore denies claims in report
The details of the Republican candidate for state auditor’s divorce proceedings have become an issue in the statewide race, as Anthony Amore is answering questions about the 2010 divorce with less than two weeks until Election Day.
An NBC10 Boston report last week revealed that documents related to the divorce proceedings included a temporary restraining order, the confiscation of Amore’s firearm, and allegations of verbal and emotional abuse. His ex-wife also alleged in the court filings that he shoved her.
Reporter Janet Wu, a panelist on WCVB’s “On the Record” program, asked him during a Sunday appearance to address the allegations raised in the news report.
Amore denied there was any abuse, and said that “any allegation against me is unsubstantiated.”
Court documents show that while a judge issued a restraining order for Amore to keep away from their Swampscott house on the Friday that his wife requested it, that order was lifted by Monday. And though the Department of Children and Families had initially supported a child abuse or neglect report filed by his daughter’s school based on concerns about his gun, Amore appealed the finding. In February 2011, DCF changed its mind, and “decided to change the Department records to reflect that the complaint should have been unsupported,” Richard Powers, DCF area clinical manager of the Lynn area office wrote.
On WCVB, Amore said the reporting around his divorce “is an unfortunate matter and, again, it was 13 years ago.”
“Ultimately, the police chief is a supporter of mine in this campaign,” he said. “Every adjudicator from the judge to police to DCF, all ruled that any allegation against me was unsubstantiated. There are no terminal allegations against me.”
The same day as Amore’s television appearance, his oldest daughter told the Globe that his comments on television are “making a mockery of extremely painful and traumatizing lived experiences.”
”I never imagined I would be commenting on this in public, but it has been difficult to stand by and read statements that opine, misrepresent, and dismiss the events that occurred during my childhood,” Gabriela Amore, 25, wrote in a statement. “There is nothing in the affidavit that is false or in any way an elaboration or misrepresentation of what was happening in my home.”
Amore, the security director at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, is running against Democratic state Senator Diana DiZoglio of Methuen to become auditor, leading investigations of government and promoting accountability.
He is the only statewide candidate publicly backed by Republican Governor Charlie Baker, who has urged his supporters to get behind Amore. The current governor, who is not running for reelection, helped Amore collect signatures to get on the ballot and has attended fund-raisers on his behalf.
Amore said he believes his political opponent or her supporters shared the allegations with the press, not Amore’s exwife herself.
“It’s obvious that this has come up in a way to attack me and my campaign,” he said on the program. “It’s been disappointing. It’s very hard for my family.”