According to Norfolk's 2011 Annual Report, Shawn Dooley was also appointed a Justice of the Peace by Governor Deval Patrick and performed numerous marriage ceremonies in 2012, many of which were held at the gazebo on Town Hill.

The impetus of this bill was when China's government owned CRRC gained the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority contract for manufacturing orange lines cars.

[6][7] In August 2020, the conservative website New Boston Post published an excerpt from Representative Dooley’s nightly Facebook post on the pandemic criticizing Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and calling him "King Charles" for implementing COVID-19 restrictions without consulting the legislature and issuing numerous executive orders under the guise of a state of emergency, after a spike of cases rose in Massachusetts.

[8] On January 3, 2021, Dooley challenged Trump supporter Jim Lyons for the Chairmanship of the Massachusetts Republican Party in an effort to "capture that middle ground as opposed to going far hard-right".

Following the resignation, outgoing Governor Charlie Baker appointed Dooley to the position of Commissioner of the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission.