By Adam Swift
The candidate list has been certified for the municipal election scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4, according to city Election Director Danielle Pietrantonio.
One preliminary election could take place for the Ward 1 School Committee seat on Tuesday, Sept. 16, with three candidates on the ballot.
Pietrantonio said the deadline for withdrawals from or objections to the ballot is Thursday, August 14, at which point the ballot will become official.
The potential Ward 1 School Committee race would feature incumbent Jacqueline Monterroso, Kathryn Schulte-Grahame, and Michael Toto, Jr.
There is a chance that even with the three candidates in Ward 1, there will not be a preliminary election.
Last week, Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky introduced a motion calling for a home rule petition to eliminate the preliminary election in 2025, citing the cost associated with having an additional election with minimal races and candidates.
The motion was moved to the next meeting of the council’s legislative affairs committee later this month. If the motion does pass, the home rule petition will still need the approval of the state legislature and the governor before becoming official.
In the general election on Nov. 4, there are several contested races on tap.
The city council-at-large race promises to garner interest, with eight candidates on the ballot for five seats.
The five incumbents – Anthony Zambuto, Robert Haas, Marc Silvestri, Juan Pablo Jaramillo, and Michelle Kelley – are all running for reelection. In addition, longtime Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna is giving up her ward seat to run for an at-large position. Those candidates are joined on the ballot by former council candidates Anthony Parziale and Wayne Rose.
In Ward 1, James Mercurio and Brian Averback are looking to take the seat currently held by McKenna.
The other five incumbent ward councilors – Ira Novoselsky in Ward 2, Anthony Cogliandro in Ward 3, Paul Argenzio in Ward 4, Angela Guarino-Sawaya in Ward 5, and Christopher Giannino in Ward 6 – are running unopposed.
The school committee at-large race has incumbents John Kingston, Stacey Brondson-Rizzo, and Frederick Sannella are facing a challenge from Ralph DeCicco Jr.
In other school committee ward races, Rafael Feliciano and Alexander Rhalimi are on the ballot in Ward 2, Anthony Caggiano is running unopposed in Ward 3 as is Stephen Damiano Jr. in Ward 4.
In Ward 5, Aisha Millbury-Ellis and Sannella are both certified for the ballot, although Sannella will have to decide if he wants to run for the at-large or ward seat.
In Ward 6, Vanessa Biasella is running unopposed for that school committee seat.
