WESTFIELD – The deadline to turn in nomination papers for city elected office is 5 p.m. today which should give city residents a clearer picture of who is running for which office, although there will still be some ambiguity as the election season begins to heat up this fall.
One candidate, incumbent City Councilor At-large David Flaherty, is causing much of that ambiguity because he has submitted nomination papers for two City Council seats, one as the Ward 6 Councilor and the other as an At-large Councilor.
City Clerk Karen Fanion said that Flaherty’s action is not unprecedented.
“It’s happened in the past where a candidate has turned in papers for two different posts,” Fanion said.
Flaherty will have until Aug. 27, the deadline for withdrawing nomination papers for one of the seats, to decide on which of the two City Council races in which he will participate.
Flaherty could join the crowded field of At-large candidates, which would have 14 names on the November 3 general election ballot if he withdraws from the Ward 6 race.
Flaherty could withdraw from the At-large race and join the Ward 6 Councilor campaign which currently has two other candidates, Cheryl L. Crowe and William J. Onyski, who are both currently Planning Board members
Flaherty’s decision to join the Ward 6 Council race would trigger a preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 22 to decide which two candidates will appear on the General Election ballot in November.
The mayoral race could move into a preliminary as two of the three possible candidates have returned nomination papers for certification. The third potential mayoral candidate, Harold A. Phelps, has yet to submit nomination papers, which if certified, would trigger a city-wide preliminary election to reduce that number to two for the November ballot.
City Council President Brian Sullivan returned his nomination papers on June 24 and those documents have been certified, while Michael L. Roeder, who was narrowly defeated by outgoing Mayor Daniel M. Knapik two years ago, returned his papers on Aug. 5.
Ward 4 residents will have to wait until November to decide who will represent that ward in City Council. It appeared there that a preliminary was possible, with two new challengers attempting to unseat long-time incumbent Mary O’Connell.
One of those potential challengers, Mark Butler, who had drawn papers for both posts, returned the At-large documents on July 27, 2015.
O’Connell will now face Katherine Z. Bentrewicz, a Juniper Park School parent, in the November election. The issue of transporting children, who had attended Juniper Park Elementary School, to Russell, where the city has leased a former school building, may be the focal point of the Ward 4 race.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe, who had also drawn both ward and At-large papers, returned the Ward nomination documents on Aug. 5. That sets up a rematch of the Ward 1 race two years ago in which Keefe turned aside the challenge of Mary Ann Babinski in a race that was so close it required a recount to declare Keefe the winner by 11 votes.
Incumbent Ward 3 Councilor Brian R. Hoose returned his documents on Aug. 6. Hoose ran unopposed two years ago but will face the challenge of Andrew Kevin Surprise, who returned his papers on Aug. 4, 2015 in the November General Election.
Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy and Ward 5 Councilor Robert A. Paul, Sr., will not face an opponent on the November ballot, but there is still the potential of a Ward 2 or 5 resident initiating a write-in campaign.
Currently the field of At-large City Council candidates includes: Carl Vincent; Muneeb Moon Mahmood; Rudolph Musterait; John J. Beltrandi III; Steve Dondley; Dan Allie; Matthew T. VanHeynigen; Brent B. Bean II; Flaherty: Butler; Daniel M. Knapik; Cindy C. Harris; Kevin P. Medeiros; and Richard S. Holcomb.
