WESTFIELD – City Officials are anticipating at least one preliminary election in September because of the number of potential candidates who have taken out nomination papers.
Presently there are two races for Ward 2 representation which could require a preliminary election, which would be conducted on Tuesday, Sept. 24, to select the candidates whose names will appear on the ballot of the general election slated for Nov. 5, 2013.
Four Ward 2 residents have taken out nomination papers, a number that has to be reduced to two for the general election.
Daniel J. Allie of Union Street, Ralph Figy of Brookline Avenue, Carl Vincent of South Maple Street, and Brian Winters of Cross Street have all pulled nomination papers for the Ward 2 city council contest.
Allie, Figy and Vincent have already returned those papers which have been verified by the Board of Registrars to have the required 50 signatures of Ward 2 residents. Winters has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday Aug. 6 to return his nomination papers for validation of signatures.
Nomination papers became available at 9 a.m. on April 1 and have to be returned for signature verification by Aug. 6. The Board of Registrars has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20, to verify the nomination paper signatures. Candidates can still withdraw their names from the ballot until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22.
The Ward 2 council race is further muddled by the fact that Allie also returned nomination papers for City Council At-large which also have been validated, meaning that Allie will have “to declare” his intention to run for either the ward seat or the At-large post.
The Ward 2 seat on the Municipal Light Board may also require a preliminary election because there are three candidates to replace the incumbent, Robert A. Paul Sr., of Camelot Lane who is challenging the Ward 5 City Council incumbent, Richard E. Onofrey Jr. Paul was knocked out of Ward 2 when ward precinct lines were redrawn based upon the 2010 federal census and approved by the City Council and State. Paul was bumped into Ward 5 and chose not to oppose the MLB incumbent for that ward, Tom Flaherty.
Seeking to replace Paul are Ramon Rivera of Mechanic Street, Mark A. Noonan of Squawfield Road and Lynn F. Boscher. Rivera, currently a member of the Planning Board, is the only one of the three to have returned nomination papers for signature validation.
That race could be interesting because both Boscher and Noonan have also served as City Council representatives. Boscher is currently on the Zoning Board of Appeals and is a former member of the Planning Board, while Noonan was the City Planner and Conservation Coordinator, a post he now holds in West Springfield.
Another contest which may require a preliminary election, depending on validation of nomination papers, is the race for mayor. Three potential candidates, including incumbent Daniel M. Knapik, have taken out papers. Michael L. Roeder of Western Avenue and James A. Williams Sr., of Madison Street, both new to election politics, have also taken out nomination papers.
It does not appear that a preliminary election will be required to thin the number of candidates seeking election of At-large members of the city council. There are currently nine potential candidates and a preliminary race would be needed only if 15 or more candidates are validated for the seven council At-large seats being contested.
The present candidates whose papers have been validated are: Matthew VanHeynigen of Hawthorne Ave.; Brent B. Bean II of Ridgecrest Drive; Brian Sullivan of Sherwood Ave.; Agma Sweeney of Pleasant Street; and Allie.
Possible candidates who have pulled nomination papers include: David A. Flaherty of Marla Circle; John J. Beltrandi III of Jeanne Marie Drive; Matthew J. Collins of Parker Avenue and Stephen C. Dondley of Kane Brothers Circle.
Three seats are being contested on the School Committee with four candidates seeking to contend for those posts. Michael Tirell of Darby Dr., William Duval of Sackett Road, Cindy Sullivan of Yankee Circle and Jeffrey L. Gosselin of Elm Street have taken out nomination papers. Sullivan and Gosselin have returned their papers which have been validated.
Other contested races, which may not require a preliminary election, unless additional candidates join the races, are for City Council Ward seats.
Two candidates have pulled nomination papers for Ward 1, Christopher Keefe of Yoeman Avenue and Mary Ann Babinski of Rogers Avenue; Ward 3 has both Ann Callahan of Granville Road and Brian R. Hoose of Arnold Street; Ward 4 has Mary L. O’Connell of Old Park Lane and John J. Michaliszyn of Sackett Road, and Ward 5 has Onofrey and Paul.
