WESTFIELD – City voters will select three members of the School Committee this fall and at least two of the three incumbents will serve another four-year term, while the Municipal Light Board has only one contest for the six ward seats this fall.
School Committee incumbents Diane M. Mayhew, Kevin Sullivan and Ramon Diaz, Jr., have all returned nomination papers to secure a place on the ballot in November. The incumbents face a new challenger, Kaitlin L. Hurd, who is seeking to secure one of the three seats. Hurd has yet to return her nomination documents for certification.
The Municipal Light Board will have a very familiar look following the election as five of the present members do not face a challenger in the Nov 3 general election. Ward 2 Commissioner Ray Rivera, Ward 3 Commissioner Jane C. Wensley, Ward 4 Commissioner Francis L. Liptak, Ward 5 Commissioner Thomas P. Flaherty Sr., and Ward 6 Commissioner Robert J. Sacco have all returned nominations papers to secure a place on the General Election Ballot.
The only contest is for the Ward 1 MLB seat where incumbent Kevin M. Kelleher faces a challenge by Jason A. Lavallee, but neither of those possible candidates has submitted their nomination papers for certification by the City Clerk’s office.
Citizens seeking to enter one of the five races including the mayoral, City Council At-large and six City Council ward seats, six ward seats on the Municipal Light Board and three seats on that School Committee can take out nomination petition documents, which require the signatures of 50 registered city voters for certification although the City Clerk suggests collecting an additional 10 signatures “as a precaution against unacceptable signatures,” no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7. Those nominations papers must be returned to the City Clerk’s office no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
If a preliminary election is required to reduce the number of candidates, potentially the mayoral race and City Council Ward 4 and 6 seats, it would be held on Tuesday, Sept. 22. City residents desiring to register to vote in any preliminary contest have until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
The deadline for registering to vote in the November General Election is 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
