North Adams Seeing Races for Mayor, Council
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — With eight days to go to get nomination papers in, races are shaping up for mayor and City Council this election season.
Update on Aug. 12: Two more candidates have added their names as mayoral possibilities.
John Barrett III, once the longest serving mayor in the state, pulled papers on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Barrett served 26 years in the corner office and single term as councilor from 2011-13.
Also pulling papers for mayor is Nik Lareau of 44 Ashland St., whose LinkedIn profile says she is an information services professional.
Also running are incumbent Richard J. Alcombright for a fourth term; local artist and developer Eric Rudd and Richard David Greene.
As of early Aug. 12, only Rudd had returned papers. Should at least three return papers, that would mean a preliminary election.
Four candidates have also stepped forward for School Committee: Karen M. Bond of 61 Marion Ave., Miles D. Wheat of 215 Richview Ave., Nicholas P. Fahey of 210 East Main St. and Tara J. Jacobs of 35 East Quincy St.
One name has been added and another deducted from the list of council candidates. Robert R. Moulton Jr. of 985 Massachusetts Ave., a former councilor and mayoral candidate, took out papers Wednesday, Aug. 12. Edward L. Lacosse of Brayton Hill Terrace, however, who was the first to return papers, withdrew his name on Aug. 11.
That brings the number of potential council candidates to 15. To prompt a preliminary, there would need to be 19 candidates.
Richard J. Alcombright is seeking a fourth two-year term as mayor. The incumbent had not returned his nomination papers by Friday but did kick off his campaign last month.
He is being challenged by local artist and real estate developer Eric Rudd, who filed his signatures in June. A third possible candidate, Richard David Greene of State Road, took out papers a week ago but has not returned them.
Greene also pulled papers in 2013 but did not return them. Should he do so this time, or if another candidate steps forward, a preliminary election will be held Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Fifteen people have so far taken out papers to run for City Council. The candidates run at-large, with the top nine vote-getters elected to two-year terms on the council.
Eight of the nine incumbents are gathering signatures for nomination, but none had returned their papers as of Friday. The incumbents are Eric R. Buddington of Warren Street, Wayne J. Wilkinson of Oak Hill, Keith J. Bona of North Street, Lisa Michelle Blackmer of Cleveland Avenue, Benjamin J. Lamb of Marion Avenue, Nancy P. Bullett of Maple Street, Kate Hanley Merrigan of East Main Street and Joshua J. Moran of Catherine Street. Councilor Jennifer Breen has not taken out papers.
Also taking out papers are former councilors Ronald A. Boucher of Barbour Street and David A. Bond of Marion Avenue. Boucher served six terms on the council before an unsuccessful run at the corner office in 2011. Bond was first elected in 2009 and served two terms; he was not able to get enough certified signatures for a last-minute run 2013.
Robert F. Cardimino of East Main Street, who has run unsuccessfully in the past, is planning to try again. He took out papers last week but has not returned signatures.
Newcomers Joseph P. Gniadek of East Main Street, a retired Drury science teacher and member of the Mobile Home Rent Control Board, and Edward L. Lacosse of Brayton Hill Terrace both have had their nomination papers certified. Lacosse was the quickest to return his, having taken them out on April 28 and returned the signatures on May 6. Also taking out papers are Ronald K. Sheldon of Liberty Street and David M. Owens-Branco of Jackson Street.
No one, however, has taken out papers yet for three four-year terms on the School Committee. Mary Lou Acetta, Lawrence K. Taft and David Lamarre are completing terms this year.
Update on July 23: Karen Bond of Marion Avenue has taken out papers for School Committee.
George A. Canales of Williams Street, who has returned his papers, and William R. Diamond of Marion Avenue are running for re-election to the McCann School Committee.
All the positions up for election require the certified signatures of 50 registered voters. The deadline to submit signatures for certification is Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 5 p.m. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3; absentee ballots would have to be received by Monday noon the day before the general election or, if held, the preliminary election.
Campaign finance reports are due on Sept. 21, Oct. 30, and on Jan. 20, 2016, all by 5 p.m.
The last day to register to vote in the preliminary election is Wednesday, Sept. 2, and for the general election, Wednesday, Oct. 14.
City Clerk Marilyn Gomeau is encouraging voters to make sure they are registered as "active." Residents who do not turn in their city census or confirmation, or drop, notices may be designated as "inactive" on the voter rolls.
"They can vote but there's a process when they're at the polling place," she said. "They can't just walk in and say they want to vote."
Inactive voters must fill out a form declaring their address and provide proof of residence, such as a driver's license or recent rent receipt. Voters can determine if they are registered as inactive by checking the secretary of state's inactive voters page, which lists information about the inactive designation and a portal to the voter search function. Your name will have an I or an A next to it showing if it inactive or active.
"We're trying to encourage people to come in before the last day to register to vote so on election day they don't have to go through that process," she said.
Tags: candidates, election 2015,
