NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — With seven business days left to file papers for city office, North Adams is so far on track to be assured its first woman mayor. 

 

Josh Vallieres, the only man to so far pull papers, announced on his Facebook page on Tuesday that he was pivoting to School Committee. 

 

The city clerk's office confirmed that they were aware of his decision but as of early Wednesday afternoon he had not yet formally withdrawn or picked up nomination papers for School Committee. 

 

The posted on Facebook that he had made the "tough choice'' to suspend his mayoral campaign "after much consideration and consultation."

 

"I'm very grateful to everyone who has supported and contributed to this campaign," he wrote. "North Adams Public Schools will be well served in having a recent graduate sitting at the table. To everyone who has supported me so far, I want to take the chance to thank you all, and to assure you that this will be the start of real substantive change in North Adams."

 

The professed progressive candidate is a city native and is entering his senior year at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the fall. His departure leaves four women vying for the corner office: Lynette Ritland Bond, Rachel Branch, Aprilyn Carsno and Jennifer Macksey. 

 

The will meet in September for a preliminary election to narrow the field to two. 

 

Also withdrawing from nominations is longtime School Committee member Heather Boulger, who has also held the post of vice chairman for more than a decade. 

 

Incumbent Emily Daunis and David Sookey have pulled papers for committee; with the addition of Vallieres, there are so far three candidates for four seats. Incumbents Ian Bergeron and James Holmes have not taken out papers so far. Both Daunis and Sookey ran unsuccessfully in the last election but Daunis was voted in by the committee and City Council a year ago to fill an unexpired term. While the other three terms are for four years, that term is up in 2023 but Daunis must win the seat in the election to complete it. 

 

There is only one candidate for two four-year seats on the McCann School Committee. Gary Rivers, the school's former principal, has taken out papers for a fourth term. Longtime committee member Paul Gigliotti died last month but no has stepped forward to run in his place. 

 

The number of candidates for City Council now stands at 18 for the nine at-large seats. Jason Laforest is the latest incumbent to pull papers, joining Lisa Blackmer, Keith Bona, Marie T. Harpin, Peter Oleskiewicz, Jessica Sweeney and Wayne Wilkinson, and the newest councilor, Bryan K. Sapienza, who was recently sworn in to fill a vacant seat. 

 

The others are Jennifer Barbeau, Roger Eurbin, Raymond A. Moore, Barbara Ellen Murray, Michael I. Obasohan, Jesse Lee Egan Poirier, Ashley M. Shade, Heidi Shartrand-Newell and Ronald Sheldon and Joseph Smith. 

 

The last day to submit nomination papers for certification of signatures is July 23. If there are more than 18 City Council candidates, those offices will be on the ballot with the mayor in the preliminary election to be held on Sept. 21.