North Adams Has 13 Candidates So Far for Council
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A couple more candidates have taken out papers for the November city election but so far there are not enough names to consider a preliminary election.
There are now 12 possible candidates; 19 would trigger a preliminary election.
Incumbent Wayne Wilkinson and Andrew Fitch are the latest to toss their hat in the ring as of early Friday; update: Lisa Blackmer, council president, has also taken papers out. She will be seeking her eighth nonconsecutive term
Wilkinson will be running for his fifth elected term on the council. He is a real estate appraiser and has also served on the Planning Board and was chairman of the Mobile Home Rent Control Board.
Fitch, originally from eastern Massachusetts, moved to North Adams a few years ago after time spent in New York, London and the West Coast. He's become very active in the community, including as a member of the city's Zoning Board of Appeals and IDEA Commission and with Pride and arts events.
Five of the nine incumbent councilors have taken out papers for re-election: Keith Bona, Peter Oleskiewicz, Bryan Sapienza, Ashley Shade and now Wilkinson. So far Jennifer Barbeau, Marie T. Harpin and Michael Obasohan are not on the list.
Fitch joins newcomers Colin Bain, Emily Johnson, Deanna Morrow and Joshua Vallieres, and returning candidates Robert Cardimino and Ronald Sheldon, in vying for one of the nine open seats on the council.
Sapienza and Cardimino have returned and have had certified the 50 voters' signatures required to get on the ballot.
The candidate list for the school committee seats and mayor have not changed. Cody Chamberlain and Eric Wilson have returned papers for School Committee, Peter Breen for McCann School Committee and Vallieres for City Council; these had not yet been certified on Friday morning. George Canales' papers for McCann have been certified.
The deadline for submitting nomination papers is Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. Papers are available in the city clerk's office.
Candidates who have taken out papers to date (*incumbent):
Mayor (1): Jennifer Macksey*, Rachel Branch
City Council (9): Colin Bain, *Lisa Blackmer, Keith Bona*, Robert Cardimino, Andrew Fitch, Emily Johnson, Deanna Morrow, Peter Oleskiewicz*, Bryan Sapienza*, Ashley Shade*, Ronald Sheldon, Joshua Vallieres, *Wayne Wilkinson
School Committee (3): Cody Chamberlain, Tara Jacobs*, Alyssa Tomkowicz*, Eric Wilson
McCann School Committee (3): Peter Breen*, George Canales*, William Diamond*
Tags: election 2023, municipal election,
