The City Election ballot for November has been set for City Council and School Committee, and it features several intriguing races – and one blockbuster Preliminary Election on Sept. 24 in District 2.
The City Clerk’s Office has concluded the certification process this month, and one of the most interesting outcomes is a Preliminary Election for District 2.
Three good candidates have filed signatures for the Powderhorn Hill district, and the campaigns will begin to take shape immediately.
Incumbent Councilor Luis Tejada has filed his signatures, and he will once again face challenger Olivia Ann Walsh – an attorney who lives at the Soldiers’ Home and ran against Tejada two years ago.
The interesting new candidate is Melinda Vega Maldonado, who is the daughter of Chelsea Collaborative Director Gladys Vega and the wife of a Chelsea Police officer.
Those three in the race are all very well-known in the City and will hustle for votes around the district. The outcome will leave only the top two vote getters to square off in November.
The at-large Council race will also be interesting, but will not come up for a vote until November.
Council President Damali Vidot and incumbent councilors Roy Avellaneda and Leo Robinson will be on the ballot.
Challenging them will be License Commission Chair Mark Rossi – who ran for a district seat last time out – and Chris Winam, a newcomer on the scene with deep Chelsea roots.
District 1 Council features a vacant seat with the bowing out of Councilor Bob Bishop. Running for the empty seat are Planning Board member Todd Taylor, and Economic Development Board member Rick Pantano. Both are very well-known in the city and are very active in City affairs. It will be a close race to the end.
In District 4, it seemed like Councilor Joe Perlatonda wasn’t going to have an opponent, but late in the process Naomi Zabot successfully turned in her Nomination Papers – and so Mill Hill will have a race on its hands too.
Councilor Judith Garcia in District 5 has had several contests over her tenure, and this time won’t be different, as she will face Jason Benetti from the waterfront area.
Councilors Enio Lopez (District 3), Giovanni Recupero (District 6), Yamir Rodriguez (District 7) and Calvin Brown (District 8) will have no opponent on the ballot.
•School Committee
There is no Preliminary Election in the School Committee, but there will be one to watch when it comes to the at-large race, where there is no incumbent due to School Committeeman Frank DePatto choosing not to run again.
That leaves Shawn O’Regan, a former School Committeeman, who is making another run and said he is ready to challenge the system after having watched it work previously.
The other candidate for the at-large seat is Roberto Jimenez Rivera, who grew up in Puerto Rico and came to the mainland to attend the University of Michigan. He and his wife, Sarah, recently moved to Chelsea, and he works as an admission’s officer at a local university.
A race in District 1 will also be interesting as long-time School Committeewoman Rosemarie Carlisle will face James O’Regan. Both have deep roots in Chelsea and the votes will be close.
The only other race is in District 7 where incumbent Kelly Garcia will face former School Committeeman Charles Klauder.
Incumbents Jeannette Velez (District 2), Marisol Santiago (District 3), Lucia Henriquez (District 4), Henry Wilson (District 5), Ana Hernandez (District 6), and Yessenia Alfaro-Alvarez (District 8) will have no opponents on the ballot.