LYNN — Voters headed to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the city’s preliminary elections, with eyes on the Ward 1 and Ward 4 City Council races.
Ward 1’s crowded field of six candidates was chopped down to two after all the votes were counted.
Peter Meaney and Jeff Newhall will face off in the city’s general election in November, when voters decide who will take the seat held by departing Ward 1 City Councilor Wayne Lozzi for two decades.
Meaney, the owner of Broadway Family Dental, received the most votes in the race by a margin of four. He netted 480 votes to Newhall’s 476.
Newhall, who served on the School Committee from 2001 to 2009, currently works as St. Mary’s director of campus operations, along with serving as the school’s athletic director and girls basketball coach.
“The goal going into the primary was to get into the top two,“ Newhall said. “It’s a different race when it’s one-on-one as opposed to a six-person field… There’s a lot of votes out there to be had.”
Meaney could not be reached for comment.
Rounding out the Ward 1 candidates were third-place finisher Paul Gouthro, who received 443 votes, followed by Michael Satterwhite with 412, Todd Bacon with 231, and Jennifer Long with 21.
In Ward 4, Attorney Natasha Megie-Maddrey and School Committee member Donna Coppola will square off in November after Chris Gomez fell short.
“I want to thank every person who voted for me,” Megie-Maddrey, who received 253 votes Tuesday, said on LCTV. “We now have a lot of work to do.”
Coppola, who received 189 votes, said she is looking forward to campaigning and getting a strong voter turnout in November.
“It’s a whole new race now,” Coppola said.
Gomez received 84 votes.
Voters will decide the final outcomes of all races, including all city councilors-at-large, all elected School Committee positions, and the two-person race for Ward 2 city councilor between Obed Matul and Elizabeth Figueroa, on Nov. 7.
