SAUGUS — This fall’s elections are officially underway, with the deadline for candidates to return nomination papers in the rearview mirror as of Tuesday evening — and it’s shaping up to be a busy election season, with contested races up and down the ballot.
The headline race this fall is that of Charter Commission, where a staggering 28 candidates are running for nine seats on the board that will be tasked with conducting a study of the town’s charter. While it seems likely that voters will approve the ballot question asking if a commission should be formed to study the charter, if they vote down that question, the race for a spot on the commission will be moot.
That said, the candidates are: Anthony Cogliano, Anthony Speziale, Frank Federico, Julie Mitchell, Robert Camuso, Tom Traverse, Lori Gallivan, Judy Worthley, Gene Decareau, Donald Cicolini, Peter Rossetti, Kenneth DePatto, Stephen Doherty, Richard Thompson, John O’Brien, Assunta Palomba, Peter Manoogian, Matthew Parlante, Michael Serino, Jeannie Meredith, Vincent Serino, Debra Panetta, Robert Long, Maureen Whitcomb, Joe Vecchione, Lawrence Mingolelli, Christopher Tarantino, and Ryan Fisher.
The race features a wide array of prominent figures in town. Cogliano is the chair of the Board of Selectmen and spearheaded the petition drive to get the charter question on the ballot. Two of Cogliano’s fellow selectmen are running: Panetta, who is the board’s vice chair, and Michael Serino. Vincent Serino chairs the School Committee; Fisher is a School Committee member; DePatto chairs the Finance Committee; O’Brien chairs the Planning Board; Traverse chairs the Zoning Board of Appeals; Grabowski and Meredith have both served on the School Committee; Meredith works in Town Manager Scott Crabtree’s office; Rossetti, Palomba, Manoogian, Thompson, Whitcomb, and Vecchione are all Town Meeting members; and Manoogian notably chaired the previous Charter Commission in town.
The race for School Committee is also shaping up to be hotly contested. Ten candidates are vying for five seats, including all five incumbent members: Serino, Fisher, John Hatch, Dennis Gould, and Leigh Gerow.
Also running is former Chair Tom Whittredge — the leading vote-getter in the last two elections, who resigned last year following the death of his wife. Joining Whittredge is two newcomers: Brian Kohr and Stephanie Mastrocola.
On the Board of Selectmen, all five incumbents are seeking additional two-year terms at the helm of the town’s chief elected board. Cogliano, Panetta, Serino, Corinne Riley, and Jeff Cicolini will have to fend off challenges from Sandro Pansini Souza, Sebastian DiModica, and Michelle Raponi.
The race for Housing Authority is also contested this fall, with incumbents Whitcomb and Jim Tozza seeking additional terms. They will have to ward off a challenge from Nicholas Melanchook.
And, farther down the ballot, there are contested races for Town Meeting members in all ten precincts — where 46 of 50 incumbent members are seeking reelection.
In Precinct 1, all five incumbents, Susan Dunn, Anthony Arone, Mark Bell, Sue Palomba, and Christopher Jones are seeking additional two-year terms. Joining them are O’Brien and Stacey Herman-Dorant.
In Precinct 2, Camuso, Rossetti, Christine Moreschi, and Chris Riley are all seeking reelection. Vecchione, the other incumbent, is not seeking reelection. Four candidates are seeking seats there, including Meredith. Joining her are Joseph Malone, Matthew Parlante, and Yves J. Lamite.
In Precinct 3, Thompson and fellow incumbents Arthur Connors Jr., Daniel Schena, Rick Smith, and AnneMarie Tesora will all seek reelection. Leonard Ferrari Jr. and Mark Victor Sacco are the other candidates in the race.
In Precinct 4, all five incumbents — Doherty, Whitcomb, Leuci, Glen Davis, and Robert Northrup — are seeking reelection. The challengers are Robert Long and Stephanie Shalkoski.
In Precinct 5, just one challenger, Mark Panetta, is running against incumbents Pamela Goodwin, Jaclyn Hickman, Ronald Wallace, Brenton Spencer, and Mary Migliore.
Precinct 6 also has only one person, Karen Rakinic, running against the five incumbent members, Elisa LeBrasseur, Jeannie Bartolo, Allen Panico, Kevin Currie, and Bill Brown.
In Precinct 7, Federico is challenging incumbents Stefano D’Anna, John Chipouras, Robert Palleschi, Michael Paolini, and Stephen McCarthy.
In Precinct 8, Jason Kahn is the lone incumbent member not seeking reelection, with Grabowski, Kristi Talagan, and Darren McCullough joining incumbents William Kramich Jr., Billy Cross, Tom Traverse, and Anthony Lopresti in the race.
In Precinct 9, incumbents Katrina Berube, Judith Worthley, Robert Strasnick, and Daniel Kelly are all seeking reelection. Long, the other incumbent, is running in Precinct 4. Also running in Precinct 9 are John Cottam and Linda Bell.
In Precinct 10, all five incumbents, Manoogian, Martin Costello, Darren Ring, Carla Scuzzarella, and Peter Delios are seeking reelection. They are facing off against challengers Steven DiVirgilio and Tozza.
With each candidate having returned nomination papers, the Board of Registrars will be tasked with certifying the signatures they collected. Once the signatures are certified, ballot positions will be drawn on Oct. 5, which is also the last day to file an objection or withdrawal. The election itself is set for Nov. 7.
This story was updated with new information provided by the town clerk’s office regarding candidates who had returned nomination papers. Arthur Grabowski did not return papers for Charter Commission or School Committee. Gary Sund and James Russo also did not return papers to run for Charter Commission. Bill Leuci did not return papers to run for School Committee, and Alan Labella did not return papers to run for Housing Authority. Andrew Whitcomb opted not to run for Precinct 4 Town Meeting member.
