By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – Mayor Arthur Vigeant, five ward councilors and four councilors-at large will appear on the ballot in the November biennial election with no opposing candidates. Two incumbent councilors – Ward 2 City Councilor Richard Jenkins and Ward 5 City Councilor Rob Seymour, Ward Five will not be seeking re-election.
Contests in those wards include first-time candidates Carlos Valadares and John Irish for Ward 5; and two former councilors vying for the Ward 2 seat, Robert Page and Paul Ferro.? A third candidate for Ward 5, Domenic Valarioti, has withdrawn from the race.
There is a four-way race for three seats on the School Committee.? Incumbents Michelle Bodin-Hettinger and Mark Hediger are vying with newcomers Denise Ryan and Earl Geary. Two former members of the School Committee, Margaret Dwyer and Jennifer Hardy, are not seeking re-election.
Adding a little excitement to the election may be a write-in candidate for a Councilor-at-Large seat, Paul Brodeur of Hayden Street, who has been leading the opposition to Vigeant's proposal to build a new Senior Center in Ward Park.
“The reason I didn's enter the race in a traditional way was because my primary responsibility was to conduct a full-fledged campaign and put all my efforts to fight against putting the Senior Center in Ward Park,” he said. ??Also known for his knowledge of colonial Marlborough history, Brodeur noted that he attends City Council meetings regularly because he has an avid interest in how the city is run.
The four City Council-at-Large incumbents include Council President Trish Pope, Michael Ossing, Mark Oram, and Katie Robey. In the last municipal election there were eight candidates vying for the four Council- at-large seats.
Vigeant, who served as a Councilor-at-Large for 18 years, nine of those as council president, defeated local attorney, Matthew Jones by a narrow 42-point margin in the 2011 election.? In his 2012 Year in Review Report to the residents of the city, Vigeant outlined progress and accomplishments of his administration including the Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-off (SCRPT) Program, “first ever” Job Fair, Youth Jobs Program and? the TJX Companies, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics moving their headquarters to the city.
In the Ward 2 contest, Page and Ferro will be opposing each other for the third time. Page, past commander of the local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans, lost to Ferro, owner of a marketing and fundraising business, in 2003 and again in 2005. Ferro served in Ward 2 until 2011 when he was defeated by Jenkins who has now moved out of the ward.
Vigeant, who served as a Councilor-at-Large for 18 years, nine of those as council president, defeated local attorney, Matt Jones by a narrow 42-point margin in the 2011 election.? In his 2012 Year in Review Report to the residents of the city, Vigeant outlined progress and accomplishments of his administration including the Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-off (SCRPT) Program, “first ever” Job Fair, Youth Jobs Program and? the TJX Companies, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics moving their headquarters to the city.
Oct. 16 is the last day to register to vote and change party enrollment for the municipal election which will be Nov. 5, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Nov. 4.
City Clerk Lisa Thomas held an Election Fair in March for an informal review of election positions as wardens, clerk and inspectors were needed for the municipal, state and federal elections. In announcing the fair Thomas said: “Participating in elections gives residents a chance to show civic pride, to connect with the community and exemplifies election integrity.”
