The 5pm Tuesday deadline to submit signatures has come and gone, and a total of 30-candidates have submitted the required number of signatures to get their name on the ballot for the upcoming Lowell Municipal Election.
Elections Director Will Rosenberry noted he was able to certify the signatures before the August 5 requirement, since candidates submitted their nomination papers before the July 22 deadline. Any objections to be filed, or candidates to withdraw their names, are due by 5pm on August 7. A public drawing will be held on Friday, August 8 at 10:00 a.m. in the Mayor’s Reception Room, to determine the order in which candidate names
will appear on the September Preliminary ballots.
On the City Council side, incumbents Erik Gitschier, Rita Mercier and Vesna Nuon will once again appear on the At-Large ballot, as will Sixto DeJesus and Emile Kaufman. Kaufman made the ballot this year, after falling just short of the 150 certified signatures necessary in his bid for the District 1 (Pawtucketville) seat in 2023. The top three vote-getters will be sworn in next January.
Mayor Danny Rourke will run unopposed in District 1, as will incumbents Corey Robinson in District 2 (Centralville) and Sokhary Chau in District 6 (Lower Highlands).
Incumbent Wayne Jenness will square off against challenger Sean McDonough for the District 4 seat in November. The predominantly Downtown district is often referred to as the “sausage district” due to the fact it also encompasses smaller sections of Centralville and Pawtucketville, as well as the Back Central neighborhood.
In District 5 (South Lowell), incumbent Kim Scott will face challenger Sherri Barboza, who submitted 151 certified signatures just in the nick of time Tuesday. Barboza had also pulled paperwork to run for School Committee, but came up shy of the required number of necessary to appear on that ballot.
Three of the districts will hold preliminary elections on September 9th to winnow the field down to two candidates for the November 4th general election.
In District 3 (Belvidere), incumbent Corey Belanger faces three challengers; Dan Finn, Erin Gendron and Belinda Juran. The hotly contested race will almost assuredly draw a sizable turnout in the neighborhood that has traditionally drawn the largest number of voters over recent decades.
Meanwhile, District 7 (the Acre) will see incumbent Paul Ratha Yem, Jose Cervantes and Sidney Liang battle it out in September for the two slots on November’s ballot. Likewise in District 8 (Upper Highlands), where incumbent John Descoteaux faces a pair of challengers in Marcos Candido and Francisco Maldonado.
The School Committee races will not require a preliminary election, and the only contested race is for the two At-Large seats.
That race will feature incumbent Connie Martin, former School Committee member Bob Hoey, Zoe Dzineku and Danielle McFadden.
Fred Bahou (District 1 – Pawtucketville/Upper Highlands), Eileen DelRossi (District 2 – Centralville/Downtown), Dave Conway (District 3 – Belvidere/South Lowell) and Dominik Lay (District 4 – Acre/Lower Highlands) are all running unopposed for re-election.
Stay with InsideLowell for the most comprehensive 2025 election coverage, which will include debates between candidates in both the preliminary and general elections, along with live election night broadcasts featuring results and analysis from the most experienced local election team around.
