Bobby Tugbiyele, who we reported back on June 9th was going to enter the District 2 School Committee race, made his much anticipated appearance at City Hall late this morning to pull nomination papers. Except when he did, he did so as an At-Large City Council candidate.

Tugbiyele, who also ran for a citywide seat in 2021, was recently introduced at not one, but two prominent downtown events as a School Committee candidate for the upcoming election. A number of political insiders had also indicated to InsideLowell that they had directly spoken with him and that it was his intention to seek a seat on the school board.

While Tugbiyele never responded to our requests for comment, he did share our June 9th story on his LinkedIn profile.

The move creates some major aftershocks in both of the races mentioned above. It would eliminate the need for a preliminary election for the District 2 School Committee seat, as it leaves only incumbent Eileen DelRossi and former S.C. member Gerry Nutter in that District.

However, Tugbiyele’s emergence in the citywide race brings the number of candidates who have pulled papers up to seven. If all of them return the requisite number of signatures by July 18th, that would necessitate a September 5th preliminary across all of the city’s precincts, not just the ones in Centralville and Downtown, as would be required for the SC election.

It’s been a hectic last couple of weeks in what had been a rather uneventful municipal election to that point. As always, stay with InsideLowell for the latest political coverage and developments.