Are you ready for some Football? How about some Preliminary Election results?

Join Ted Panos, former Election Director Greg Papas, former City Councilor and School Committee member Jim Leary, former Mayor, City Councilor, LHS Head of School, current LHA Board member and doting grandpa Bill Samaras and I Tuesday Night September 9 beginning at 7pm for live Lowell Preliminary Election results.

Click here to watch on InsideLowell.com. You may also click here to view on our Tube Channel.

While smartphones, tablets and laptops work just fine, we encourage everyone to connect to their big screen television set for the best experience.

To appeal or not to appeal that is the question? Should City Councilor Kim Scott file an appeal with the court to get her challenger removed form the ballot after the Lowell Election Commission once again makes a head scratching ruling to allow Sherri Barboza to remain on the district 5 Council ballot?

Barboza is apparently also running a sticker campaign for the 5^th district school committee seat currently held by Dave Conway.

It is my under Massachusetts law that you cannot use a P.O. Box as your address when signing nomination papers. The address you provide must be the residential street address where you are registered to vote. A signature is not valid if the voter uses a mailing address or a P.O. Box.

Key address requirements

• Residential address only: Both voter registration forms and nomination papers require a residential street address, not a mailing address.
• Registered address: When signing nomination papers, you must write the residential address at which you are currently registered to vote.
• Purpose of residential address: The street address is necessary to place you in the correct precinct for voting purposes.

All that seems pretty clear to me but for a few election commissioners they are either unclear, or the commissioners are unwilling to follow both the advice of the Elections Director or City Solicitor. It comes down to whether Kim Scott wants to pay the $$ for principal or just run against a candidate who shouldn’t have been allowed on the ballot to begin with?

After Teddy and I talked about this on the Daily Pulse (available at Noon weekdays on Inside Lowell) Councilor Scott reached out to me with this comment:” I have until the 20th to decide, and I am waiting on a written decision from the city and cost estimate for legal expense”

Who got the Training, and it looks like the Election Commission needs more! Under MA Law Chapter 51 Section 17A,  “In each municipality, the city or town clerk and a registrar or election commissioner, as designated by the board of registrars or the board of election commissioners, shall attend an annual training conducted by the office of the state secretary, and offered at no cost to the municipality or to the individual, on the applicable state and federal election laws and regulations. Upon completion of the training, the clerk, registrar or commissioner shall inform the board of registrars and election commissioners.”

So maybe Councilor Scott should file a motion and ask when was the last time someone attended the training, who was it and have they presented any training workshops to the Election Commission?

YIKES! I sound like Councilor Gitschier asking about employee training.

I’m leaving on a jet plane and PAYING MY OWN WAY!

District 7 City Councilor Paul Ratha Yem was not only very excited to represent the City in Geneva, but wanted to bring his family so they could also experience the pageantry and take a few days together and enjoy a mini vacation. There as been some snipping among the District 7 candidates’ supporters on social media and Councilor Yem wanted to make sure his family trip would not be used for a personal – political attack and verified the following to me:

Subject: Clarification on Travel Expenses 

Dear Gerry,

I want to clarify my recent travel arrangements. I personally booked and paid for flights and hotels for myself and my family.

Although I was informed that the City would reimburse my portion of the expenses, I will not be seeking reimbursement. I attended the Front Runner City initiative as a representative of the City, but I chose to cover my own costs.

Thank you,

Paul

Did he really raise $30,000? An item in last week’s Lowell Sun Sunday Column – Highlands candidate Francisco Maldonado is outpacing the entire 22-member pack, having raised nearly $30,000 compared to $9,000 by incumbent John Descoteaux and fellow challenger Marcos Candido’s almost $500.

However if you look at the MA Office of Political Finance page,  you’ll see that $20,000 of that money “raised” came from the candidate.

$10,000 on 6/24
$4,000 on 4/7
$3,000 on 3/31
$2,000 on 3/7
$1,000 on 2/6