A month of making a splash on the political scene by pulling paperwork and announcing her candidacy, Paulette Renault-Caragianes tells InsideLowell she has decided not to seek the District 2 City Council seat currently held by Corey Robinson.
Renault-Caragianes cited a troublesome knee that will likely require replacement and won’t allow her to campaign the way she would like as the reason for her decision.
“I’ve reluctantly determined that I can’t mount the campaign needed to unseat an incumbent due to my knee issues,” Renault-Caragianes told us early Wednesday evening. “I had about a week of pain relief that fooled me into thinking i could hit the pavement, but that was short lived. The support I received in a short period of time was pretty encouraging, especially from a surprising number of people I didn’t expect to reach out to offer help.”
The Centralville resident’s decision means that two-term incumbent Robinson is once again without an opponent in the race, with any other potential opponents needing to pull paperwork through the Lowell Election office and return 150-certified signatures by the close of business next Tuesday, July 22nd.
Robinson earned the seat in a municipal landslide in 2021, the first election held under the new district system of government in the city. He faced token opposition from Marty Hogan while easily winning re-election in 2023.
The Mill City’s municipal election takes place November 4, with any races requiring a preliminary election to winnow the field down to two candidates scheduled for September 9.