Nominations for 24 city council and eight school committee seats have closed Here’s a complete list of all the candidates who have qualified to be on the ballot (barring anyone withdrawing), according to City Clerk David Olson as of 5:01 p.m. today.
There will be only one preliminary election contest (Ward 5 only for the Ward Councilor seat) on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
On Tuesday Nov. 5, voters city-wide will decide three school committee contests (Wards 4,5 and 6) and four council-at-large contests (Wards 2,3,5 and 6) where the top two vote getters prevail.
And if you live in Wards 1, 2, 3, 5 or 6 you will also have chance to choose your next ward councilor.
Ward 5 will be certainly be interesting to watch – both live and via Twitter.
With all the controversy around development, I’d think we would have even more candidates.
On the other hand, 5 of 8 local seats are contested, and 4 of 8 wards’ at-large seats have at least one contesting candidate. That’s not bad.
Any differences in platforms between Allan L. Ciccone and Allan L. Ciccone Jr…? I will be keen to watch how Ward 3’s vacant seat will be filled, and whether Alderman Coletti will return as Councilor Coletti.
I agree with Dulles. I expected more candidates. Perhaps the public isn’t as dissatisfied with our current council as they claimed throughout the marijuana ballot battle, various land use deliberations and zoining reform.
And, I could be mistaken, but will the three school committee contests each feature one candidate who is focused on one issue (a perceived anti-Israel curriculum bias)? Are there no other issues before our schools that might motivate other challengers?
I’m disappointed that Ward 4 won’t see a real race this time for Ward councilor. The behavior last time left a really negative impression and was a black eye on our election system. I was hoping for a contested election.
Oh well. Not my ward. Perhaps next time.
It is an interesting group of candidates. Some clearly seem to be single issue candidates. But some real choices here too.
Good thing. “Figauburndale” just wouldn’t have the same ring to it.
I’m actually quite pleased with the Ward 4 councilor, and it is my ward. Chris has proven to be a thoughtful, communicative, responsive leader and quite knowledgeable about the concerns about development in and around our villages.
Lisa, it is entirely possible Chris is the best councilor ever. But to be honest, I’ll always remember him as the sneaky guy who conspired with the incumbent to not face a challenger. He lost to a write in candidate by a very small margin. His tactic is the very reason he is on the council. All is fair in love and war and politics I guess, but it seemed cowardly to me at the time, and still does today. And I’d say the same thing about any candidate who did it.
Having contested elections, where are politicians speak and debate and challenge each other, is a public good. I’m sure such games go one frequently, where folks wait until the last possible second to pull papers, or declare early. But I’m far more in favor of the latter. Sunshine and openness is what we should all be striving for.
But again, not my ward. But when he does get a challenger, I’ll be happy to post this again. I hope someone does challenge him the next time.
Greg, I’m sure I could come up with a punny name for Auburndale if given enough time. But cookies are near and dear to my heart, so that would have been a shame.
Fig – That sounds like a conspiracy theory. My contention is that nothing nefarious occurred.
Lisa:
It is probably not worth the blog space to go back and forth on it, but definitely not a conspiracy theory. There was a lot of discussion about it at the time. Greg linked to it in the prior post.
https://village14.com/2017/08/18/tab-column-suggests-markiewicz-knew-harney-would-drop-out/#axzz5uPnLNRjg
I fully understand that you like him and support him as a city councilor. I know very little about his positions, he’s largely quiet on the council and he isn’t in my ward. But I would say this regardless of his ability to mind meld with me on every thought and political position I had. This isn’t about any of that. It is about gaming the system to get elected.
And if it happened in my ward, that person would lose my vote. Permanently.
Our system is flawed and not all the blame goes on Chris. Incumbents should be required to declare before papers are due, and if they withdraw it should reopen the process. That is good for competition, good for our council, and would eliminate the need for this discussion.
Anyway, probably best to discuss the other competitive races. My rants on the last election are not good for much. But it did grind my gears 2 years ago.
The link stopped working. Anyone?
@fig
How is it Chris lost by a small margin but serving right now? To be honest I’m quite surprised, and out of character for you to make these allegations.
That said, I must admit I am surprised Alison Sharma didn’t run again. I suspect that she realised that with Riverside on the agenda she wouldn’t do so well.
Simon, I meant he won by a very small margin. I think the point was clear from context. Obviously he won the election. It was just the nonsense to insure he didn’t face competition that makes me upset. Incumbents shouldn’t scheme with candidates to pass along elected positions. We all know that facing an incumbent is far more difficult than facing an open seat.
For the record as I said to Lisa, he could be the best councilor in the world and I’d still say this. I thought it was a really unfortunate way to win.
I’d also note that he was facing a write in candidate, and from the close nature of the election if Alison had been allowed to be listed on the ballot, I think she would have won. But the rules allowed him to be listed the way he was and gave no exception for a late withdrawal by an incumbent.
Fair and honest elections are very important. I was hoping this particular loophole would be fixed in charter reform but it was not meant to be.
But thank you for catching the mistake above, Simon. That’s what I get for writing too fast!
No doubt about it: The underhanded way Chris Markiewicz came to be seated on the city council is a stain that won’t easily wash out. It’s too bad for him that he doesn’t have an opponent this time because it would have allowed him a chance to claim the seat legitimately.
But (admittedly to my surprise) Markowitz has been a good freshman city councilor. He’s a thoughtful guy and a good listener who brings some interesting experiences and thinking to the job. I always enjoy talking to him and he’s just unpredictable enough that it’s worth looking up to see what he’ll do for many roll call votes.
While not a W4 resident, I was very put off by way Chris and the councilor at the time handled the signature situation two years ago. However, in his first term, I’ve had several substantive conversations with him and have found him to be a thoughtful listener and believe that Chris’ has made a positive contribution as a first term councilor. Speaking a lot at council meetings doesn’t impress me – I’m much more concerned with the quality of the comments.
Sometimes it’s best to let go of old stuff and move on. I’ve known Chris for many years and what I’ve witnessed in the past two years is in keeping with what I’ve always known about him.
I’m not in Chris’s ward, but am near his ward so I’ve been following him and have been impressed by his communications with constituents. I thought the way he got his seat was sketchy as hell, but he’s surprised me so far.
I’m very glad he’s made a good first impression. For the benefit of Simon and Lisa, Greg’s links clearly show this wasn’t a conspiracy theory on my part.
At this point how he is as a city councilor is more relevant. After all, for the next 3 years (this term and the next) he is representing his ward. But if he ever does pull a challenger, I’m going to reference how he got elected in the first place. He and his supporters can certainly counter that with his voting record and job performance. But I think it is important that these types of actions not get forgotten, if for no other reason that other candidates and incumbents don’t try and do the same thing.
The more light we shine on back-room deals and political games, the less likely they will be attempted in the future.
But I’m very glad he has strong supporters from folks I respect like Greg and Jane and Mary. It would be much worse if that were not the case.
And if Jane tells me to move on, best that I listen. 😉
So nothing more on this from me until the next contested election in that ward.
Most folks on this blog seem to agree that Chris has done a most commendable job in his first term as a ward councilor. And I agree with Greg that he can be unpredictable. I appreciate and respect that quality. If he keeps this up as I suspect he will, Chris should have no trouble with reelection if he decides he wants to continue in service to the people of his ward.