NEW BEDFORD — It's shaping up to be a busy election season in New Bedford.

Tuesday was the last day for candidates to hand in their signed nomination packets for this year's city elections.

In the race for mayor, incumbent Jon Mitchell is seeking a fourth term, but faces several challengers.

All five City Councillor-at-Large positions are up for grabs, with each incumbent seeking re-election.

Both Ward 1 and Ward 5 will have new councillors, after Jim Oliveira and Kerry Winterson both decided not to seek re-election. The same is true for Ward 2, where a new face will replace Steven Martins, who is stepping away from the council to challenge Marty Treadup for assessor.

Hugh Dunn, who won the Ward 3 seat in last April's special election, faces no opposition this fall. The same is true in Ward 6, where City Council President Joseph Lopes is running unopposed.

Ward 4 Councillor Dana Rebeiro is the only ward councillor with any competition, as both Joseph "Jo-Jo" Fortes and Kenneth Gilbert are running against her.

Three seats are open on the School Committee, with incumbent Josh Amaral seeking re-election for his spot. Dr. Lawrence Finnerty and Joaquim "Jack" Nobrega have chosen not to run again.

Once the signatures are all certified, candidates have until August 29th to officially file for the election. The preliminary election is October 3rd, with the final election

MAYOR
Mitchell Garner
Jon Mitchell (I)
Charles Perry, Jr.
Ronald Perry
David Pimentel
Michael J. Proule

COUNCILLOR-AT-LARGE (Five Seats)
Ian Abreu (I)
John G. Andrade
John C. Arruda
Christopher Boerl
Naomi R.A. Carney (I)
Deborah Coelho (I)
Brian K. Gomes (I)
Michael Jansen
Jeffrey L. Matthews
John Moniz
Linda Morad (I)
Evangelos "Gillie" Safioleas

WARD 1
Christopher Amaral
Jose Andre
Karah F. Boucher
Peter Boswell
Steven Caton
Daniel Costa
Melissa Costa
William Markey
Randy Santos
Mark Ventura

WARD 2
Edwin Cartagena
Carlos Felix
Maria Giesta
Craig Ptaszenski
Jessica Roderick

WARD 3
Hugh Dunn (I)

WARD 4
Joseph "Jo-Jo" Fortes
Kenneth Gilbert
Dana Rebeiro (I)

WARD 5
Michael Augusto
Paul Chasse
Scott Lima
Nelson Macedo
Paula C. G. Noversa
Jacquelina Pina
Len Roberts
David Sullivan
Kate Towers

WARD 6
Joseph Lopes (I)

ASSESSOR
Steven Martins
Martin "Marty" Treadup (I)

SCHOOL COMMITTEE (Three Seats)
Josh Amaral (I)
Margaret Amaral
Colleen Dawicki
John Oliveira
Richard A. Porter III

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