Somerville city election next Tuesday, November 5: Useful links and open discussion thread

[ron_newman]

A week from today, Somerville will hold a municipal election. Mayor Joe Curtatone is unopposed for re-election, but voters citywide will select four aldermen-at-large from a list of seven candidates. Voters in wards 1,3,5,and 7 will also elect a ward alderman, while voters in wards 1,2,and 5 have a contest for school committee.

Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm. To find out what ward you live in and where you will vote, fill in this form.

The Somerville Times sent questionnaires to all candidates and published the answers here:

• Meet the Candidates: Alderman-at-Large
• Meet the Candidates: Ward Alderman
• Meet the Candidates: School Committee

Somerville Patch also asked three questions of each candidate, and published the answers in their election guide.

If the Somerville Journal published an election guide, I haven't found it online. But they did write an editorial, endorsing some candidates.

Progressive Democrats of Somerville circulated questions to candidates, but not all of them responded:

• Alderman at Large
• Ward Alderman
• School Committee

Somerville Community Corporation asked the ward and at-large alderman candidates about several affordable housing and land use issues. The candidates' answers are posted here (ward candidates) and here (at-large candidates).

If you know of other local election guides or questionnaire sites, please leave a comment on this post. If you have anything at all to say about the election, please leave a comment on this post.

[Earlier posts: August 10 | September 17 ]

Here is a full list of candidates. I'd like to link each candidate's name to his or her campaign website. Please comment with links to such websites if they are missing here, so I can edit them in.

Alderman at Large
There are four aldermen-at-large, elected citywide. One current alderman-at-large, Bruce Desmond, is not running for re-election.
Seven candidates are running for these seats. You can vote for up to four.

Jack Connolly (incumbent)
Carol Dempkowski
Sean Fitzgerald
William Medeiros
Mary Jo Rossetti (currently Ward 7 School Committee member)
Dennis Sullivan (incumbent)
Bill White (incumbent)

Ward 1 Alderman - acting incumbent Maureen Bastardi was defeated in the September 24 preliminary election
Elio LoRusso
Matthew McLaughlin

Ward 2 Alderman - incumbent Maryann Heuston is unopposed

Ward 3 Alderman - incumbent Tom Taylor is not running for re-election
Suzanne Bremer
Robert McWatters

Ward 4 Alderman - incumbent Tony Lafuente is unopposed

Ward 5 Alderman
Mark Niedergang (currently Ward 5 School Committee member)
Courtney O'Keefe (acting incumbent, appointed after Sean O'Donovan resigned)

Ward 6 Alderman - incumbent Rebekah Gewirtz is unopposed

Ward 7 Alderman - incumbent Bob Trane is not running for re-election
Katjana Ballantyne
Joe Capuano

Ward 1 School Committee
Steve Roix (acting incumbent, appointed after Maureen Bastardi was appointed Alderman)
Kenneth Salvato

Ward 2 School Committee - incumbent Teresa Cardoso is not running for re-election
Dan Futrell
Michael Nionakis

Ward 3 School Committee - incumbent Adam Sweeting is unopposed

Ward 4 School Committee - incumbent Christine Rafal is unopposed

Ward 5 School Committee - incumbent Mark Niedergang is not running for re-election (but is running for Ward 5 Alderman)
Laura Pitone (also has a facebook page)
Ross Richmond

Ward 6 School Committee - incumbent Paul Bockelman is unopposed

Ward 7 School Committee - incumbent Mary Jo Rossetti is not running for re-election (but is running for Alderman at Large)
Caroline Normand (unopposed)