Everett Election Director Danielle Pietrantonio has announced that there will not be a preliminary election in the School Committee At-Large race following candidate David LaRosa Senatillaka’s decision to run for City Councillor At-Large.
“Mr. Senatillaka informed me Monday that he will be running for City Council,” said Pietrantonio. “That will mean that there will be no School Committee-At-Large preliminary election.”
Senatillaka had been certified as a candidate in both the School Committee and City Council at-large elections. With his exit from the School Committee race, the number of candidates has decreased from seven to six (for the three At-Large seats), eliminating the need for a preliminary election.
Large field in Councillor-At-Large race
With Senatillaka’s decision to run for Councillor-At-Large, there will now be 13 candidates in the Sept. 19 preliminary election.
There are four incumbents seeking a return to the City Council. They are John Hanlon, Michael Marchese, Stephanie Smith, and Irene Cardillo.
In addition to David LaRosa Senatillaka, the other candidates running for Councilor-At-Large are Angelmarie DiNunzio, Katy Rogers, Shaskia Bosquet, Kisan Upadhaya, Guerline Alcy, Jean Marc Daniel, Joseph Pierotti Jr., and Maria Bussell.
The top 10 finishers in the preliminary election will advance to the general election in November while three candidates will be eliminated from further contention for the seats.
The tremendous turnout of candidates for the five Councilor-At-Large seats has generated considerable buzz in the community.
“That (13 candidates) is the biggest number it has been in at least the last few years,” said Pientrantonio, who has worked in the Everett Election Department since 2016 before being appointed election director in 2021. “I know years ago they would get big candidate pools, but in recent history, this is one of our largest fields of candidates for all the races in a while.”
To what does Danielle Pietrantonio attribute the large fields of candidates?
“I think national politics has become more popular and in the news, so people want to get involved because of that,” said Pietrantonio. “I think people in general are getting more involved in their communities. It just stems from the whole atmosphere of politics in the country right now, that it’s more on the forefront of people’s minds than maybe it has been in the past.”
Pietrantonio has seen several candidates’ political signs appearing on residents’ front lawns and in neighborhoods across Everett.
“I’m seeing more and more of candidates’ political signs popping up every day,” related Pietrantonio. “I’ve also received a few emails about Everett High students wanting to hold a meet-the-candidates night for School Committee. And there are other organizations that want to hold candidates’ nights for the other candidates. So, I think the campaign season is going to pick up now.”