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Date: 8/8/2023
AGAWAM — With the days counting down to the Aug. 22 nomination deadline, two city councilors have qualified to run for mayor, and three additional candidates are collecting signatures to potentially make it a five-way race, according to Town Clerk Vincent Gioscia.
Gioscia said on Aug. 2 that Council President Christopher Johnson and former Council Vice President Cecilia Calabrese have both returned their nomination papers with enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in a bid for a two-year term to succeed Mayor William Sapelli, who has announced he will not run for reelection.
Other candidates who have taken out nomination papers but not yet returned them, as of Aug. 2, included City Councilor Rosemary Sandlin, former council and mayoral candidate William Clark, and Andy Montefusco. If three or more candidates are nominated, Agawam voters will have to narrow the field to two finalists at a preliminary election on Oct. 10. The general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 7.
With at least two councilors pursuing the mayor’s office, the council appears likely to see some new faces after this year’s election. As of Aug. 2, almost all the other incumbents have qualified to run for reelection: George Bitzas, Thomas Hendrickson, Dino Mercadante, Robert Rossi, Anthony Russo, Gerald Smith and Anthony Suffriti. Additionally, challengers Edward Borgatti and Maria Valego have qualified for the ballot. Others who have taken out nomination papers for council seats include Calabrese, Sandlin,
Councilor Paul Cavallo and former Mayor Susan Dawson. The only council incumbent who did not take out reelection papers was Johnson. All 11 council seats are two-year terms and elected at large.
School Committee members Shelley Borgatti-Reed, A.J. Christopher, Michael Perry and Wendy Rua have qualified for the ballot in their bids for reelection. Fellow incumbents Dawn DeMatteo and Kerri O’Connor have also taken out nomination papers. Two challengers took out papers, Catherine McDougal and Christopher Pass. There are six elected seats on the School Committee, all for two-year terms and elected at large. The mayor serves ex officio as the seventh member and chair.
A preliminary election is conducted only when there are more than twice as many candidates as there are seats available in a particular race. Barring a last-minute surge of new candidates for council and School Committee — expanding the field to at least 23 or at least 13 hopefuls, respectively — the nominees for those two boards will not appear on the preliminary ballot, and will all advance to the November election.
Polling hours will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in both the preliminary and general elections. The town will not offer mailed or in-person early voting for this year’s municipal elections, Gioscia said. Those who qualify for an absentee ballot — because they cannot make it to the polls for a medical or religious reason, or will be out of town on Election Day — can request one up until five business days before the election. For more information, call the clerk’s office at 413-786-0400, ext. 8215, or visit Town Hall at 36 Main St., Agawam.