To submit election-related announcements, click on image or email [email protected]. These are the only acceptable methods of sending campaign news.
One of the seats seen as most critical for delivery of minority representation to Haverhill city government will have no candidates this fall.
The surprise revelation came Thursday when Esteban Marte withdrew his name from consideration for the Ward 1 School Committee seat. It was the final day for withdrawing nominations for elected office. Marte, who was a last-minute candidate when he pulled nomination papers from the Haverhill City Clerk’s office last month, was a virtual shoo-in without an opponent. Marte told WHAV “it’s a bummer,” but he doesn’t believe now he could fulfil the role the way he originally wanted and intended.
“It was a tough decision to make, but it was also an entirely personal decision. At the moment, I’m just doing some sort of reflection upon my personal situation,” he said.
Filling the seat now requires someone from the Ward to secure more write-in votes than any other person. Marte said he would still be willing to help another candidate secure the seat.
“This does not mean I’ll be alienating myself from Haverhill and the community of Haverhill,” he added.
Marte told WHAV last month, Ward 1 has been his home ever since his family immigrated here from the Dominican Republic. He said at the time, “I was raised by this community in Ward 1, which for as far as I can remember has not had adequate representation in the education system of this city.”
There were no other changes among the lineup of candidates for mayor, City Council or School Committee.
The idea of a minority School Committee candidate for a was first hailed as essential during a January 2020 forum, “Exploring the Possibility of Neighborhood Representation,” sponsored by Greater Haverhill Indivisible and Latino Coalition of Haverhill. While all expected a discussion of election of city councilors mostly by ward, panelist Ben Forman planted the idea of also electing the School Committee by neighborhood. He pointed to research showing school committees in Gateway Cities do not reflect the same diversity as its student populations.
Here is full list of candidates for elected office in Haverhill.
| Campaign | |
|---|---|
| (Names are listed alphabetically under each campaign) | |
| Mayor | |
| Barrett, Melinda E. | |
| Campanile, Debra | |
| Cooper, Guy E. | |
| Eleftheriou, George | |
| Wood, Scott W. Jr. | |
| City Council-At Large | |
| Jordan, Timothy J. | |
| LePage, Colin F. | |
| Michitson, John A. | |
| Simmons, Fred A. | |
| Sullivan, Thomas J. | |
| City Council Ward 1 | |
| Basiliere, Ralph T. | |
| Veras, Alexander | |
| City Council Ward 2 | |
| Hobbs Everett, Katrina | |
| Sapienza-Donais, Toni | |
| City Council Ward 3 | |
| Ferreira, Devan | |
| City Council Ward 4 | |
| Lambert, Craig | |
| Lewandowski, Melissa J. | |
| Quimby, Kenneth E. | |
| City Council Ward 5 | |
| Morales, Michael | |
| Toohey, Shaun P. | |
| City Council Ward 6 | |
| Aguilo, Oliver | |
| McGonagle, Michael S. | |
| City Council Ward 7 | |
| Rogers, Catherine P. | |
| School Committee-At Large* | |
| Magliocchetti, Paul A. | |
| Rosa, Richard J. | |
| Ryan-Ciardiello, Maura L. | |
| School Committee Ward 1 | |
| No nominees | |
| School Committee Ward 2 | |
| Sapienza-Donais, Toni | |
| Sullivan, Gail M. | |
| School Committee Ward 3 | |
| Dilonex, Liliana | |
| Ferguson, Cheryl | |
| School Committee Ward 4 | |
| Lalumiere, Mikaela | |
| Simmons, Fred A. | |
| Thomas, Courtney | |
| Wood, Scott W. Jr. | |
| School Committee Ward 5 | |
| Hickey, Lynette | |
| Story, Jill | |
| School Committee Ward 6 | |
| Collins, Yonnie | |
| Pfeil, Chad | |
| School Committee Ward 7 | |
| Downer, Edward | |
| Grannemann, Thomas | |
| Rogers, Hunter | |
| * No election in 2023 |