Bristol's Town Council among hot races in 2022 election

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 6/30/22

There are many hopefuls running for limited seats on the the School Committee and Town Council this year.

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Bristol's Town Council among hot races in 2022 election

Posted

The window for candidates to declare for office in the upcoming elections was this week, and when the dust settled after the 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline, the names you’ll be hearing over the next few months emerged.

Regional School Committee

There are eight candidates vying for the three Bristol seats whose occupants’ terms are expiring this cycle: Carly Reich, Victor Cabral, and Sheila Ellsworth. Only Reich has filed to run again.

Joining her in the non-partisan race are Jessica Almeida, Brian Bradshaw, Adam McGovern, Anthony Morettini, William O’Dell, Margaret Richards, and Richard Ruggiero.

O’Dell and Bradshaw have previously served on the Committee; Ruggeiro is a former member of the Town Council.

Town Council

Democrats Andrew Broten and Bethany Sousa Foster join fellow Democrats and sitting Council members Aaron Ley and Timothy Sweeney in the Sept. 13 primary; sitting Council member Mary Parella will be the sole Republican in the race.

They will be joined in the Nov. 8 general election by Independent candidates Tony Teixeira, Nathan Calouro, and Edward Stuart. Teixeira and Calouro are both current members of the Council; Stuart is a former member.

Both Calouro and Stuart were registered Democrats in their last respective races.

General Assembly

Both of Bristol’s Representatives, June Speakman (D-68) and Susan Donovan (D-69) are running to retain their seats. Speakman will have two challengers: Republican Rae-Ann Lawrence and Independent William Hunt; Donovan will be opposed by Republican Robert O’Neill.

On the Senate side, only Wally Felag (D-10) is seeking reelection. He will be challenged by Republican Allyn Meyers.

The District 11 seat being vacated by James Seveney has five hopeful candidates: Democrats Matthew Chappell and Linda Ujifusa, Republican Kenneth Mendonca, and Independents Andrew Kelly and Mario Teixeira.

There are also five candidates hoping to take over the District 32 seat, with Cynthia Coyne stepping down at the end of her current term. They are Republican Rhonda Holmes; Democrats Susannah Holloway and Pamela Lauria; and Independents Steven Shuman and Kenneth Marshall, who previously served as the Representative for House district 68 from 2013 to 2019.

We can confidently call the November elections for Bristol Town Administrator Steven Contente (I) and Town Clerk Melissa Cordeiro (D); both are running unopposed.

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