Nomination papers for City Council and School Committee – deadline Friday, July 31 at 5:00pm
July 1 was the first day that candidates could pull papers for this year’s municipal election. 50 certified signatures were required for a candidate’s name to be placed on the November ballot. At the 5:00pm deadline on July 31, here are the candidates who pulled papers and the number of signatures submitted and certified:
| Candidate | Office | Signatures submitted | Signatures certified |
| Edward J. Sullivan | City Council | 100 (July 27) | 98 |
| E. Denise Simmons | City Council | 98 (July 20) | 84 |
| Charles J. Marquardt | City Council | 81 (July 13) | 77 |
| David P. Maher | City Council | 100 (July 20) | 99 |
| Philip R. Fenstermacher | City Council | did not file | -- |
| Neal Leavitt | City Council | 50 (July 21), 8 (July 30) | 55 |
| Minka vanBeuzekom | City Council | 84 (July 7) | 75 |
| Larry Ward | City Council | 95 (July 29) | 88 |
| Silvia P. Glick | City Council | 61 (July 24), 5 (July 28) | 53 |
| Timothy J. Toomey | City Council | 100 (July 7) | 96 |
| Sylvia Barnes | City Council | did not file | -- |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | City Council | 98 (July 29) | 83 |
| Alan Steinert, Jr. | School Committee | 83 (July 7) | 77 |
| Fred Fantini | School Committee | 100 (July 7) | 97 |
| James Williamson | City Council | 40 (July 20), 25 (July 29) | 61 |
| Mark F. Flanagan | City Council | 63 (July 31) | 55 |
| Leland Cheung | City Council | 100 (July 16) | 88 |
| Sam Seidel | City Council | 100 (July 28) | 96 |
| Tom Stohlman | City Council | 100 (July 31) | 92 |
| Marjorie Decker | City Council | 29 (July 29) | 26 - did not file sufficient signatures |
| Henrietta Davis | City Council | 49 (July 22), 11 (July 28) | 59 |
| M. Kevin Moore | School Committee | did not file | -- |
| Marc McGovern | School Committee | 63 (July 16) | 57 |
| Patricia M. Nolan | School Committee | 62 (July 28) | 55 |
| Richard Harding | School Committee | 83 (July 29) | 76 |
| Richard Harding | City Council | filed for School Committee | -- |
| Joseph Grassi | School Committee | 100 (July 27) | 94 |
| Nancy Tauber | School Committee | 100 (July 28) | 97 |
| Alice Turkel | School Committee | 87 (July 30) | 86 |
| Lawrence Adkins | City Council | 100 (July 30) | 87 |
| Craig Kelley | City Council | 97 (July 30) | 91 |
| Charles L. Stead, Sr. | School Committee | 80 (July 30), 19 (July 31) | 92 |
| Gregg Moree | City Council | 93 (July 31) | 76 |
| Kathy Podgers | City Council | 21 (July 30), 38 (July 31), 27 (July 31) | 69 |
Check out this year’s Cambridge Candidate Pages.
24 people pulled papers for City Council and 10 for School Committee. Richard Harding pulled papers for both, but is running for School Committee. Randy Fenstermacher, Sylvia Barnes, and Kevin Moore filed no signatures and incumbent City Councillor Marjorie Decker filed insufficient signatures before the deadline. Their names will not appear on the November ballot.
It would be interesting to hear what people have to say about the new candidates this year. Whatever your impressions of the incumbents on the City Council and School Committee, it’s nice to see that we have some credible and interesting challengers.
We may even see a competitive election this year, and that’s always a good thing for the voters.
Comment by Robert Winters — July 19, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
It is wonderful that folks are taking such an interest in their community, and getting involved. Many Of Marjorie Decker’s supporters will be sorry to see her go, but it is good news for those who use guide dogs. In fact, I only “pulled papers” for City Council hours after I received a notice from MCAD that Decker was insisting that guide dogs be banned from City Council meetings due to her “disability.” I wish Marjorie Decker well, and hope she finds happiness with her new family situation.
Comment by Kathy Podgers — August 1, 2009 @ 12:32 pm
I hope that candidates will not avoid discussing their positions about the tenure of Bob Healy
as City Manager. I believe this issue is foremost in determining the near-term future direction
of the city.
Comment by Christopher Robinson — August 3, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
I agree that City Council candidates should be clear about where they stand with regard to the City Manager and his contract. I hasten to add that earlier this year the Manager’s contract was extended through August 2012 on an 8-1 vote of the City Council.
Insofar as this will almost certainly be his last contract before his retirement, one responsibility of the next City Council will be to establish a framework for determining his successor even though the actual vote for his successor will likely not happen until early 2012 (after the term of the next City Council).
Comment by Robert Winters — August 3, 2009 @ 8:48 pm