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Incumbent George Ramirez left
the council in the summer of 2007 for a position in state
government. He was replaced by former school committee member Joe
Mendonca, who served the balance of Ramirez's term but who finished 11th
in the 2007 election.
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Incumbent councilor Eileen
Donoghue did not seek re-election. At the filing deadline, she was
in the midst of a special election for the Fifth Congressional District
to fill the vacancy created when Marty Meehan resigned to become the
chancellor at UMass Lowell. Niki Tsongas won the Democratic
primary and defeated Jim Ogonowski in the special general
election.
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Veteran councilor Bud Caulfield
was unanimously elected mayor. Bernie Lynch continued as city manager.
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On the school committee,
newcomer Dave Conway topped the ticket (6453), joining returning incumbents (in
order of finish) Regina Faticanti (6268), John Leahy (6253), Jackie
Doherty (5877), Jim Leary (5866) and Connie Martin (5337). Five term incumbent Kevin McHugh finished
seventh (5259) and Dennis Canney finished eighth (4904).
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Shortly after the election,
Superintendent of Schools Karla Brooks Baehr announced she would not
seek an extension of her contract which would expire in June 2008.
Baehr had served as Lowell's superintendent since 2000.
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Cancer claimed the life of
longtime WLLH and WBZ radio personality and Lowell Sun columnist Paul
Sullivan.
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Radio station WCAP, owned by
the Cohen family since it's inception in the early 1950s, was sold to
local businessmen Clark Smidt and Sam Poulten who switched the edgy
morning political talk format to a more relaxed culture and current
events format.
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The Red Sox won the World
Series again.