Former Mayor of Methuen Bill Manzi (from the files of the Eagle Tribune)

Since former State Senator Steve Baddour resigned from his seat on April 1 to join a prestigious Boston law firm, rumors have been running around the Valley about a possible successor. Would former State Senator and Baddour-mentor Jim Jajuga run? Would former Methuen Mayor Bill Manzi switch gears from a determined primary run against incumbent Register of Deeds Essex-North Robert Kelley? What about Haverhill Mayor Jim Fiorintini and Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday? As the May 1st deadline for signatures needed for nomination looms, the candidate roster is becoming clear.

With Jajuga, Fiorintini and Holaday opting out of the race, Bill Mazi has declared that he is “in” the Democratic nomination race along with Methuen City Councilor Sean Fountain, Methuen resident Sharon Birchall and Newburyport City Councilor Kathleen O’Connor Ives. On the GOP side Haverhill School Committee member Shaun Toohey and Haverhill resident and former congressional candidate Sam Meas took out papers along with Amesbury City Councilor James Kelcourse who opts for a run as an unenrolled candidate. They need 300 certified signature to qualify for the ballot.

Stay tuned for an interesting race with Bill Manzi surely the front-runner all around.

Read more here in Doug Moser’s article in today’s Eagle Tribune.