Thanks to the Lowell Election Commission for promptly releasing the names of candidates who qualified to appear on the ballot in this fall’s city elections. Here they are:

City Council

Corey Belanger
David Conway
Rodney Elliott
Jordan Gys
Martin Hogan
Edward Kennedy
Cheth Khim
John Leahy
James Leary
Joseph Mendonca
Rita Mercier
Robert Merrill
James Milinazzo
Mayon Mitchell
Vesna Nuon
Daniel Rourke
William Samaras
Pan So
Paul Ratha Yem

School Committee

Andre Descoteaux
Jacqueline Doherty
Patrick Farmer
Stephen Gendron
Robert Gignac
Robert Hoey
Kamara Kay
Dominik Lay
Connie Martin
Dennis Mercier
Benjamin Opara
Christopher Roux

Greater Lowell Tech

Raymond Boutin
Curtis LeMay

Because there are more than 18 candidates for city council – there are 19 – there will be a preliminary election on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 to eliminate one candidate. Because there are only 12 candidates for school committee, there will not be a preliminary election for that office. All 12 school committee candidates, the top 18 council finishers in the preliminary election, and both Greater Lowell Tech Candidates, will all appear on the general election ballot on November 3, 2015.

The order of appearance of council candidates in the preliminary election will be decided by a drawing to occur this Friday at 10 am in the council chambers at City Hall. That drawing is open to the public.

The order of appearance in the general election (I believe) is the incumbents come first in alphabetical order followed by the non-incumbents in alphabetical order.