During the summer, the Lowell City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. That usually translates to a meeting every other week, but this year’s calendar has given us a gap of three weeks between meetings with the next one coming this Tuesday, August 12, 2025. (The council last met on July 22, 2025.)

With the city’s preliminary election just a month away, today’s newsletter will preview that and the November 4, 2025, city election.

Under our city electoral system, anytime there are more than twice as many candidates as there are seats to be filled for a particular office, there must be a preliminary election to reduce the number of candidates to just twice the number of seats to be filled. For example, in a city council district there is one seat so if there are three or more candidates eligible for election, there must be a preliminary election in which the top two finishers move on to the November election. Similarly, there are three at-large council seats so if there were seven or more candidates, a preliminary would be required to reduce the number of candidates to six, which is double the number of seats to be filled. When only some districts require a preliminary election, that election is only held for those districts. All candidates for the other districts automatically advance to the November election.

This year, three council districts will have preliminary elections which will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 2025:

District 3 city councilor

The District 3 city councilor represents Belvidere. There are four candidates:

• Corey A. Belanger (incumbent)
• Daniel Finn
• Erin M. Gendron
• Belinda M. Juran

District 7 city councilor

The District 7 city councilor represents the Acre. There are three candidates:

• Jose De Jesus Cervantes
• Sidney L. Liang
• Paul Ratha Yem (incumbent)

District 8 city councilor

The District 8 city councilor represents the Upper Highlands. There are three candidates:

• Marcos A. Candido Jr.
• John G. Descoteaux (incumbent)
• Francisco Maldonado Jr.

Again, these three offices will be on the ballot on September 9, 2025. This past Friday, the city’s election office held a drawing to determine the order in which the candidates would appear on the ballot in the preliminary election. Here is the result:

District 3

1. Daniel Finn
2. Corey A. Belanger
3. Erin M. Gendron
4. Belinda M. Juran

District 7

1. Jose De Jesus Cervantes
2. Sidney L. Liang
3. Paul Ratha Yem

District 8

1. Francisco Maldonado Jr.
2. Marcos A. Candido Jr.
3. John G. Descoteaux

(In the November election per state law, incumbents come first on the ballot in alphabetical order followed by challengers, also in alphabetical order.)

If you wish to vote by mail in that and subsequent elections this year, you must request a mail in ballot from the city’s election office. This can be done on the Vote-By-Mail page of the election office website.

Looking ahead to the final election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, here are the offices and candidates that will be on the ballot that day:

CITY COUNCIL

At-Large City Councilors (top three elected)

Three city councilors are elected citywide, so they are on the ballot in every district. There are five candidates. The top three finishers will win seats on the council:

• Sixto DeJesus
• Erik Robert Gitschier (incumbent)
• Emile Herman Kaufman
• Rita M. Mercier (incumbent)
• Vesna Nuon (incumbent)

District 1 city councilor

The District 1 city councilor represents Pawtucketville. There is one candidate:

• Daniel P. Rourke (incumbent)

District 2 city councilor

The District 2 city councilor represents Centralville. There is one candidate:

• Corey Michael Robinson (incumbent)

District 3 city councilor

The District 3 city councilor represents Belvidere. The top two finishers in the preliminary will be on the November ballot:

• Corey A. Belanger (incumbent)
• Daniel Finn
• Erin M. Gendron
• Belinda M. Juran

District 4 city councilor

The District 4 city councilor represents downtown, Back Central, and part of Pawtucketville. There are two candidates:

• Wayne C. Jenness Jr. (incumbent)
• Sean McDonough

District 5 city councilor

The District 5 city councilor represents South Lowell. There are two candidates:

• Sherri O’Conor Barboza
• Kimberly Ann Scott (incumbent)

District 6 city councilor

The District 6 city councilor represents the Lower Highlands. There is one candidate:

• Sokhary Chan Chau (incumbent)

District 7 city councilor

The District 7 city councilor represents the Acre. The top two finishers in the preliminary will be on the November ballot:

• Jose De Jesus Cervantes
• Sidney L. Liang
• Paul Ratha Yem (incumbent)

District 8 city councilor

The District 8 city councilor represents the Upper Highlands. The top two finishers in the preliminary will be on the November ballot:

• Marcos A. Candido Jr.
• John G. Descoteaux (incumbent)
• Francisco Maldonado Jr.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The Lowell School Committee consists of six members elected by the voters plus the mayor who is elected by fellow city councilors. Of the elected members of the school committee, two are elected city wide in “at large” seats, and four are elected to single member districts. Each school committee district consists of two city council districts.

This year, the four district incumbents are all running unopposed, so they are guaranteed reelection. They are Fred W. Bahou in District 1, Eileen P. DelRossi in District 2; David Joseph Conway in District 3; and Dominik Hok Lay in District 4.

For the two citywide seats on the school committee, there are four candidates. Because that is exactly double the two seats to be filled, there is no need for a preliminary election. The top two of the following candidates in the November election will therefore win seats on the School Committee:

• Zoe F. Dzineku
• Robert Joseph Hoey Jr.
• Connie A. Martin (incumbent)
• Danielle Marie McFadden

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

City Council candidates must report donations received and funds spent to the state’s Office of Campaign and Public Finance (OCPF) which makes the information publicly available on its website. Candidates for school committee report their finances to the city’s Election Office which makes those reports available on its website.

For current council candidates, here are the latest numbers – beginning balance at the start of 2025; amount raised and reported thus far in 2025; amount spent thus far; and cash on hand:

At-Large city councilors

• Sixto DeJesus: new account; raised $9577; spent $4799; balance $4778
• Erik Robert Gitschier: start $2482; raised $11,756; sent $3392; bal. $10,846
• Emile Herman Kaufman: no reports filed
• Rita M. Mercier: start $15,912; raised $4188; spent $2967; bal. $17,133
• Vesna Nuon: start $10,598; raised $10,628; spent $8215; bal. $13,235

District 1 city councilor

• Daniel P. Rourke: start $23,761; raised $500; spent $3179; bal. $21,082

District 2 city councilor

• Corey Michael Robinson: start $4204; raised $7475; spent $4434; bal. $7246

District 3 city councilor

• Corey A. Belanger: start $3790; raised $9405; spent $2904; bal. $10,291
• Daniel Finn: start $1482; raised $7511; spent $4720; bal. $4272
• Erin M. Gendron: new acct; raised $9780; spent $4367; bal. $5413
• Belinda M. Juran: new acct; raised $21,037; spent $9090; bal. $11,947

District 4 city councilor

• Wayne C. Jenness Jr.: start $4976; raised $500; spent $727; bal. $4749
• Sean McDonough: new acct; raised $4030; spent $1866; bal. $2164

District 5 city councilor

• Sherri O’Conor Barboza: no reports filed
• Kimberly Ann Scott: start $7954; raised $8144; spent $728; bal. $15,370

District 6 city councilor

• Sokhary Chan Chau: start $587; raised $13,567; spent $11,226; bal. $2929

District 7 city councilor

• Jose De Jesus Cervantes: new acct; raised $3289; spent $2289; bal. $988
• Sidney L. Liang: new acct; raised $6838; spent $3906; bal. $2931
• Paul Ratha Yem: start $1640; raised $3161; spent $1203; bal. $3598

District 8 city councilor

• Marcos A. Candido Jr.: new acct; raised $442; spent $120; bal. $322
• John G. Descoteaux: start $5884; raised $9045; spent $1525; bal. $13,404
• Francisco Maldonado Jr.: new acct: raised $28,643; spent $15,845; bal. $12,983

Here are some highlights of the above finance information:

Largest beginning balance: Dan Rourke with $17,361

Most money raised thus far: Francisco Maldonado Jr raised $28,643

Most money spent thus far: Francisco Maldonado Jr. spent $15,845

Most money on hand: Dan Rourke with $21,082

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On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 6 pm at the Pollard Memorial Library’s ground floor meeting room, I will give a talk on “The Founding of Lowell” in conjunction with the city’s upcoming bicentennial. The event is free and does not require advance registration.

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This week on richardhowe.com:

Eoin Reilly writes about his late father, Robert T. Reilly, a Lowell native who ran track with Ed McMahon and Jack Kerouac at Lowell High, and who went on to lead a fascinating life.

Charlie Gargiulo wrote about meeting the Kinks in 1970 when they performed at Lowell’s Commodore Ballroom.

Leo Racicot recalls what it was like in Lowell in 1968.

Louise Peloquin wrote about efforts 100 years ago to ensure that milk was healthy for people to consume.

Paul Marion wrote about purple loosestrife, the spiky plant that grows throughout the region.

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My YouTube channel this week visits Lowell’s Public Art Trail, a collection of a dozen outdoor sculptures around the downtown.