SANFORD — Six people will vie for two, three­ year City Council seats on Nov. 8, the only contested races on the municipal ballot including several newcomers to the political scene.

All other races – the two-year mayoral term and two, three-year school committee terms – will see the current incumbents running unopposed.

Seeking re-election to their council seats are incumbents John Tuttle and Victor DiGregorio. Looking to unseat them are political newcomers Jeremy Mele, Christopher Signore, Richard Terril and Robert Stackpole, a former longtime school committee member who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2007 and twice for the state Legislature.

Nominations were due in to the city clerk’s office by 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Other potential candidates – former City Councilor Dianne Connolly and Ricky Naylor – did not turn in their nomination papers. Kari Ziekle‘s papers did not contain the required 50 signatures of registered voters, said City Clerk Sue H. Cote. In a Facebook posting, Zielke said she turned in 57 signatures, but as it turned out, only 21 of them were of registered voters.

In Sanford, all councilors run at large, so the top two vote-getters will be elected.

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Tom Cote, who faced opposition in his first bid for mayor three years ago, is unopposed in his bid for a second term. Under the municipal charter, the mayoral term moved to two years with this election cycle.

Tuttle, a former longtime state representative and senator, was elected to the City Council in 2015 for a one-year term under the new charter.

DiGregorio, who made a failed legislative bid in 2015, is scheduled for trial on Oct. 24 in connection with criminal charges that he attempted to steal public money by lying to the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices in connection with his legislative campaign.

The state alleges that DiGregorio did not collect all required qualifying contributions to his campaign in the legislative race, and may have paid for some of them with his own funds. He was denied Clean Elections funding.

In 2014, DiGregorio was named the winner of the remaining two years of a three-year council term following a recount with his closest opponent, candidate Dianne Connolly. The recount saw DiGregorio emerge with four votes more than Connolly.

Incumbents Scott Sheppard and John Roux are unopposed for the Sanford School Committee.

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Incumbent Roger Durant is seeking re-election to the Sanford Water District, while incumbents Jonathan Adam Brock and Kevin Eaton are seeking re-election to the Sanford Sewerage District.

Look for profiles of City Council candidates in the Journal Tribune as the election draws closer.

For more information on Sanford elections, go to the city clerk’s election page: tinyurl.com/zs4bsb7.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.


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