The much anticipated 2025 municipal election with its races for mayor, at-large city councilor, ward councilor and School Committee takes place Tuesday, Nov. 4, with polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
All candidates are running for two-year terms.
In the race for mayor, incumbent Greg Verga, a former School Committee and city councilor, is running for a third term against former City Council President and former Planning Board Chair Paul Lundberg.
For councilor at-large, four seats on the City Council are up for grabs. Incumbents Jason Grow and Council President Tony Gross are running along with residents Barnaby Prendergast, Hannah Kimberley, Shawn McQueeney and Patti-Ann Page.
Two incumbent at-large councilors’ names will not be on the ballot come Tuesday.
Val Gilman, also a former Ward 4 councilor, is retiring, and incumbent Jeff Worthley decided to run for mayor in September’s preliminary election but he did not advance to the final round.
Six seats on the School Committee are also up for grabs. Incumbents Kathleen Clancy, Laura Wiessen, Jeremy McKeen, William “Bill” Melvin, Melissa Joy Teixeira Prince and Keith Mineo are facing challenges from Nasreddine “Nas” Tber, Andrea Liacos, Heather Dagle and Brianna Hodgkins.
In the City Council ward races, in Ward 1, longtime incumbent Raymond Scott Memhard is facing a challenge from former Ward 2 City Councilor Tracy O’Neil.
In Ward 2, Donald Tgettis is challenging incumbent Dylan Benson who is seeking a second term.
In Ward 3, former City Councilor Joseph R. Orlando is facing off against incumbent Marjorie Grace, who like Benson is seeking a second term.
Francesco “Frank” Margiotta, a former Ward 3 city councilor, is running unopposed as he seeks another term representing Ward 4.
City Council Vice President Sean Nolan is unopposed as he seeks another term representing Ward 5.
Gloucester has 23,612 registered voters. There was no early in-person voting in advance of the municipal election, according to City Clerk Grace Poirier.
As of Friday, her office had received 250 requests for absentee ballots, including absentee requests by mail and voters who voted absentee in person. Of those, the office is awaiting the return of 64 absentee ballots. Of the 437 vote by mail ballots requested, 261 had been returned Friday.
Poirier said in an email she does not like to make predictions about turnout when asked to make one.
“We are prepared to accommodate a high turnout; however, historically voter turnout for a municipal election has been much lower than 100%,” she said.
Where to vote?
East Gloucester: Voters in Ward 1, Precincts 1 and 2, will head to the polls at East Veterans Elementary School, 11 Webster St.
Downtown: Voters in Ward 2, Precincts 1 and 2, will vote at Our Lady’s Youth Center, 140 Prospect St.
Ward 3: Precincts 1 and 2 votes at the Benjamin A. Smith Field House at Gloucester High School, 32 Leslie O. Johnson Road.
Ward 4 to the north: Precinct 1 will vote at Beeman Memorial School at 138 Cherry St. while Precinct 2 voters will head to Plum Cove Elementary School at 15 Hickory St. to cast ballots.
For voters who live in Magnolia, polls for Ward 5, Precinct 1 will be open at the Magnolia Library and Community Center, 1 Lexington Ave.
West Gloucester residents in Ward 5, Precinct 2, go to the polls at West Parish Elementary School, 10 Concord St.
The schools are not in session on Election Day, with the day being a professional development day for staff.
Bake sales
Voters might also want to bring an appetite and some cash to the polls as PTOs and organizations plan to hold bake sale fundraisers.
Here is a list of school PTOs and organizations that are planning on holding Election Day bake sales at the polls:
— The Plum Cove PTO at Plum Cove School.
— The East Veterans School PTO at East Veterans School.
— The West Parish School PTO at West Parish School.
— The Gloucester High School Senior Class of 2026 at Gloucester High.
— The O’Maley Innovation Middle School PTO at Our Lady’s Youth Center.
— The Beeman Memorial PTO at Beeman Memorial School.
— and the Magnolia Women’s Club at the Magnolia Library.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.