Day three of city filing period
Candidate filings trickled in on day 3 of the city of Manchester’s election filing period. Many of the names were familiar, though some new comers to city politics tossed their hat into the ring.
Hoping third time is a charm, former Deputy Welfare Commissioner Diane Guimond entered the race for Welfare Commissioner, again squaring off against her former boss Commissioner Paul Martineau, who has soundly defeated her in the last two elections.
Former Alderman at-Large Mike Lopez is looking to make a political comeback. Lopez, who narrowly lost reelection two terms ago, filed papers to run for the seat again. Robert Tarr, who has been active at times in city politics, also filed for the at-Large position.
Freshman Ward 1 State Rep. Joseph Lachance filed for School Board at Large. In recent social media posts, Lachance said city government needed new blood.
The race for alderman in Ward one picked up a fourth contestant with as newcomer Joe Pishgar declared his candidacy.
In Ward 3, Alderman Patrick Long picked up a challenger in the name of Phillip Harris. Harris recently ran for state representative in the floterial district comprised of wards 1, 2 and 3.
With the filing of his candidacy for school board in Ward 4, Mark Flanders became the first person to file a candidacy of any kind.
In Ward 5, Lisa Freeman filed for a second try at school board. She was defeated by incumbent Ted Rokas two years ago. Freeman has been a continual presence at school board meetings since, frequently offering her opinion during public comment sessions. She has been critical of school administrators on the topics of Common Core, standardized testing and parental rights.
Click here for the complete list of filings for all offices to date.
Click here to learn how you can file for office.
