Just as the Reporter was going to press we got a copy the list of folks who turned in their nomination signatures for House and Senate seats to the Boston Elections Department.
Candidates had until 5 p.m. yesterday to get their signatures into local elections officials if they wanted to have their names on the ballot for the Sept. 14 primary and Nov. 2 general election. House candidates need to gather 150 signatures; the number is 300 for Senate candidates.
First, several caveats about the list: City elections officials have until May 18 to complete certification of the signatures. The signatures must also be submitted to the Secretary of State’s election division by May 25 for certification at the state level. The signatures can be challenged. (It’s in fact how one person, perennial candidate Althea Garrison, knocked an opponent off the ballot in the 1990s and went on to serve two years in the House.) People can also withdraw, of course.
So it’s best to view the list as a somewhat incomplete snapshot, but a pretty good indicator of who’s running.
The list is attached as a PDF below.
But here’s a few things of note:
— State Sen. Jack Hart (D-South Boston) could have a Democratic challenger, Donn Dingle.
— The list of folks interested in the Fourth Suffolk (retiring Rep. Brian Wallace’s seat) includes: Democrats Mark McGonagle, Michael McGee, Nick Collins and Jacob Bombard, and Republican Patrick Brennan.
— From the Fifth Suffolk (retiring Rep. Marie St. Fleur’s seat): Barry Lawton, Carlos Henriquez, Althea Garrison, and Roy Owens running as Democrats, with Sean Malloy as the lone Republican. Looks like local activists were unsuccessful in getting Candace Sealey, an aide to U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, to run.
— From the Sixth Suffolk (retiring Rep. Willie Mae Allen’s seat): the Democrats include Darrin Howell, Kathy Gabriel, Karen Payne, Russell Holmes, Divo Monteiro, LaTasha Cooper. And Republican Adam Bisol has also submitted signatures.
— Democrat Hassan Williams is challenging freshman Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.
