Candidates declare for city elections
Three-way race to fill state Senate seat; new faces announce for City Council
WOONSOCKET – As the election season officially got under way yesterday, the contest to determine who will succeed outgoing state Sen. Marc A. Cote (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) drew three combatants.
From the city, Councilwoman Melissa A. Murray, of 268 Prospect St., filed papers to run for the seat as a Democrat, while Michael Disney, of 939 Bernon St., declared for the vacancy as an independent candidate. Disney is a retired maintenance man whose last name used to be Moniz, until he legally changed it not long ago in honor of his hero – animation legend Walt Disney. He’s run for political office on multiple occasions in the past, usually without much success.
A third candidate who lives in North Smithfield filed papers at the city clerk’s office there. That was Glenn F. Dusablon, of 23 Elizabeth Ave., according to Town Clerk Deborah Todd. Dusablon is the founder of the Veterans Memorial Museum, located at 78 Earl St. He, too, is running as an independent candidate.
Cote, who has served in the Senate since 1994, announced he wouldn’t be seeking reelection earlier this year.
Meanwhile, another veteran lawmaker, State Sen. Roger A. Picard (D-Dist. 22, Woonsocket, Cumberland), filed papers to run for re-election. He has served in the Senate since 2008, previously serving in the House since 1992.
And he has a challenger: Michael A. Veri, of 474 Congress St., will run against Picard as a Republican,
according to papers he filed with the Board of Canvassers Monday. The director of the laboratory at Landmark Medical Center, Veri has never run for political office before.
Rep. Michael A. Morin (D-Dist. 49, Woonsocket) of 99 Allen St. and Rep. Robert D. Phillips (D-Dist. 51) of 325 Dunlap St. also took out papers to run for re-election on Monday.
In other election activity, former veteran city councilman Roger G. Jalette Sr. filed papers to run for one of seven vacancies on that panel in a bid to come back from his effort to unseat Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt in 2016. Jalette had served on the council for many years before he decided to take on the mayor, in effect, relinquishing his seat on the panel.
The only incumbent on the council to take out papers to run for re-election on Monday was Councilman
Richard J. Fagnant, of 88 Coe St. This would be his second term.
Other filers for council thus far include Thomas C. Keith, of 292 Bertenshaw Road and David M. Soucy, of 356 Woodland Road. A real estate professional with the Keller Williams agency, Keith ran unsuccessfully for council in 2016 for the first time.
Soucy is a newcomer with a familiar name. The longtime owner operator of the Soucy Insurance Agency, Soucy has never run for elective office before, but he’s held a number of appointive positions in city government and his bloodline includes two former mayors – including a grandfather and an uncle. He recently sold the agency.
As for the top spot in local
government, Baldelli-Hunt filed papers to seek her third term as mayor. She served as a Democrat in the House since 2006 prior to becoming mayor, but local elections are non-partisan, so candidates for local office needn’t declare a party affiliation.
No one has taken out papers to run against Baldelli-Hunt, but it’s possible an opponent could surface today or tomorrow, when the three-day declaration period ends. Candidates must file formal papers announcing their intentions in order to get on the Nov. 6 ballot. The period officially ends at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the Board of Canvassers in City Hall.