The 90-member Democratic Town Committee will convene tonight (Tuesday) at the Circolo Sportivo Italian American Club to formally endorse candidates for municipal office including mayor, city clerk, town clerk, sheriff, school board and City Council.
Mayor Joe Ganim is poised for the endorsement against challengers Lamond Daniels, John Gomes and State Senator Marilyn Moore.
On Wednesday opponents to the endorsed candidate will launch the two-week process to make the September 12 primary ballot by collecting roughly 2,000 validated signatures of Democratic voters. Those petition sheets will be reviewed by election officials in the Registrar’s Office to confirm the five percent signature threshold needed from party electors.
This is a labor-intensive and often expensive process to hire a crew to assist the signature drive. The campaign camps will need a sizable signature cushion above 2,000 to offset signatures rejected because voters are unaffiliated or for other reasons.
If done correctly, signature drives provide rewards beyond ballot qualification, harnessing a universe of voters touched by campaign disciples.
If Daniels, Gomes and Moore all qualify it would represent a four-candidate mayoral field, the largest since 2003.
One office of note to watch is town clerk. City minister Charlie Stallworth who supported Ganim’s return to the mayoralty in 2015 is vying for the endorsement against incumbent Dom Clemons. Stallworth is once again backing Ganim.
Hey Lennie, did the republicans nominate as well? I Watched the Dems live stream from the Italian Club, but nothing coming across anywhere from the Republicans.
GOP endorsed last week for mayor David Herz, an attorney by profession.