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Mayoral pool down to four |
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Thursday, 17 September 2009 |
WOONSOCKET — Raymond Riel, one of five candidates who returned nomination papers to run for mayor, has been disqualified by the Board of Canvassers and will not appear on the primary ballot next month.
Interim Manager Estelle Corriveau said Riel tendered 134 signatures with his nomination papers 10 minutes before Tuesday's deadline. Thirty-six signatures were later excluded because they were not those of properly registered voters, leaving Riel two short of the minimum requirement of 100.
The signatures were counted twice before canvassing authorities determined that he was not qualified to be a candidate, according to Corriveau.
Officials tried to reach Riel to inform him of his status Wednesday, but there were unable to do so, according to Corriveau. They left a message with a relative, she said. Efforts to reach Riel for comment were not successful.
Riel was a volunteer organizer who received favorable public notice for orchestrating a mid-summer cleanup of neglected World War II Veterans Memorial State Park. The state Department of Environmental Management has withdrawn personnel and other resources from the park's budget, and the cash-strapped city, which does not own the property, has been reluctant to step into the void. The site of the annual Autumnfest bash, the park could be conveyed to the city, which might accept it under certain conditions, officials say.
Riel's exclusion from the ballot means there will be a four-way primary on Oct. 6, including City Council President Leo T. Fontaine; former state representative and retired police sergeant Todd R. Brien; Bernon Mills Estates developer Steven J. Lima; and private investigator Michael Mello.
Incumbent Mayor Susan D. Menard is stepping aside after 14 years at the helm of city government. Brien has run against her twice before, including a 2007 contest in which Mello, also a contender, was eliminated in the primary. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 20 September 2009 )
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