SALISBURY — The field of candidates for the Salisbury municipal election is now clear.
Salisbury will hold its municipal elections on Nov. 3 and there will almost certainly be a significant change in the dynamics for the Mayor and City Council. For example, current City Council President Jake Day is now running unopposed for mayor. With no challengers filing before the deadline on Tuesday, Day was essentially elected mayor unless a write-in campaign is waged.
The Salisbury Council’s five district seats are up for grabs with incumbents filing in four.
This year marks the first election year for Salisbury’s new five-district system. In the past, the city was divided into two council election districts with two members elected from District 1 and three members elected from District 2. Last fall, the City Council adopted a charter amendment establishing the boundaries for five new election district and also changed the election date from April to November.
In addition, the old system used to stagger the elections in order to prevent a possible complete turnover in a single year. However, this year, the mayor and five council districts will all be contested on the same day. The new system has created some anomalies. For example, current incumbents Jack Heath and Tim Spies will now face off in the same council district.
Adding to the intrigue for the Salisbury elections in November, current Mayor Jim Ireton is not seeking re-election, but has filed for one of the five council district seats.
In District 1, incumbent Shanie Shields faces two challengers in April Jackson and Sarah Halcott. In District 2, there will be a newcomer filling the seat after the election in November. Four candidates have filed for the District 2 seat, including Muir Boda, who made an unsuccessful bid for the seat in the last election. Also filing in District 2 was Keyvan Aarabi, Marvin Ames and Justin Gregoli.
In District 3, incumbents Jack Heath and Tim Spies will each be seeking re-election. Joining Heath and Spies in the District 3 race will be challenger Kevin Lindsay. In District 4, current Mayor Jim Ireton is seeking the seat. He will be challenged by Kenneth Vickers III and Roger Mazullo. Finally, in District 5, current Councilwoman Laura Mitchell is running unopposed.