WCAC

Because the municipal election in 2023 featured a mayoral race, the field was large.

A preliminary election in September was required to narrow the fields for mayor, Ward 3 councilor and councilor at large.

After Friday’s deadline to submit election paperwork, the field this fall looks pretty small by contrast. A number of newcomers who pulled papers failed to submit signatures.

There will be no preliminary election in September and every ward councilor will run unopposed. But will the second time prove a charm for a handful of promising candidates from 2023?

 

One longtime incumbent, school committee member John Frassica, pulled papers but did not submit signatures to seek re-election. That means the school committee will get at least one new member in the new year.

Frassica could not immediately be reached for comment.

At-Large Field Not as Large

The last municipal election featured 13 candidates running for six councilor-at-large seats. A preliminary election narrowed the field to 12.

The big question this time was whether longtime councilor Tom Stanley’s decision not to seek re-election would cause many to seek his vacant seat. The answer is no. 

 

One newcomer stepped forward and a handful of returning challengers are back, but the field is much smaller: nine candidates for six seats.

First-time candidate Christina Curtin, daughter of late former city councilor Tom Curtin, is a lifelong Waltham resident and Waltham High Class of 2005. 

 

She works in health insurance and is not married. 

Curtin also serves as the chair of the Waltham YMCA advisory board, is a member of the city’s ambulance committee and is involved with the Health Assisting program at Waltham High.

In recent years, Rich Hynes has made headlines as a well-informed homeless man with plans to seek office.

 

Hynes nearly got on the ballot for mayor in 2015, ran at large in 2017 and tried unsuccessfully to run at large again in 2023. He will return to the ballot after successfully submitting signatures for the November election. He could not be reached for comment about his candidacy.

Tim King, a retired Waltham Police detective sergeant and the lead counsel for the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, plans to run again after a strong finish in 2023. 

 

The lifelong Waltham resident is a married father of three finished eighth in a field of 12 for six seats. He is a Waltham Lion whose priority is to hear from residents. 

 

Also running for a second time is Emma Tzioumis, a mother of two and public health official who could not be reached for comment on her candidacy.

Two other prospective at-large candidates, Kahntapaht Wilson and Marty Hansberry, pulled papers but failed to submit signatures by the June 27 deadline. 

The at-large challengers have their work cut out for them.

All the multi-term incumbents except Tom Stanley (Colleen Bradley-MacArthur, Paul Brasco, Randy LeBlanc, Kathy McMenimen and Carlos Vidal) successfully submitted signatures to get on the ballot.

No Ward Opposition

In 2023, five city councilors in Waltham’s nine wards faced challengers. Not this time.

Two ward challengers pulled papers, but failed to submit signatures by the deadline, meaning all the ward incumbents will stroll to victory unopposed.

In Ward 5, Matthew Delosa pulled papers to run against incumbent Joey LaCava, but appears to have changed his mind.

Same for another first-timer, Lisa Lyons, who sought to run against Ward 1 incumbent Anthony LaFauci. Neither could be reached for comment.

New Female School Committee Member(s)

There are six seats on the school committee, and three are up for election this fall. Current member John Frassica failed to submit signatures, so there will be new blood as four candidates seek three seats.

 

Two incumbents—Debbie Coleman and Liz Al Jammal—will seek re-election this November.

Two challengers (both Dual Language moms) have successfully submitted signatures to get on the ballot, so at least one will be elected.

Tammy Wong-Bigelow ran for the first time in 2023. She missed the cut by roughly 300 votes by finishing fifth in a field of five.

 

Wong-Bigelow is an education consultant and married mother of three with a child in the city’s Dual Language program.

Another Dual Language parent, Sabrina DeJoannis, also will appear on the ballot. The married mother of two has worked primarily as an engineer but also has experience in corporate finance and management.

 

The first-time candidate is a past president of the Dual Language PTO, treasurer for the Friends of the Waltham Public Library and a former contributing member of WPS strategic planning committee. 

Over the next week, the city clerk’s office will officially confirm all the candidates for the municipal election, which will take place on Tuesday, November 4.

 2025 Unofficial Waltham Municipal Election Ballot

Asterisks (*) indicate incumbents

 

 File and courtesy photos