HOLYOKE — The field has been narrowed for Nov. 4’s municipal election for a Ward 1 City Council seat and a Ward 5 School Committee spot.
At Tuesday’s preliminary election, Victor Machado DeJesus received 62 votes, incumbent Jenny Rivera received 49 and Jose Candelario was eliminated with 17 votes. DeJesus and Rivera will now square off in November.
DeJesus works in community outreach. In addition to representing Ward 1 for two terms on the City Council, Rivera is also chair of the Public Safety Committee.
In total, 129 Ward 1 residents voted on Tuesday, or approximately 3% of registered voters in both precincts.
In the Ward 5 School Committee race, Jens M. Michaelsen and Aida Luz Oquendo, with 72 and 54 votes respectively, prevailed over James Alan Rossmeisl, who had 49 votes.
Michaelsen, a business analyst at ISO New England, and Oquendo, a senior accounts payable specialist at MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board, will face each other in November. Rossmeisl, a retired Holyoke High School teacher, was eliminated.
In total, only 176 voted. Precinct A brought out 4.3% of voters, and Precinct B garnered 2.8%.
November’s municipal election will also include City Council contests for Wards 3 and 4. The Ward 3 race will involve incumbent David K. Bartley and challenger Anne Thalheimer, while the Ward 4 race is between newcomers Richard Paul Purcell and Peter Diaz Jr. Incumbent Kocayne S. Givner is not seeking reelection.
Also up for grabs at the municipal election will be six at-large council positions. Nine candidates will be on the ballot, including incumbents Tessa R. Murphy-Romboletti, Patricia C. Devine, Israel Rivera, Howard B. Greaney Jr., Kevin Andrew Jourdain and Michael J. Sullivan, as well as newcomers Jennifer M. Keitt, Mimi Panitch and Christopher Dunay.