By Matt Sheley, Town of Middletown
There’s now one less candidate vying for Middletown Town Council.
On Thursday morning, Lawrence Frank submitted a letter to the office of the Board of Canvassers, announcing he was withdrawing his name from the race. No reason was cited in the one-page memo.
“This letter is to inform you that I am withdrawing as a candidate for the Middletown Town Council,” Frank wrote in his signed letter.
The news now brings the total number of residents seeking one of seven seats on the town’s top elected body to nine.
In addition to incumbent council President Paul M. Rodrigues and Vice President Thomas P. Welch III, council members Christopher Logan, M. Theresa Santos, Dennis Turano and Barbara A. VonVillas are in the race again. They were joined by Peter Connerton, Emily Tessier and Antone Viveiros.
Each filed completed candidacy declaration forms by June 29 at 4 pm in Town Hall, the state mandated deadline for such paperwork. The lone incumbent not to seek reelection was Councilwoman Terri Flynn.
The next deadline all the candidates must meet is July 15 no later than 4 pm. That’s when all eligible Town Council and School Committee candidates must collect at least 50 valid signatures of Middletown voters on their nomination papers and return them to the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall.
For information or questions about the upcoming elections, please visit the Secretary of State’s website at https://vote.sos.ri.gov online.