Brunelle lost the Ward 5 City Council seat in the 2009 election.
John P. BrunelleHOLYOKE – Former city councilor John P. Brunelle said Thursday that while he took out nomination papers to run for mayor, he has decided against a bid for the seat in the fall election.
“I took out papers for myself to decide and to talk with people to see if I wanted to run. I’m not running for mayor. I never announced I was running for mayor,” Brunelle said.
“I was investigating the possibility of running, but I decided not to,” he said.
Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon defeated Brunelle, who had been the Ward 5 councilor since 2001, in the 2009 election.
The deadline for candidates to file nomination papers to be eligible to run for city offices is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at the Registrar of Voters at City Hall.
Mayoral candidates must file papers bearing signatures of at least 250 registered voters.
Mayor Elaine A. Pluta has said she will run for a second-term.
Challenging Pluta are Alex B. Morse, who works as a youth counselor and job developer at CareerPoint here, business consultant Daniel C. Boyle and former city councilor Daniel C. Burns.
John Brunelle