Mayoral races heating up in Somerville, Everett, Lawrence, Gloucester, Taunton & Brockton

Here’s a closer look at six mayoral races this fall:

Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell is fending off a challenge from City Councilor Estele Borges as she attempts to rebuild public trust following her own personal legal troubles.

O’Connell was arrested by local police in July 2024 on domestic assault charges against her husband. Taunton police responded to the incident at the couple’s home, where her husband told them O’Connell allegedly bit his arm and struck his hand with a gasket scraper, according to a police report. O’Connell countered that “her husband had been verbally abusive to her,” the police report said.

In December, an Attleboro District Court judge dismissed an assault with a dangerous weapon charge against O’Connell, but gave her six months probation on a lesser charge of assault and battery on a family member after O’Connell admitted to sufficient facts surrounding that incident, according to court documents. O’Connell completed her probation in June; the case is closed.

Now, O’Connell’s reelection bid is shaping up to be a rematch between her and Borges, whom she previously ran against in 2019.

Holly Robichaud, a spokesperson for O’Connell’s campaign, predicted that O’Connell will win, pointing to achievements that include paving 25 percent of the roads and keeping taxes well below the statewide average.

”No other mayor has the accomplishment list that is comparable to what Mayor Shaunna O’Connell has done for the City of Taunton,” Robichaud said in an interview.

Borges is promising, if elected, that she will “demand the highest level of integrity and accountability in government” and restore responsible fiscal management to City Hall, according to her website.

The secretary of state’s office plans to supervise the City of Lawrence’s elections department this fall after receiving complaints that supporters of Mayor Brian A. DePeña and other candidates attempted to submit batches of absentee ballot applications, which were out of compliance with state rules, on behalf of voters.

The complaints came from various individuals, including Juan “Manny” Gonzalez, a firefighter and community activist who is challenging DePeña for his seat. Gonzalez accused supporters of DePeña of interfering with the preliminary election.

In a letter to the city elections department on Oct. 16, Secretary of State William Galvin said his office had determined that the city’s elections department had received absentee ballot applications and ballots themselves that were not from the voter named on the application or the outer envelope of the submitted absentee ballot, along with other issues.

DePeña couldn’t be reached for comment.

Gonzalez said he welcomed Galvin’s oversight of the election.

“We have witnessed and reported numerous instances of ballot harvesting, fear and intimidation of staff, and a general disregard for the law,” Gonzalez said in a statement to the Globe.

In a stunning outcome, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s quest for reelection came to an abrupt end during September’s preliminary election, where she failed to secure a spot on November’s ballot after receiving just 23 percent of the votes, putting the two-term incumbent behind two of her challengers.

The race to replace her is now between City Councilors Jake Wilson and Willie Burnley Jr.

Wilson, who was the top vote-getter, has a background in sports media and communications and led the city’s youth soccer league. He has pledged to end City Hall dysfunction and bring more attention to city services, street safety, rodent remediation, and affordable housing.

If Burnley wins the election, he would be the city’s first Black mayor and the first to openly identify as queer and polyamorous. Burnley, a democratic socialist, has vowed to create more affordable housing, limit data sharing with ICE, and meet the teachers union’s goal to increase school spending by millions of dollars.

Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s reelection bid is unfolding amid questions about the legality of hefty payments he received from the city to supplement his regular annual salary.

In February, the state Inspector General’s Office released a scathing report that found the city had overpaid the mayor $180,000 in bonuses since 2016 and urged the City Council to recoup the money from him.

DeMaria has come out strongly against the allegations of misspending and has refused to repay the city the money. He is now suing the Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro.

DeMaria, through a campaign spokesman, declined to comment for this article.

In September, the mayor defended his bonuses, which were officially classified as “longevity payments,” saying the City Council gave them to him in accordance with a city ordinance in place at the time, according to a statement.

“Because I know that I have done nothing wrong, I am taking legal steps to put this issue to rest, once and for all,” DeMaria said.

The controversy has spilled into this year’s mayoral race, where DeMaria faces competition from City Councilor Robert Van Campen, who has pledged to restore trust in City Hall.

”One thing is clear: Residents are ready for honest leadership and change that puts them first,“ Van Campen said in a statement.

Mayor Greg Verga’s attempt to seek a third term experienced a setback during September’s preliminary election when he finished second to his challenger, City Councilor Paul Lundberg. Verga’s disappointing placement came less than a year after Gloucester educators went on a more than two-week-long strike last November amid protracted contract negotiations.

During the work stoppage, Verga, who sits on the School Committee, upset many teachers and other residents after he was caught on video making an obscene gesture at protesters as he left a round of negotiations. He later apologized, saying “my frustrations got the best of me.”

In a statement to the Globe, Verga apologized again for how he handled last fall’s incident, which he described as a single sign-holder who surged at his car and which he described as “unnerving.”

Verga said he believes his campaign is building momentum, saying he’s “not going to let 15 seconds define 18 years of serving my community.”

Voters in Brockton are preparing to elect a person of color for the first time to be mayor, a historic moment for the City of Champions, where nearly three-quarters of the more than 100,000 residents identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or another racial minority.

Vying for the honor are two city councilors at large: Moises Rodrigues, who has roots in Cape Verde, and Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, who arrived after the 2010 earthquakes in Haiti.

While the mayoral contest represents the first time a person of color will be elected as mayor, it’s not the first time the seat has been filled by someone from a racial minority. Following the death of Mayor Bill Carpenter in 2019, the Brockton City Council tapped Rodrigues to finish his term.

That past experience might be giving Rodrigues an edge with this year’s campaign. He was the top vote-getter in September’s preliminary election, which featured eight mayoral candidates, garnering 3,090 votes, according to unofficial results posted on the city’s website.

But Derenoncourt was not far behind, with 2,522 votes, the second strongest showing.

Correction: This story has been updated to correctly reflect when he led his city’s youth soccer league.

James Vaznis can be reached at james.vaznis@globe.com. Follow him @globevaznis.