The Westbrook Republican City Committee nominated Mayor Bruce Chuluda Sunday to run for a second term in November.

Chuluda did not face any opposition for the nomination at the caucus, and, in fact, there were no contested races for any of the seats on the Republican ticket.

For the City Council, Councilor At-Large John O’Hara of Cottage Place was also nominated to run for re-election. Joining O’Hara on the at-large ticket was Kevin Crocker of Haskell Street.

Republicans nominated Joan Boucher of Longley Road to square off against incumbent Councilor Brendan Rielly in Ward 1. Committee Chairman Ray Richardson said he felt Boucher was a strong candidate who would work hard for the city.

“She wants to make a difference in the state of Maine and the city of Westbrook,” he said.

In Ward 3, Councilor Ed Symbol was nominated to run for re-election. Symbol, a former School Committe member, joined the council earlier this month to serve out the term of Councilor Gary Groves who resigned to become the Westbrook athletic director. Richardson said Symbol was not able to attend the caucus, but he said he spoke to Symbol prior to the caucus, and Symbol told Richardson he wanted to run for the Ward 3 seat. If elected, this would be Symbol’s first full term on the council.

In the race for the Ward 4 seat being vacated by Democratic Councilor Ann Peoples, who is not running for reelection, the Republicans nominated Chamber of Commerce President Darryl Wright of Webster Road. Connie Smith of Summit Circle fills out the Republican council ticket running for the Ward 5 council seat. The committee did not name a candidate for the Ward 2 council seat.

On the School Committee side of the ballot, the Republicans only nominated one candidate. Jack Gorsuch of Longfellow Street was nominated to run for the Ward 3 seat on the committee. Richardson said Gorsuch brings “a lot of experience” to the table. The last spot on the ticket went to City Clerk Barbara Hawkes, who will be running unopposed in November.

Richardson said he is looking to appoint candidates to fill out the two remaining School Committee seats and the one remaining City Council slot on the ballot. “We’ve got several people who have expressed interest in running,” he said.

Despite the fact that the caucus did not feature any contested races, Richardson said he was thrilled with the caucus. “I think we had a very crisp caucus,” he said. “We had people there who were energized.”

Richardson said he was optimistic that Chuluda would be reelected this fall. “I think Bruce has a good record to run on and people are going to look at his record and say he’s done a good job running the city,” said Richardson. “When you can feel that way about the top of your ticket, that’s exciting.”

At its caucus Sunday night, the Republican City Committee named its candidates for the November election. Pictured (front row, from left) Barbara Hawkes, City Clerk; Joan Boucher, Ward 1 City Council; Connie Smith, Ward 5 City Council; John O’Hara, City Council at-large. Back row (from left) Kevin Crocker, City Council at-large; Mayor Bruce Chuluda; Jack Gorsuch, Ward 3 School Committee; Darryl Wright, Ward 4 City Council. Not pictured, Ed Symbol, Ward 3 City Council.

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