BELFAST – Voters will encounter a full slate of candidates for the November City Council election, but the same can’t be said for the SAD 34 board.

By Thursday’s 5 p.m. deadline for the filing of nomination papers, candidates for all three City Council seats up for grabs had filed the required 25 signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Of the three open seats on the SAD 34 board, only one candidate submitted papers.

The council election is certain to be a lively contest as both the Ward 1 and Ward 2 incumbent councilors face strong challengers. Four people are vying for the open seat in Ward 5.

The Ward 5 seat opened when incumbent Anita Robertson was denied an opportunity to run for re-election because of last month’s redistricting. The new ward boundaries placed Robertson’s Head of Tide Road home in Ward 4.

Robertson will be able to run from her new ward next year, if she chooses to. However, she has also indicated that she may run for mayor, as that post will be up for grabs in 2005 as well.

In what will be a rematch of the last election, squaring off in Ward 1 for a two-year term will be incumbent Councilor Philip Crosby of Durham Street and Dennis L. Howard II of Cedar Street.

Crosby emerged as the victor in 2002, although Howard polled strong numbers as a last-minute write-in candidate in that race.

In the race for Ward 2, incumbent Councilor Charlotte Peters of Commercial Street is being challenged by Rachel McDonald of High Street. McDonald recently completed a term as chairman of the SAD 34 board.

The contest for a two-year term as Ward 5 representative will feature four familiar faces.

James Roberts Sr., a former councilman from Patterson Hill Road, will compete for the seat with Paul C. Dean of the Whittier Road; Albert Douglas of Swan Lake Avenue; and Lewis Baker of Seabreeze Lane.

Dean and Douglas were runners-up to Robertson in the last election, and Baker is a member of the school board.

There is one, two-year term and there are two, three-year terms open on the SAD 34 board. Stephen Stokes of Londonderry Lane submitted papers for one of the three-year terms.

City Clerk Roberta Fogg said the other open seats could be filled by write-in candidates or, if that failed to occur, would be filled by appointment of the City Council.

Fogg determined the order of placement on the ballot by random drawing. In the Ward 1 race, Howard will be listed first followed by Crosby. In Ward 2, McDonald will have top billing, followed by Peters. In Ward 5, Roberts will be first, followed by Baker, Douglas and Dean.