WATERVILLE — City Democrats and Republicans will choose nominees for City Council and Waterville Board of Education in wards 1 and 7 at caucuses scheduled for Friday and Aug. 3, respectively.

The Waterville Democratic City Committee caucus will be held 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday in the council chambers at The Center downtown. The Republican City Committee’s caucus will be held 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 3, also in the council chambers.

Currently serving in the council positions are Council Chairman Fred Stubbert, D-Ward 1, and Karen Rancourt-Thomas, D-Ward 7. Sara Sylvester, D-Ward 1, serves on the Board of Education and is its chairman. Pamela Trinward, D-Ward 7, also serves on that board.

All four incumbents said Thursday that they plan to run for re-election to their posts and will attend the caucus. The positions all have three-year terms.

Efforts to reach Neal Patterson, chairman of the Republican City Committee, were unsuccessful Thursday, but Mayor Nick Isgro, a Republican, said he was unaware of any Republicans who definitely plan to run for office. With most elective positions held by Democrats, Isgro said he hopes to use the opportunity to try to start organizing the Republican party a bit more to try to encourage people to run.

“There’s really not great support for local candidates,” he said. “I would like to change that.”

He noted that there are some “good Democrats on the council.”

“It’s really hard in local politics, because we don’t necessarily identify on party lines,” he said.

Isgro said, for instance, there are some fiscally conservative Democrats, but there are also those who like to spend a lot.

At the caucuses, registered voters in wards 1 and 7 will nominate and vote on candidates to run for the City Council and School Board positions. The nominees must obtain papers from City Clerk Patti Dubois, who will be at the caucuses, and obtain at least 25 but not more than 50 signatures from registered voters in their wards and return the papers to the clerk’s office at City Hall by 4:30 p.m. Sept. 4, which is 60 days before the Nov. 3 election.

The election will be held 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3 at the American Legion Hall on College Avenue.

Anyone wanting to run for the council and School Board positions who doesn’t attend the caucus must get nomination papers from the city clerk’s office and return the same number of signatures by the Sept. 4 deadline. Eligible candidates’ names will be listed on the ballot without a party designation next to their names, according to Deputy City Clerk Joyce Tillson.

The clerk’s office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17