Initially, it looked like incumbent Mayor Shaunna O’Connell would be facing two opponents in a Preliminary Election:
- Edward Correira, O’Connell’s Chief of Staff
- Charles Wright, pilot and former chemist at Pfizer
However, Wright withdrew before the deadline, and the Preliminary Election was canceled, leaving O’Connell and Correira to face off in November.
This race is one of the more interesting mayoral elections in Massachusetts. Corriera was once O’Connell’s Chief of Staff but decided to run against her. From a video on his campaign website, Corriera claims he left because “over time, transparency and accountability were being thrown to the curb, while the culture at City Hall became increasingly divisive.”i
And while O’Connell holds an edge on Corriera with more cash on hand, Corriera has recently raised more money.
Candidates’ financial status reported for September 2023
| Candidate | Starting Balance | Receipts | Expenditures | Cash on Hand |
| O’Connellii | $33,849.23 | $16,194.50 | $18,501.96 | $31,541.77 |
| Correiraiii | $9,385.08 | $19,802.80 | $18,401.38 | $10,786.00 |
The issues appear similar to other cities in Eastern Massachusetts – Infrastructure, schools, state use of local facilities for migrant housing, homelessness, and affordable housing. In addition, the Wampanoag Indian tribe has secured approval to construct a casino in the city.
Most recently, Corriera accused O’Connell of dirty tricks in purchasing the domain name edcorriera.com. O’Connell shot back with documentation of a domain name search showing the domain name was purchased in 2012. It seems like there is some bad blood between the two.
Taunton’s Local Access TV will air a live Candidate Forum for City Council and Mayor offices on Thursday, October 26th, from 6:30 p.m. until 9:45 p.m.
Our next report will highlight the issues that may be discussed during that candidate’s forum.
By Citizens for Truth Contributor
i https://edfortaunton.com/assets/videos/video01.mp4?v=afb8e2d5
Massachusetts First 
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