Feb. 22—The pool of candidates in the Ward 6 special election to fill a vacancy on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen doubled on Wednesday, with longtime Manchester educator Maxine Mosley filing to run on Wednesday.

Mosley, retired educator of 43 years and former vice president of the Manchester Education Association, joins Crissy Kantor, owner of Chill Spa on Hanover Street in Manchester, in the race to fill the seat left vacant by the sudden resignation of Sebastian Sharonov.

Mosley announced her candidacy in a brief press conference Wednesday afternoon at Bookery Manchester on Elm Street.

"Today I filed by petition with the support of over 100 registered Ward 6 voters," Mosley said. "Our community deserves an alderman that will show up, stand up and speak up for our community. I'm going to be that alderman."

Mosley said after working as an educator for 43 years, she knows what it means to be "dedicated to serving this community and to collaborate to get things accomplished."

"As a longtime and active resident of Ward 6, I know the issues that matter the most to the constituency," Mosley said. "We value strong infrastructure, well-funded public schools, economic growth, and public safety. As alderman, these are the issues I'm going to fight for."

Mosley said in speaking with residents of Ward 6, she identified some common concerns.

"They want to keep taxes stabilized, they want to stay in their homes," said Mosley. "They're concerned about safety in their schools and the downtown area. They're concerned about infrastructure. In Ward 6 — knock on wood — we don't have a lot of crime, but we do have cars being broken into and people driving very quickly through neighborhoods. I have the same concerns, and I think I am the right person for the job — I'm a consensus builder and collaborator."

Mosley was in the news last fall after a recount in the Hillsborough 16 House District race gave her a win, only to see it flip back again following an audit of the recount a few days later.

Sharonov informed city officials and his colleagues on the board on Jan. 30 he was resigning his Ward 6 seat effective immediately, citing "enormous pressure" the war in Ukraine has put on him physically and emotionally.

Aldermen have set a "winner-take-all" special election date of Tuesday, May 9, to fill the vacancy. The winner of the election will serve the remainder of the current term, which runs through the end of 2023. There will be no primary election.

Polls in Ward 6 will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Henry J. McLaughlin Middle School at 290 South Mammoth Road.

The filing period for candidates interested in filling the vacancy remains open until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24.

If elected, Mosley said she will seek reelection to the seat this fall.

"I'm in it for the long haul," said Mosley. "I'm not moving out of the ward, I'm not resigning the position. We've had three aldermen in a row who for unforeseen circumstances had to do that. I'm not going anywhere."