By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Among the local districts in the state General Assembly, there are five contested races for Pawtucket voters to consider.

The race getting the most attention is the hotly debated contest for senator in District 17, where Democratic incumbent Joseph A. Montalbano  is trying to maintain his seat against an aggressive campaign waged by independent candidate Edward J. O’Neill.
Montalbano, of North Providence, is Senate president. He’s seeking his 11th term in office.
O’Neill, a Lincoln resident, is a retired Texas Instruments executive who has mounted an campaign centered around a rally cry for change. 
Another spirited match-up is the race for representative in District 46, where incumbent William J. McManus, a Republican who has been in office since 2002, is facing Democratic opponent Mary Ann Shallcross-Smith.
McManus, a Lincoln resident, serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the Joint Committee on State Lottery and the Constituent Services Committee. Shallcross-Smith, also of Lincoln, is co-founder and CEO of Kids Klub and is known for her “Dr. Daycare” radio and newspaper column.
For senator in District 16, Elizabeth A. “Betty” Crowley, a Democrat and longtime Central Falls city clerk and first-term councilwoman, is facing a challenge from Albert Paul Larivee, a Republican, also from Central Falls, who works as an engineer and was a former chairman of the city’s Zoning Board.  Crowley beat veteran incumbent Daniel J. Issa in the Democratic primary.
The contest for representative in District 62 is between longtime Democratic incumbent Elizabeth “Betsy” M. Dennigan, an attorney and registered nurse, and her Republican challenger, attorney Paul A. Dinsmore, of East Providence.
Dennigan, also from East Providence, is in her 10th year in office. She serves on the House Finance Committee. Dinsmore has mounted numerous prior challenges seeking the district representative seat.
In District 63, there will be a three-way race between Democrat Roberto DaSilva, Republican Edmund R. Leather and independent candidate Maryann A. Gobern Mathews.
DaSilva is a lieutenant on the Pawtucket Police Department, Leather is a former U.S. diplomat and retired National Security Administration employee, and Gobern-Mathews is a computer systems analyst who is chairwoman of the East Providence Minority Caucus. All of the candidates live in East Providence.
The rest of the area House and Senate candidates are unopposed, including incumbents John F. McBurney III for senator in District 15; William San Bento Jr., representative in District 58; J. Patrick O’Neill, representative in District 59; Elaine A. Coderre, representative in District 60; James E. Doyle II, senator in District 8; Peter F. Kilmartin, representative in District 61; and Daniel DaPonte, senator in District 14.