By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — A School Committee race that had earlier seemed like a sure bet for seven unopposed Democratic candidates has been shaken up in the last few days since Matthew F. Gunnip abruptly dropped out of the running.

Now, along with incumbent School Committee woman Amy Breault Zolt, two more individuals are waging last-minute bids for a write-in win.
On Monday morning, Raymond J. Spooner Jr., a former School Committee member who lost a bid for a place on the ballot as a city council-at large candidate in the Democratic primary, has announced his write-in candidcay for the School Committee.
Spooner, 47, of 64 Benjamin St., finished last among the five candidates in the primary, where the top three vote-getters would be assured a place on the ballot.
A manager at North Star Metals, Spooner was active on the School Committee from 1997-2004, and served for four years as chairman.
“I’ve always had the kids’ best interests at heart and it would be an honor to serve again on the School Committee,” said Spooner, in a press release. “There are financially trying times for the city and I feel my experience would be a major plus.”
On Monday afternoon, incumbent School Committee Chairman Gordon Gould announced that he, too, had decided to seek a write-in candidacy.
At the start of the campaign season, Gould, of 39 Bowen St., said that he had decided not to seek re-election due to his wife’s health concerns. However, he said his wife is now doing better health-wise, and that she had recently “given him her blessing” to run again.
Gould said that, after reading about Gunnip’s withdrawal from the race, his wife told him she had received several phone calls from people asking if Gordon would consider another run. “She told me, ‘I know it’s what you want to do,” said Gould.
Gould, who has served on the School Committee for 9 years, is seeking what will be his fifth straight term. “I’m still committed and still interested in the School Committee,” he stated.
Prior to Gunnip’s dropping out of the race, another longtime incumbent, Amy Breault Zolt of 30 Potter St., had announced that she was mounting a write-in campaign. She said that, despite her loss in the Democratic primary, she had received numerous phone calls from longtime supporters urging her to give it a try.
Breault Zolt is seeking what will be her fourth term on the School Committee.
Pawtucket Registrar Ken McGill said that the write-in candidate who receives the most votes will be declared the winner.
The rest of the School Board candidates listed on the ballot include incumbents David A. Coughlin, James T. Chellel, Joanne Bonollo and Nicole A. Nordquist, along with newcomers Raymond W. Noonan and Joseph C. Knight. Matthew F. Gunnip’s name will also appear on the ballot, but he has asked that any votes for him not be counted.