Former Beverly City Council President Paul Gaunci To Run For Mayor

BEVERLY, MA — Former Beverly City Councilor Paul Gaunci is taking a shot at the top elected office in the city.

Gaunci said on his campaign social media account that he is running for mayor — presumably as a challenge to incumbent Mike Cahill.

"I'm happy to announce that I am running for election as mayor of Beverly," Guanci said on Thursday morning. "Yesterday, I stopped by City Hall to officially pull papers."

Guanci also has launched a website, which appears largely under construction, that includes a picture of him taking out his nomination papers and a link where residents can contribute to his campaign.

Guanci's campaign would appear to be a significant challenge to Cahill, who took office in 2014. Cahill won a fifth, two-year term in 2021 as he held off the challenge of community activist Dr. Esther Ngotho with about 70 percent of the vote to Ngotho's 26 percent.

Guanci did not seek re-election to the Beverly City Council in 2021.

Guanci served on the City Council for 20 years, his last 16 as City Council President.

He is also the longtime owner of Super Sub Shop in Beverly as well as Casual Catering.

Along with a new mayor, Beverly will elect new members of the City Council and School Committee this fall. Councilor At-Large Brendan Sweeney has already said that he is running for re-election, while Ward 2 Councilor Estelle Rand said she is not.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)