Peabody Preliminary Election 2023: Agneta, Bettencourt To Battle It Out In Mayor's Race

PEABODY, MA — Incumbent Mayor Ted Bettencourt will face off against Peabody small business owner Rochelle Agneta to become the city's top elected official on Nov. 7 after they were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday's preliminary election.

Bettencourt and Agneta moved on after they got the best of longtime radio professional Rob Stevens in the bid to move on to the general election. The mayor's race was the one office that all voters in the city were asked to weigh in on in the preliminary election.

Bettencourt is seeking his seventh term as mayor with Agneta seeking her first elected office.

The one City Council race with more than two candidates — thus requiring a preliminary election — was in Ward 6 where Michael Higgins was the top vote-getter and Ryan Cox was the other candidate to move on to Nov. 7. Wiliam Cardello was the third candidate on the preliminary ballot.

That was an open seat in this year's election cycle after Ward 6 Councilor Mark O'Neil said he would not run for re-election.

"I would like to thank the residents of Ward 6 that came out and voted today," Higgins said in a statement to Patch on Tuesday night. "I am humbled by the show of support from everyone. While I am very pleased with this victory, there is much more to be done. I look forward to getting back to campaigning and working hard to become the next Ward 6 city councilor."

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