Donchess, Williams Win Nashua Mayoral Primary

Jim Donchess and Chris Williams won Nashua’s mayoral primary Tuesday, topping a field of six candidates.

The pair will now face off in the November general election.

Donchess, who previously served as mayor, was the top vote-getter Tuesday, tallying 4,179 votes. Williams, the former head of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce, earned 2,658 votes.

Donchess released this statement:

“For the past year, I’ve gone door to door and spoke to voters about my vision to help businesses create good jobs in Nashua, revitalize downtown, and bring transparency and accountability to City Hall. Tonight’s results confirm that Nashua residents want a Mayor who knows the city, the people and how to manage our budget wisely and effectively.”

Williams released this statement:

“We are tremendously humbled (and) excited by this result. We are gratified to have the support of so many voters across this city who put us into the runoff election. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

These are the unofficial vote totals:

• Jim Donchess, 4,179
• Chris Williams 2,658
• David Deane, 1,968
• Daniel Moriarty, 1,374
• Michael Broderick, 135
• Doug Carroll, 48

Also on Tuesday, voters elected Joel Ackerman to the Board of Public Works. He defeated Daniel Gagnon by a vote of 4,172 to 3,939.

Voter turnout was about 21 percent. Out of 50,142 registered voters, 10,455 cast ballots Tuesday.