Race taking shape for mayor; Wong undecided, but DiNatale, Couture, Fleitas, Sandrelli interested.

• Author: Owen, Paula J.
• Position: Local

Byline: Paula J. Owen

FITCHBURG -- Mayor Lisa A. Wong has not decided whether she will run for re-election in November, but there is already significant interest in her job.

Four people have taken out papers to run for the office in November: state Rep. Stephen L. DiNatale, D-Fitchburg; Andrew J. Couture; Miguel A Fleitas Jr.; and Stephen T. Sandrelli.

Mayor Wong said she will not make a decision until April. She said she would like to spend more time with family and her husband.

In November, Ms. Wong married Anthony Soto, a Holyoke city councilor, and he is considering running for mayor in Holyoke. The two live separately because of obligations in the cities they serve and often only get to communicate through Skype or FaceTime, she said.

"I have a desire to spend more time with family, namely my husband, who I don't live with at the moment,'' she said.

The four-term mayor reduced her salary when she took office and refused pay increases, but councilors recently voted to increase her salary from $60,000 to $83,000. To increase the pool of interested candidates, Ms. Wong said, she advocates for an even higher salary for the next mayor, ranging from $90,000 to $100,000.

Though the city has come a long way, she said, there is still a long way to go that will take more than one mayor.

"It will take more than one mayor to keep making sound decisions to keep us out of trouble,'' she said. "I'm proud of the great team we have in place. I definitely will not take credit for all the hard work the staff has done.''

In addition to a state representative, the other contenders who have taken out papers are a former Transportation Security Administration agent, a Boston attorney who has lived in Fitchburg 15 years and a U.S. Navy sailor who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba in 1980. All three are newcomers to politics.

Mr. Couture, 37, of 64 Farmer Ave., is an attorney who works at the Boston law firm Curtin, Murphy & O'Reilly.

"Fitchburg has a lot of issues that need to be addressed and I believe I'm the best candidate to do it,'' Mr. Couture said Tuesday on the phone between meetings.

Mr. Fleitas, 47, 16...