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Boston’s City Council races are starting to take shape

Fewer candidates submit signatures

The competition for Boston City Council kicked into high gear Tuesday, with nearly two dozen candidates submitting enough verified signatures to be placed on this fall’s ballot.

The field includes all 13 incumbents and a list of perennial and long-shot challengers, most with little or no money and limited name recognition.

With fewer candidates than usual this year, there will be no preliminary election in the citywide at-large contest and in seven of the nine district races, according to Boston’s Election Department officials. There is no mayoral election at the top of the ballot, and City Council races in such years tend to draw fewer candidates.

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“Without a preliminary election, there will be less campaigning for those races,’’ John Donovan, the department’s acting director, said Tuesday, which was the deadline for candidates to submit signatures. “They will automatically go to the finals” on Nov. 3.

The Election Department requires at least nine people in the at-large contest and at least three in each district race in order to hold preliminary elections, scheduled for Sept. 8.

But there are only six at-large competitors and fewer than two in seven of the districts.

Preliminary elections offer a chance for challengers to size up the competition, fine-tune their campaign, and prepare for the general election. But not having the early contest might also be a boon for candidates scrambling to raise cash to compete down the road, officials said.

Instead of spending money in the early stages to weed out competitors, candidates can instead conserve funds and focus on the general election, Donovan said.

To qualify to be on the ballot, at-large candidates must submit 1,500 certified signatures of registered voters to elections officials. District councilor candidates must have at least 200. They should also live in the district they want to represent for at least one year before the election. Officials must certify the signatures. Candidates can withdraw before the official ballot is available July 2.

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Three councilors — Salvatore LaMatinna in East Boston, Council President Bill Linehan of South Boston, and Matt O’Malley of West Roxbury — are unopposed.

Councilors Stephen J. Murphy of Hyde Park, Ayanna Pressley of Dorchester, Michael F. Flaherty of South Boston, and Michelle Wu of the South End — are seeking new terms as councilors at large.

Nipping at their heels is challenger Annissa Essaibi-George, a teacher and store owner from Dorchester who came in fifth in the 2013 at-large election. She has amassed more than $39,000 to run. Brian D. Fuller, a South Boston resident, is also competing.

Flaherty tops the at-large race in fund-raising with $130,872, according to bank filings listed Monday with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

In early May, Pressley had $46,384; Murphy had $34,944; and Wu had $6,675, the record shows.

The South End councilor, who recently had her first baby, said motherhood, policy work, and community events left little time for fund-raising. But she has since made up ground and had more than $13,000 on hand as of last week, she said.

“I knew it would be a challenge, especially in the weeks right after the baby came,’’ Wu said. “We are back at it now, and we just need to get out there and let people know that it is an election year, and I’m excited to be running for my first reelection.”

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In Dorchester, Frank Baker will face challenger Donnie Palmer of Dorchester for the District 3 seat if Palmer’s signatures are certified.

Councilor Charles C. Yancey, who has been on the council for 32 years, will face challenger Andrea Joy Campbell of Mattapan. Joy Campbell has raised $29,549, compared with Yancey’s $12,729, the early May campaign records show.

Other candidates in that race include Jovan J. Lacet of Mattapan and Terrance J. Williams of Dorchester.

Voters may see a repeat of 2013 as Councilor Timothy P. McCarthy and Jean-Claude Sanon prepare to face off anew in District 5, which includes Hyde Park and Mattapan. McCarthy has 12 times as much in the bank as Sanon, who had $1,966, state records show.

In Roxbury, Councilor Tito Jackson has the most potential challengers: Althea Garrison of Roxbury, Roy Owens of Roxbury, Haywood Fennell Sr. of Boston, and Charles Clemons, the Touch 106.1 FM cofounder. Clemons has just $353 in the bank. None of the other challengers has any campaign cash, the record shows. Jackson had $28,111 in campaign funds as of May 5.

Kevin A. Dwire of Roxbury, Thomas J. Dooley III of Beacon Hill, and Thomas Leonard of Allston have submitted papers, but it was too early to tell whether they are qualified to be on the ballot, election officials said. Dwire is seeking the Roxbury seat; Dooley aims to challenge Josh Zakim in Mission Hill; and Leonard hopes to challenge Mark S. Ciommo in Allston-Brighton.

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Meghan E. Irons can be reached at meghan.irons@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @meghanirons.