KEENE, N.H. – (MyKeeneNow) Jacob Favolise has been elected to the Keene City Council, filling the vacant Ward 1 seat during Thursday night’s council meeting.

The seat became vacant after Raleigh Ormerod resigned on April 1 to focus on other commitments.

In April, four candidates initially filed to fill the seat.

Favolise, a rising senior at Keene State College, was eliminated during a primary vote that identified Janis Manwaring and Valarie Bradley-Walsh as the leading contenders, each receiving seven votes, which left the seat unfilled.

Candidates Ethan Frock and Dylan Germana withdrew before the meeting.

The council listened to Favolise, Michael Conway, and Bradford Hutchinson, each given five minutes to present their case.

Favolise and Conway spoke briefly, while Hutchinson, a Keene native, addressed allegations of stalking and attempted assault in 2022, and accused city staff and current councilors of misconduct before dropping out.

Favolise ultimately won the election with an 11-3 vote against Conway.

Ward 1, Keene’s most populated area, includes much of the southern and southeastern parts of the city.

Earlier in the meeting, proceedings were briefly paused when Mayor Jay Kahn addressed a repeated request for the city to draft a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The request, previously accepted as informational, was said to be outside the city’s jurisdiction, prompting protests from the audience. The meeting recessed for five minutes to restore order. Later, during the budget hearing, a woman named Jessica Bullock brought up the Palestine issue again and was removed, followed by chants of “Free Free Palestine” from other protesters.