JERSEY CITY -- A funeral director, three lawyers and a self-defense cardio fitness instructor who goes by the name Master Sup are among the 35 men and women who will seek nine City Council seats in November's municipal election.

The most crowded races are for the Downtown and Bergen-Lafayette council seats -- six candidates are vying for each. Four candidates each will compete in Greenville, Journal Square and the Heights, while three council hopefuls signed up for the West Side race. Eight candidates are jockeying for the three-at-large seats.

The candidate list was finalized this week. Petitions required to be qualified for the municipal ballot were due on Tuesday. The number of candidates this year is only slightly larger than it was in 2013, when 33 people ran for council.

Jersey City's nine council seats and mayoralty are up for grabs every four years, elections that draw little attention from voters. In 2013, 28 percent of the city's registered voters cast ballots in the mayoral and council races.

Mayor Steve Fulop, seeking a second term, is being challenged by attorney Bill Matsikoudis in the first mayoral race in 44 years with only two candidates. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Fulop has had control of the council for the entirety of his first term, but two of his closest allies, Frank Gajewski in Ward A and Candice Obsorne in Ward E, are not seeking re-election, making some of this year's council races integral for Fulop if he wins a second term and wants to retain control over legislation and political appointments.

WHO IS RUNNING?

The candidates include 21 men and 14 women. They range in age from 33 to 74. At least 10 collect public paychecks. And almost all of them are Democrats: three are unaffiliated and none are registered Republicans. The municipal race is nonpartisan.

The City Council has nine members: three represent the city at large and there is one for each of the city's six wards.

The at-large race includes two slates of three candidates, each running on the ticket of a mayoral hopeful. Incumbents Rolando Lavarro, 46; Daniel Rivera, 51; and Joyce Watterman, 59, are running with Fulop. On Matsikoudis' slate are Esmeralda Trinidad, 55, a Realtor; Michael Winds, 59, a school administrator; and Esther Wintner 57, a client services associate with UBS.

Police officer Sean Connors, 48, and pastor and sheriff's officer Brian Lane, 52, round out the eight at-large hopefuls. Neither is associated with a mayoral slate.

WARD A (most of Greenville): The four candidates hoping to succeed Gajewski are: Joe Conte, 61, a laborer/supervisor for the local school district; Pamela Johnson, 43, who works for a mechanical construction company and directs the Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement; Rick Johnson, 50, who works at the Hudson County jail; and Denise Ridley, 33, who works in sales and marketing for a pharmaceutical firm. Rick Johnson is running on Matsikoudis' ticket, Ridley on Fulop's.

WARD B (most of the West Side): Councilman Chris Gadsden, 43, a Lincoln High School vice principal, has two challengers: Jessica Hellinger, 40, a loan officer, and Mira Prinz-Arey, 45, development and special projects coordinator for a local nonprofit. Gadsden is on Matsikoudis' slate, Prinz-Arey on Fulop's.

WARD C (Journal Square and parts of the Heights and McGinley Square): Councilman Rich Boggiano, 74, a retired police detective, has three challengers: Janet Chevres, 53, an administrator at JPMorgan Chase; John Hanussak, 48, who works for the city Resident Response Center; and Rekha Nandwani, 40, president of the Jefferson Avenue Block Association. Chevres is on Matsikoudis' slate, Hanussak on Fulop's.

WARD D (much of the Heights): Councilman Michael Yun, 63, has three challengers: Moriah "Mo" Kinberg, 37, who works at land-use research and policy organization New Jersey Future; retired firefighter Rafael Torres, 58; and Carmen Vega, 53, a clerk at Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital. Kinberg is on Fulop's slate, Vega on Matsikoudis'.

WARD E (most of the Downtown): The six candidates hoping to succeed Osborne are: Michael "Billy" Bisogno, 35, executive director of Hudson Pride Connections Center; funeral director Nicholas Grilo, 36; attorney Madeleine Giansanti Cag, 47; attorney Jake Hudnut, 34; James Solomon, 33, who teaches about public policy and politics at New Jersey City University and Hudson County Community College; and attorney Rebecca Symes, 36. Hudnut is on Matsikoudis' slate. Fulop said he is not endorsing in Ward E, his longtime political base.

WARD F (Bergen Lafayette and a portion of Downtown): Councilman Jermaine Robinson, 42, owner of the Light Rail Cafe, has five challengers: Tyron Ballon, 55, a dispatcher for the PATH system; Anthony Blake, 55, a crisis intervention specialists at the local school district; fitness instructor Dennis Burgess, 55; Yolanda Dorch-Amiker, 47, who runs a nonprofit that helps veterans return to civilian life; and hotel housekeeping manager Michael Griffin, 41. Robinson is on Fulop's slate, Dorch-Amiker on Matsikoudis'.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.