The stage is nearly set for one of Boston’s most bruising spectator sports. The Pats? The Bruins? Boxing at the House of Blues or mixed martial arts at TD Garden?
No. We’re talking about municipal elections.
Tuesday at 5 p.m. was the deadline for potential candidates to submit signatures to appear on the fall ballots for mayor and City Council. The Elections Department will review all signatures, and if a sufficient number of them are valid, office seekers will be added to the list of verified candidates.
The Board of Election Commissioners will certify valid signatures during a public meeting no later than June 27.
As of Tuesday, three names were verified for the preliminary mayoral ballot in September — incumbent Martin J. Walsh, City Councilor Tito Jackson, and Joseph A. Wiley of East Boston.
Walsh, a former state representative and labor leader from Dorchester, won his first term in 2013.
Jackson was first elected to the council in 2011 and currently represents Roxbury and parts of the South End, Dorchester, and Fenway neighborhoods.
Wiley, a 68-year-old health insurance professional, wrote in an e-mail that he has never held elected office but added: “My being a gay man of color might make an otherwise ho-hum race slightly more interesting.’’
The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.
Six candidates were verified Tuesday for at-large seats on the City Council: incumbents Michelle Wu, who is also council president, Ayanna Pressley, Michael F. Flaherty, and Annissa Essaibi George, as well as challengers Althea Garrison of Dorchester and Pat Payaso of Roxbury.
Political observers are watching Pressley closely to see whether she will back Walsh or Jackson in the mayoral race. Both men could benefit from the support of Pressley, the top vote-getter on the council and the first African-American woman to serve on the panel.
She finds herself in an awkward position as she mulls a potential endorsement, since her husband works for Walsh and Jackson is one of her allies on the council.
Pressley told the Globe in February that it was too early to weigh in on the mayoral race. She remained neutral in 2013, when Walsh squared off against then-Councilor John Connolly, who had previously shared resources and campaign costs with Pressley in an unusual alliance that defied political conventions in Boston.
Two district councilors, Bill Linehan and Salvatore LaMattina, are not seeking reelection, and Jackson will vacate his seat, presenting a rare opportunity for candidates to seek three wide-open district seats in the fall.
Nine candidates are required to hold a preliminary election in September for the at-large seats, and three candidates are required for each district seat. Any seat that does not have the required number of candidates to trigger a preliminary election will only be contested during the general election in November.
Three candidates were verified Tuesday for LaMattina’s seat in District 1, which includes East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End. They are Lydia Marie Edwards and Margaret M. Farmer, both of East Boston, along with Stephen Passacantilli of the North End.
Four names are verified for Linehan’s seat in District 2, a swath that stretches from Castle Island to the Prudential Tower. They are Corey G. Dinopoulos, Edward M. Flynn, and Joseph F. Kebartas, all of South Boston, and Michael S. Kelley of Bay Village.
Jackson’s seat in District 7 had 12 verified names for the ballot as of Tuesday.
The hopefuls are Joao Gomes DePina, Charles Clemons Muhammad, and Steven A. Wise, all of Dorchester; and Angelina Magdalena Camacho, Rufus J. Faulk, Kim Janey, Deeqo Jibril, Brian Keith, Jose Lopez, Roy Owens, Domonique A. Williams, and Hassan A. Williams, all of Roxbury.
Meghan E. Irons of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
