Michael Pinto launched a write-in campaign for alderman in Ward 25 on Tuesday, announcing his intention to challenge incumbent Adam Marchand GRD ’99 just two weeks before Election Day.

Pinto, a lawyer and Westville resident, told the News he had been considering a run since the early summer but was too consumed with his organizing work on behalf of Justin Elicker FES ’10 SOM ’10 in his bid for the mayor’s office to formalize a campaign of his own. Pinto is Elicker’s chief organizer in the western portion of the city, including the Edgewood, Beaver Hills and Westville neighborhoods.

He said he is running to provide Ward 25 residents with the representation they have lacked under Marchand’s tenure in office.

“What’s been clear to me from my conversations with residents is that they feel they aren’t getting adequate representation from Adam,” Pinto told the News Tuesday morning. Marchand could not be reached immediately for comment.

A resident of Central Avenue and a board member of Friends of Edgewood Park, Pinto said he hopes to improve the neighborhood’s parks and to fight for increased economic development in Westville and across the city. He pledged to be responsive to constituents, who he said are “yearning to be heard by their alderman.”

He said the campaign will be “as grassroots as it gets” but added that the need to actively write his name in rather than just check a box will spur excitement surrounding his campaign.

“Is it going to be an uphill battle? Absolutely,” he said. “It’s going to be a word of mouth and social media campaign. Maybe we’ll have enough money for a couple of fliers.”

Pinto was born in New Haven and has lived in Westville for the past five years.

ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER