Barring any signatures challenges, the midterm ballot in Springfield looks ready to go and two prominent open races will want for competition. Moreover, the field will be thin enough to avoid the need for a preliminary. Still, a full complement of contenders will challenge at-large councilors and half of the ward Council seats will have races.
The School Committee’s at-large vacancy is the first one since ward representation began. With schools and their reputation a perennial problem—fairly or not—for the city, this position has a great deal of import. Moreover, the School Committee controls nearly 2/3 of the city budget, giving
This post is the fourth of several profiles of Springfield at-large School Committee candidates. School Committee members run for four-year terms and in that time a lot can change. Since she was on the ballot in 2013, at-large School Committee member Denise Hurst has seen
This post is the third of several profiles of Springfield at-large School Committee candidates. Springfield is no stranger to political comebacks. Candidates for office up and down the ballot have returned to office after defeats, both honorable and humiliating. While those comebacks happen, timing is
This post is the second of several profiles of Springfield at-large School Committee candidates. SPRINGFIELD—A more frequent phenomenon is the tendency of the area’s young people to depart or not return after college. Job prospects or new ties draw them away. For the Valley, it
UPDATED 11/5/17: For grammar and clarity. This post is the first of several profiles of Springfield at-large School Committee candidates. SPRINGFIELD—The battle for School Committee has, to the extent the populace is tuning in at all, been less prominent than the one for City Council.
UPDATED 9/21/17 11:28AM: To include a quote from Ryan. SPRINGFIELD—Amid anemic turnout, voters in the 413’s largest city narrowed its unusually large at-large fields for City Council and School Committee. Incumbents seeking reelection romped in their races, leaving most of the action among who those
UPDATED 7/5/17 7:43PM: To include comment from School Committee member Denise Hurst. For the second time in less than a year, the Springfield School Committee is losing a member. Rosa Perez, who represents Wards 1 and 3 on the Committee, offered her resignation on June
SPRINGFIELD—For the first time in over a decade, Domenic Sarno was not taking an oath in an even year January. In the middle of the city’s first four-year mayoral term, he along with a packed Council chamber of family, friends, elected officials and city department
This is the second post in a series analyzing the results of the 2013 election. Last Tuesday was a big day in Springfield. The turnout was embarrassing, but the result was historic. Both the City Council and School Committee will feature a majority of minorities