As Springfield hurtles toward its most competitive mayoral election in a generation, it may be easy forget the implications down ballot. Not since 1991 have two sitting city councilors given up their seats to run for mayor.
The race for mayor of Springfield shifted into a higher gear with the entry of a third top-tier candidate Jesse Lederman, the Council President and three-term at-large councilor, declared his candidacy in a Tuesday morning press release and video.
SPRINGFIELD—A new calendar year also means a new municipal year here. The only formal order of business in the new year was the installation of the Council President. At-large Councilor Jesse Lederman had already secured the votes for a full term as President in 2023. Yet, this is no ordinary municipal year.
The year 2022 has come and gone with much affecting the City of Springfield. As a part of the commonwealth, nation and world, it felt inflation, the war in Ukraine, national political contests and the state’s own elections.
In its last meeting of 2022, the Springfield City Council tackled a tight, straightforward agenda with few fireworks. The items were almost all financial, save an ordinance to raise the pay of councilors, school committee members and the mayor.
On Monday, the Springfield City Council authorized participation in Community Choice Energy Aggregation (CCA), a state program that lets communities choose their source of electricity.
Authorization triggers a process that will take time to complete. The Council took other actions that, once their processes reach completion, will have more immediate effect.
Not quite 48 weeks until the Springfield municipal election, the race has officially begun. At-large City Councilor Justin Hurst announced Wednesday that he would challenge incumbent Mayor Domenic Sarno.
SPRINGFIELD—Fitfully, the City Council continues to come back. On Monday, the municipal legislature held its first regular meeting in chambers since the COVID-19 pandemic virtualized Springfield government.
SPRINGFIELD—Two members were absent. Two that were remote dropped out. Two stuck it out virtually. But for the first time since the shroud of the coronavirus fell upon humanity, the City Council of Massachusetts’s third largest city met in person.
When word got around that now-former Ward 5 City Councilor Marcus Williams was resigning, councilors winced at what lay ahead. Last year, they had to appoint a replacement for Senator Adam Gomez after he resigned his Ward 1 seat.
Little did anybody in City Hall realize, councilors’ role in filling vacant ward seats no longer existed.