SPRINGFIELD—In politics, the City of Homes likes a comeback story. Over the last twenty years, the most successful at-large City Council challengers have made a stab at the office—or even held it—once before. That factor favors Ernesto Cruz and Jesse Lederman as they seek one of five
There are, on our regional ballots this year a number of competitive races. Not all are created equally. Some of these races include candidates of third parties and in still-quite Democratic Hampden County others are not such that fuller, separate explanations of our opinions are
More than a hundred years later, Springfield City Hall remains a solid piece of construction. Even as maintenance of the larger Municipal Group to which it belongs has waxed and waned, the strong stone construction remains a tribute to the city’s brighter past. However, 36 Court
Five years ago, cheers broke out in the Springfield City Council chamber after councilors unanimously approved the city’s foreclosure ordinance. Ravaged by the foreclosure crisis and subsequent recession, Springfield had taken a notably bold step toward curbing the deterioration of neighborhoods littered with vacant, bank-owned
UPDATED 12/11/15 4:39PM: A prior version of this post stated services for Pepe were to be held on Friday and Sunday. They will in fact be held on Friday and Saturday. A week before the Springfield mayoral preliminary in 2011, at-large School Committeewoman Antonette Pepe had
This post is the fifth in a series of posts on the new 189th Massachusetts General Court sworn January 7. SPRINGFIELD—Although not Carlos Gonzalez’s first bid for elected office, 2014 was the first time his name appeared on a ballot. In an earlier life as
This is the fourth in a series of posts on the new 189th Massachusetts General Court sworn on January 7. SPRINGFIELD—Three and a half years after Jose Tosado suffered a devastating loss in 2011’s mayoral election here, the reserved, former councilor’s decision to reenter the political
Springfield Representative Jose Tosado announced his district office location and his aide this week, rounding out the staffing for the area’s new legislators. Tosado, like fellow freshman rep Carlos Gonzalez, hired one individual to assist with constituent services and legislative matters. Most members of the
On January 7 when Representatives-elect Carlos Gonzalez and Jose Tosado and Senator-elect Eric Lesser formally join the Massachusetts legislature, a lot of pomp and circumstance and celebration will be the order of the day. The next day, perhaps after locating legislator hangouts 21st Amendment and
Barring an earthshattering upset, it is all but certain that Springfield will send two Latino representatives to Boston come January. One of them, Carlos Gonzalez, will replace Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, in the 10th Hampden, which, due to encompassment of the North End has been pegged as