SPRINGFIELD—Politics in the City of Homes, like anywhere, as they say “ain’t beanbag.” For very few, however, can say with direct certainty, that playing the politics game may have nearly killed them. Ward 3 Councilor Melvin Edwards, however, may be the rare exception, but it
SPRINGFIELD—It was not too long ago that Salvatore Circosta was on his way to the priesthood. A whirlwind of events seemingly led him out of direct service to the church and to seeking public service in the city where he grew up. The proprietor of
SPRINGFIELD—The battle for Ward 8’s council seat is a familiar one. Incumbent John Lysak is seeking reelection and the challenger is Orlando Ramos, whom Lysak beat twice, sometimes very narrowly. Even if the race may seem like rerun, the players are anything but conventional in
SPRINGFIELD—Speaking before a crowded hall at the Cedars on Island Pond Road after delaying the start to his campaign several months, city resident and activist, Ernesto Cruz kicked off his bid Thursday for one of the City Council’s five at-large seats. In a speech capped
UPDATED 7/18/13 12:29PM: To reflect a quote from Councilor Fenton. SPRINGFIELD—Returning to the chamber for one of two summer meetings on Monday, the Springfield City Council finally moved several issues long-festering on its docket bringing closure after months of indecision. Despite a substantial passage of
UPDATED 7/6/13 12:05AM: For accuracy. In stark contrast to 2011, the City Council election cycle for 2013 is shaping up to be competitive with numerous ward councilors facing challenges in addition to at least some competition among at-large seats and the School Committee. The Ward
UPDATED 6/6/13 1:42 PM: For additional comments from DYS & the Atwater Park Civic Association. SPRINGFIELD—Once more the City Council faced another light agenda Monday as it made some final steps for ordinances affecting fees in the city and transferred funds within departments, a typical
UPDATED 5/8/2013 10:45PM : To reflect a correction. An earlier version of this post attributed to John Lysak an effort to move the Boston Road bonding to committee, which was incorrect and attributed to a misunderstanding; for clarity and grammar; and to add new details
SPRINGFIELD—Reversing itself fully from a meeting just two weeks ago, the City Council killed an amendment to its historic foreclosure ordinance and with it a settlement to a lawsuit launched shortly after its passage. The rejection on Monday was arguably the most significant actions taken
For the first time since Springfield abolished its old system of government and ushered in a strong mayor-council government, and possibly ever, the city will hold a municipal election without the mayor on the ballot. Boston is the only other city in Massachusetts with more