SPRINGFIELD—The only contested School Committee district race here began in earnest Wednesday night with Ayanna Crawford formally launching her bid. She seeks the seat that covers Wards 2 and 8, but in doing so she is challenging incumbent Peter Murphy who has weathered many a challenger emerging victorious each time.
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.
Later this week, the Springfield City Council will begin the process of selecting a replacement for Adam Gomez, the Ward 1 councilor who resigned to focus on his new role as a state senator. Five names came into the council office this week, including a
UPDATED 12/7/2020 8:07PM: A previous version of this post incorrectly identified Williams as vice-president this year. He was vice-president in 2019. The conclusion of the 7th Hampden House race means an end to the 2020 cycle in the Pioneer Valley. However, part of that district,
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 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 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—An early wave of enthusiasm has greeted the start of only the second mayor-less election cycle in the region’s largest city. A sizable clutch of candidates for City Council and School Committee took out papers Tuesday, the first day they were available for the 2017