UPDATED 9/10/25 1:03AM: In the prelim, Davila and Johnson advanced to the general election.

Are other wards green with envy that Ward 6 has a prelim for not one, but two races? (via Springfield Election Commission)

SPRINGFIELD—Since the return of ward representation on the City Council here in 2009, one ward has seen four people serve as its councilor. There are many reasons slightly more people have held that office compared to the other seven wards. Yet, it should not be surprising, given the competitive potential and the expectations of a ward that spans the political, social, economic and historical diversity of Springfield itself.

Incumbent Ward 6 Councilor Victor Davila, a paramedic by profession, faces two challengers September 9. Business consultant and veterans advocate Charles Battle and public interest lawyer Mary Johnson have filed for the race. Johnson’s entry came late, forcing a preliminary in the ward when there is none citywide. That is a challenge grafted onto one of the city’s hottest races this year.

“Some people react surprised that there’s a preliminary in Ward six,” Davila said. “Most people are very surprised that there’s a preliminary.”

Only three of the city’s eight wards have a preliminary on Tuesday during which the field will narrow to two candidates. Ward 4 has four candidates in its Council race. Three candidates are running for the School Committee district seat that spans Wards 6 and 7.

Arguably a substantial part of the final push took place over Labor Day weekend. Early voting, which has become popular in the city, began the Friday before and lasted until this past Friday. Consequently, the share of the vote cast on preliminary day itself could be relatively low.

Over the holiday weekend, Davila said he was holding phone banks and had volunteers knocking doors. Battle told WMP&I via text he had plans for door-knocking. He also said he would be using media to connect with voters.

Johnson also had volunteers. On the Saturday before Labor Day, she was knocking doors in the Cozy Corner, a part of the Forest Park neighborhood wedged between the actual park, Sumner Avenue and Longhill Street. Days before, she was canvassing on the other side of the park. She said she did not think she would have a chance without volunteers and other supporters to coordinate the effort.

“The numbers just don’t add up unless I have volunteers,” she said wrapping up some door-knocking that Saturday. “So that was why I really made sure that it was possible to have a volunteer coordinator.”

Ward 6 consists of most of Forest Park south of Belmont Avenue. From the X, the ward runs easterly mostly along Sumner Avenue to the intersection with Allen Street, encompassing a portion of East Forest Park.

Ye olde viewe of Forest Park. (via wikipedia)

Forest Park, and by extension Ward 6, contains some of the city’s most expensive and historic homes and some of the most glaring poverty. Mayor Domenic Sarno, who has taken meetings to keep up on the race, lives in the ward. The city’s crown jewel, the eponymous Forest Park, anchors the southern border with Longmeadow.

No one ethnic group has ever really dominated the neighborhood in contrast to the South End or Indian Orchard. For example, today the Forest Park branch library has wayfinding in English, Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese.

Yet, that also means the needs and issues of the ward are not monolithic. Crime concerns cut across socioeconomic lines, but in places like the Cozy Corner, litter, sidewalks and the reconstruction of the “X” intersection stand out. Groups that work with the working-class communities do not dismiss these issues, but there are others they are hearing from the community.

Turnout will likely be higher in areas like the historic district and Cozy Corner. However, the candidates are not limiting themselves to the dominant issues of that neighborhood.

Is this the Battle for (Ward 6) Springfield? (via Springfield Election Commission/Facebook)

“I want to bring Ward 6 out of the past and I believe we have to pay more attention to the entire ward, not just Forest Park and Cozy Corner. I want to help the whole ward,” Battle told The Republican.

Lezlie Braxton Campbell, Deputy Director of Neighbor 2 Neighbor (N2N) Massachusetts, said the organization’s members from Ward 6 have historically raised housing, environmental justice and other social justice issues as top priorities.

“Our focus is on housing and police accountability,” said Campbell, who himself lives in Springfield.

Prior to 1961, wards in the then-bicameral City Council had 2 to 3 representatives in the Common Council and one each among the Board of Aldermen.

Davila is the fourth person to hold Ward 6’s seat since the restoration of ward representation. Keith Wright won the seat first in 2009 after a heated fight with Amaad Rivera. Wright resigned are a year for personal reasons. Rivera filled the seat due to a since-corrected quirk in the City Charter. He declined to seek a full term in the ward and unsuccessfully ran at-large. (Rivera, now Rivera-Wagner became a Wisconsin Assemblyman this year.) Ken Shea, then a former School Committee member, ran and held the seat for eight years before retiring in 2019.

Davila, who had sought the office before, defeated Tim Ryan, then an at-large councilor and son of the late Mayor Charles Ryan. Davila has faced challengers in each of his reelection bids but beat them back handily. That may not be the case this year. Sources in ward believe that if this race is competitive, it is less a hard turn against Davila than a softening of earlier enthusiasm.

Outside groups have not made moves before the preliminary, either. Campbell, for example, noted that N2N had supported Davila in the past. However, he said the group was currently in a rebuilding phase. One area it seeks to grow again is in Ward 6. He said the group was not ready to recommend a candidate, although that could change before the general election.

Another election cycle. Another challenge. But will Davila be the Victor this time? (courtesy Davila campaign)

Speaking to WMP&I over brunch before Labor Day, Davila said serving the city had been the honor. He pointed to his work on panels addressing litter and payments in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) and oversight of legislation passed ahead of the appointment of Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers. As for his base, he said it has been sticking with him.

“They look forward to me—for ‘we’—to be reelected,” he said, correcting himself. “As you said, I shouldn’t say for me, for ‘we’ to be reelected because I see this as a group effort and I take the job very seriously representing the people in the city council.”

Davila acknowledged that challenges persist and said the city must “think outside the box.”

For her part, Johnson told WMP&I that she was feeling good ahead of the preliminary. The volunteers she mentioned have not only helped her cover more ground but their endorsement builds trust.

“In order to be an effective public servant, people need to feel that they can trust you,” Johnson said.

Will Ward 6 Voters wish themselves a Mary Springfield? (WMP&I)

Broadly speaking, Davila, Johnson and Battle have all identified similar issues that require attention. Johnson also noted concerns in the ward regarding immigration and police assistance thereof. In the past week, the feds have apparently begun another surge of enforcement in the state.

Battle did not respond to a text asking about what issues he had heard from voters while canvassing. However, he told The Republican he is also eyeing things like homelessness, noting that that many veterans experience it.  His website also features the issue alongside countering violence, improving street safety for pedestrians and bikers and economic development.

At the end of August, Davila and Johnson both attended Focus Springfield’s candidate event held in downtown. They were largely in agreement on issues like PILOTs, but there was some friction on litter.

“The old ideas just simply aren’t working. We still have trash and litter all over the place in our businesses and in our sidewalks and streets,” Johnson said that day.

Davila acknowledged the job was not done, but assured he was on it. He pointed to the litter committee he led, which later made suggestions to address the matter.

“One [recommendation] that I’m proud of is that they are now teaching kids in the elementary school about litter, the environment and the impact has litter [sic] on the environment,” he said. “We have Roca out there, who’s out there picking up trash, so litter is being slowly addressed.”

Davila and Johnson hit the stage for voters last month. (still via YouTube/Focus Springfield)

Whether that division is coming through on the campaign trail is harder to tell. None of the candidates have raised or spent much money, even for a ward race. As cliched as it is, the race could come down to turnout. That may be incredibly unpredictable.

Johnson said the ward has an informed public. Nor has she encountered any confusion that the preliminary will decide who will advance to November.

“I think a few people are like, ‘Yes, I know,’” she said when she mentions September 9. “But I would say most people that I talked to have said, ‘Oh, is there a primary?’”

Speaking to WMP&I, Davila noted that this is the first time Ward 6 has had a preliminary while the rest of the city did not.

“This is going to be extremely local,” Davila said. “We did the traditional approaches to get people out to vote, you know, getting people out to vote is difficult.”