Race you there! (WMP&I)

The midterm municipal election in Springfield is off to a brisk start. Several races are developing only days after ballot papers became available. Challenges to some incumbents have been incubating for some time either publicly or quietly. Since the Election Commission opened the petitioning window on Friday, it appears even more officials could face opponents.

A race in Ward 1 had already begun. A challenge to Ward 4 Councilor Malo Brown has been grist for the rumor mill since his unsuccessful bid for State Senate. What came as a surprise were challenges to Ward 5 Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce and Ward 6 Councilor Victor Davila. They could face serious challenges in Ed Nunez and Charles Whitaker-Battle respectively.

Aside from the district School Committee seat Joesiah Gonzalez is leaving to run for Ward 1 city councilor, few retirements are likely this cycle. Most incumbent councilors have already pulled papers and most incumbents on the School Committee seem likely to seek reelection.

According to posts on the Election Commission’s Facebook page, seven out of eight ward councilors and four out of five at-large councilors have already filed. Gonzalez, Nunez and Willie Naylor—who is challenging Brown in Ward 4—have also pulled papers. Whitaker-Battle has not gotten papers, but he formed a campaign committee with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance this week.

All Council candidates must file campaign finance reports with the state. School Committee candidates only need to file with the City Clerk. Gonzalez formed his campaign committee in January. Both Naylor and Nunez ran at-large in 2023. While unsuccessful, neither closed their campaign accounts.

On the School Committee, both at-large members, Denise Hurst and LaTonia Monroe Naylor, are expected to run again. To date, however, only Hurst appears to have taken out papers.

Back for more, eh? Gresham is the only district School Committee incumbent to pull papers thus far. (via Facebook/Springfield Election Commission)

Barbara Gresham, who represents Ward 4 and 5 on the Committee has pulled papers, but will face opposition. Two others have already take out papers for her seat. Two have pulled papers for Gonzalez’s seat. Peter Murphy, who represents Ward 2 and 8, and Chris Collins, who represents Ward 6 and 7, have not yet pulled papers, but others have done so for both seats.

While the Committee could see above average competition, the intrigue will likely center on the Council. Gonzalez is challenging incumbent Maria Perez, which will be one of the marquee races. Willie Naylor’s run will attract attention, partly because many wonder if Brown is vulnerable after State Senator Adam Gomez crushed him in last year’s Democratic primary. Yet, Brown has survived challenges each cycle since his first election in 2019.

Nunez running against Click-Bruce in Ward 5 may also turn heads. In an interview, the challenger said his bid was not a referendum on the current councilor.

“It is with a great amount of respect for the incumbent that I announced my race for Ward 5,” Nunez said, noting he had called Click-Bruce beforehand. “I do appreciate all that’s been done, but I honestly just have a desire to serve.”

Nunez said he has lived in the ward for two decades and believes his background in financial services would be helpful on the Council. He was also looking forward to discussing his neighbors’ top issues. Nunez indicated there were fewer opportunities to do that while running at-large two years ago.

Click-Bruce faces his first challenger since 2022. (still via YouTube/Focus Springfield

This would be Click-Bruce’s first contested race since winning a special election in the summer of 2022. He may not be easy to defeat, though. While Springfield is too large for town-sized politics, deep community roots—Click-Bruce has coached youth sports—still pay off. Moreover, he has navigated 36 Court Street’s political minefields well. Although a former aide to Domenic Sarno, his vote is hardly a given for the mayor.

The race in Ward 6 presents a different landscape. Councilor Davila has served since 2020 and fended off challengers as well. However, Whitaker,-Battle a veterans activist and a member of the State Democratic Committee, could be in a position to raise the cash to compete.

Whitaker-Battle’s filing with OCPF did not explicitly state he was seeking the Ward 6 seat. He confirmed his bid in a text to WMP&I.

While the ward races are often competitive—three ward councilors have lost reelection since ward seats returned in 2009—equal resources are often missing from challenges to incumbents. The potential is there for Whitaker-Battle to raise the money to fund mail and social media, a necessary, if not sufficient component of a race like this.

The challenge does not alarm Davila. He called his representation of Ward 6 “a privilege and an honor” and he said he expected to highlight his work on the new revenue committee and quality of life issues like street lighting.

Will Ward 6 bless Davila with another term? (courtesy Davila campaign)

“God willing with the people’s vote and blessing I will be going back to the City Council to continue the good work we have been doing,” Davila said in a brief interview.

A few at-large challengers for City Council have visited the Election Commission to begin the process of running. Nicole Coakley and Juan Latorre both sought an at-large seat two years ago and appear poised to try again. Judith Crowell has also taken out papers. Of the at-large incumbents, only Kateri Walsh has yet to visit the Election Commission to collect her signature sheets.

The entire School Committee is elected in the city’s midterm election. That tends to prompt drastically low turnout given the absence of a mayor’s race. As such, most of the four Committee elections since ward representation returned have been fairly quiet.

The Committee seats for Wards 1 and 3 has had uneven competition over the years, even when it is open. With Gonzalez moving on, Gumersindo “Manny” Gomez and Jasarah Burgos have taken out papers for the seat.

Already in the Committee race for Wards 4 and 5, enough candidates have pulled papers to force a preliminary, if they all return sufficient signatures. Activist Giselle Gaines and realtor Yadira Pacheco would be challenging Gresham. She has only faced opposition in two of her four elections.

Whether Committee member Murphy is running again or not, Ayanna Crawford, who unsuccessfully challenged Murphy four years ago, is seeking a rematch. Rosa Valentin has taken out papers for the Ward 6 and 7 Committee seat.

An early surge of candidates securing signature sheets is not the historical routine for city elections. That may be changing. Two years ago, when the city had its most competitive mayoral contest in years, there was an overt scramble into the Election Commission in the first hours and days papers became available. This week, several candidates have returned their signatures, which the Commission has already certified.

Starting early has its advantages, however. Asked what he learned from running two years ago, Nunez noted that he started late in 2023. That, he said, may have cost him the handful of votes he would have needed to advance to the general election.

“This time around, I decided to start a lot sooner,” he said.