A Fifth of Hampden is a series of profiles of candidates for Holyoke’s Next Rep HOLYOKE—Patrick Beaudry almost ran for office last year. A longish time at-large city councilor was bailing. Beaudry, home for three years after a career in state politics, had the cred
by Michael Lachenmeyer Correspondent-Intern In June and July, candidates competing in three races spanning Hampden County fought to win over voters while also doing their best to boost their fundraising numbers. While the novel coronavirus has upended many normal aspects of campaigning, the money race
The saga of the employment status of once-upon-a-time Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh has reached a critical stage. Both the commonwealth—technically the Home’s Board of Trustees and the state Health & Human Services office—and Walsh filed papers for declaratory judgment on the pleadings. The
HOLYOKE—Whether intentionally or not, political power and attention here follows the city’s geology. Rising from the Flats—a term unrelated to terrain—to the foot of Mount Tom is Cherry Hill, where the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home stands. Despite its perch overlooking everything but the mountains, the wave
When Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse launched his bid for Congress, he had high ambitions for fundraising: $3 million. For months that effort fell flat. Challenging an incumbent with seniority—and popularity—like Richard Neal did not open a lot of big wallets. The only option was to
PITTSFIELD—While attempting to maintain social-distancing along a narrow strip of sidewalk outside the post office here, US Representative Richard Neal and local officials condemned the chicanery of Donald Trump’s Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Allegedly undertaken to save money, the changes to the United States Postal
Our One Hundredth is an occasional series on Massachusetts US Senate elections. ATTLEBORO—A park runs along a new road abutting the commuter rail station lot here. The area used to be drenched in the toxic muck from its years as the city’s Public Works yard.
By Michael Lachenmeyer Correspondent-Intern When the 9th Hampden District was first established, it covered several small rural communities to the south and west of Springfield proper, including the towns of Agawam, Southwick, and Granville. However, over the course of the late 19th century, the borders
UPDATED 8/9/20 10:38PM: To include UMass-Amherst’s response to this news, a new statement from Mass College Dems and a new statement from Morse. Massachusetts College Democrats and their affiliates at Amherst College and the UMass-Amherst have barred congressional candidate and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse from
Our One Hundredth is an occasional series on Massachusetts US Senate elections. GREAT BARRINGTON—At the threshold of August, Senator Ed Markey rolled into the artsy heart of this Berkshire town, the first of three stops in Massachusetts’s westernmost frontier. He ascended a hill to the