Cesar Ruiz, the former Springfield School Committee member and current home care magnate, is back. Six months after he dissolved his last SuperPAC in a settlement with the state, Ruiz is forming a new entity to intercede in elections in Massachusetts. This time, however, he is starting out with allies in the Boston area.
Hispanic Latino Leaders Now Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee (HLLN) is no more. The first SuperPAC to seriously intervene in Springfield elections dissolved as part of a disposition agreement with state campaign finance regulators.
Another name familiar to the Valley has also filed for a race this month—but not in Massachusetts.
Former Springfield City Councilor Amaad Rivera has entered the race for an open State Assembly seat in Wisconsin. Rivera last ran for office in Massachusetts in the 2018 Democratic primary for the Hampden Senate District.
Hispanic Latino Leaders Now, the Springfield-based SuperPAC that aimed to elect more Latinos to office in Massachusetts, filed its 2023 annual report last month. The document provides additional context of the extent of the group’s ambitions, essentially fulfilling promises to operate statewide. However, echoing the
UPDATED 1/11/24 11:41AM for additional information:
The mayoral race in Springfield may be long over and the victors have taken the oath. That, however, does not mean the work of campaign finance regulators have finished their work. Rather, several issues with Mayor Domenic Sarno’s campaign records had remained outstanding per auditors with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance.
As the 2023 municipal cycle closed, the Springfield-based SuperPAC that played a big—or at least pricy—role in its home city’s election made another move out east. A new filing added Haverhill races to Hispanic Latino Leaders Now’s list.
UPDATED
With his mayoral campaign in mortal danger, Springfield at-large Councilor Justin Hurst held a defiant press conference Thursday morning, vigorously denying his campaign engaged in vote-buying. The allegations, which are reportedly now before federal and state investigators, arose after early-voters swamped Election Commission staff Saturday.
Some six months after forming, a Springfield-based PAC with an aim to elect more Latinos, is entering the local political stage. Interminably syllabic, the Hispanic Latino Leaders Now Independent Expenditure Police Action Committee (HLLN) filed with the Office of Campaign & Political Finance in February.
The last election in Holyoke has ended Friday. A recount of the Ward 5 City Council produced the same numbers released in the city’s unofficial tally. City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee announced that incumbent Linda Vacon has indeed prevailed over her challenger Guy O’Donnell.
One Holyoke election is heading into overtime. Guy O’Donnell, who challenged Ward 5 City Councilor Linda Vacon in last week’s election, has filed for a recount. Fewer than 20 votes or about 1% separated the two in unofficial results the City Clerk’s office has posted.