WESTFIELD—Election Day across the Pioneer Valley had its share of surprises and disappointment. Yet, despite some cursory similarities among six Hampden County cities that held elections, very little wisdom can be confidently drawn from this local cycle with one exception. While the Whip City featured spirited
UPDATED 11/9/15 5:41PM: To reflect that O’Connell did give an interview on Election night to The Reminder. Afterglow 2015 is a series analyzing the results of the 2015 municipal elections in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. HOLYOKE—Music blared, drinks flowed and hugs abounded. In the
Holyoke is at a crossroads. Intractable problems of poverty, disparity and want remain as it has in ilk cities for some time. Yet of late, there is a spark of life among the citizenry and in the earth of the Paper City. People are engaged
UPDATED 11/2/15 1:07PM: To add additional details to paragraph 2 under the Ward 6 endorsement. The future of the city of Holyoke is about more than just the lives of its residents. Like our home base of Springfield, the restoration and revitalization of Holyoke is
HOLYOKE—A two-story retail building along Northampton Street’s commercial strip, wedged next to a gas station, normally would not normally get much attention. But from there, Alex Morse has based his campaigns for mayor, from his out-of-nowhere upset of Elaine Pluta in 2011 to this year’s
HOLYOKE—With each New England touchdown, Patriots fans gathered at Brennan’s Place erupted in shouts and cheers. Sunday football occupied most patrons’ attention at the downtown watering hole, including those gathered in back for a Patriots watch party organized by State Representative Aaron Vega. Many a
HOLYOKE—The next six weeks of the mayoral campaign here will feature incumbent Alex Morse and homecare mogul Francis “Fran” O’Connell took the top two spots in Tuesday’s preliminary. The result mirrored—depending on perspective—the results from 2013, but the data is more nuanced than that with
UPDATED 4:10PM: For clarity and grammar and to reflect a correction. An earlier version of this post said O’Connell had not spent money on rent. He is, in fact, paying Pic’s Pub rent. Campaign finance reports detailing spending and fundraising in Holyoke’s mayoral preliminary became
UPDATED 9/4/15 11:09 PM: For grammar & clarity. HOLYOKE—The early 1990’s were a period of labor unrest at the Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association. Relations between management and workers, then-represented by Local 285, Service Employees International Union, iced over and devolved to strike threats and eventually
UPDATED 7/31/15 10:42: For clarity and grammar. Elections in the Paper City are rarely dull affairs, but a healthy mix of nominal retirements and fresh pushes by the city’s dominant political camps may yield a potentially heated cycle. Pile on the likelihood of some binding