In Pioneer Valley cities this municipal election year are a number of questions submitted to the voters. Some are binding and some are not, but all could have an impact on how Holyoke and Springfield and how they each govern themselves.
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
One major trouble in Holyoke these days is the water and sewer departments’ effect upon the budget. In comparison to Springfield, where the unitary Water & Sewer Commission essentially operates off-budget, the costs and revenues of Holyoke’s systems for delivering potable water and removing water directly
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
HOLYOKE—With a banner blaring “a new direction” behind him, Francis “Fran” O’Connell offered a nostalgic appeal to a crowd of supporters and cited his business experience to undergird his case to elect him Holyoke’s chief executive. Although he touched on other issues in his remarks and
UPDATED 6/10/15 11:06AM: To include reaction from Kevin Jourdain. There is still time on the clock, but as it stands the race to succeed Holyoke Ward 6 Councilor Todd McGee now is down to one candidate. This evening Mark Riffenburg, a political organizer and former deputy