On June 20, for the first time since the shroud of the coronavirus fell upon Springfield, city councilors confronted Mayor Domenic Sarno, faccie e faccie, in chambers as he presented his budget for new fiscal year.
Challengers to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno enjoyed some brisk fundraising as the race itself picks up speed. While May reports, which will be due in a few days, should show whether candidates can maintain this pace, the April numbers could alter some of the assumptions about the money race.
Another ward seat on the Springfield City Council shall be subject to a contes. Kareem Kibodya, who has been a policy and advocacy staffer with the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, is set to challenge Ward 4 Councilor Malo Brown.
The mayoral race in Springfield will not be the only one with a preliminary in 2023. Earlier this month, the city Election Commission certified incumbent at-large Councilor Sean Curran and 2021 runner-up Juan Caraballo for the ballot. They were the 12th and 11th candidates to turn in enough signatures for the at-large race. On September 12, voters will whittle the list down to 10 candidates for the November 7 general election.
As the mayoral race in Springfield inches closer to the September preliminary, much of the campaign still has something of an unreality. There are four major declared candidates, each holding office and there are moves worth watching in the money race.
The opposition to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno has been busy. They have little choice to be otherwise given Sarno’s advantages. It is no surprise that aside from squirreling away campaign funds, Sarno has barely campaigned.
That may be changing. Fitfully but notably, the incumbent has begun to heave himself onto the stump.
No incumbent in Springfield ward seats appears to be bailing and there have been few rumblings about challenges.
A noted exception is Ward 6, where rumors of a challenge to Councilor Victor Davila have circulated for months.
Less than a week ago, the Springfield Election Commission flung open its doors to candidates in a year with historic interest, several have already submitted their filings to run. Candidates have until June 6 to turn in signatures but as of this posting nine could not wait that long.
As Springfield hurtles toward its most competitive mayoral election in a generation, it may be easy forget the implications down ballot. Not since 1991 have two sitting city councilors given up their seats to run for mayor.
The race for mayor of Springfield shifted into a higher gear with the entry of a third top-tier candidate Jesse Lederman, the Council President and three-term at-large councilor, declared his candidacy in a Tuesday morning press release and video.