The municipal political season has kicked off in Springfield. On Wednesday, School Committee member Joesiah Gonzalez announced that he would run for the Ward 1 City Council seat Maria Perez now holds.
The race will be a test for Gonzalez as much as for Perez, should she seek reelection.
If 2023 in Springfield was defined by its election, there is ample irony that transitions would define 2024. They just would not be transitions in municipal elective office. The pieces had been moving below deck for some time.
Springfield’s longest-serving mayor, Domenic Sarno, is said to have seen Tom Menino as a model. He ostensibly envied the power, both official and political, the Hub’s former ruler wielded. Yet, in last week’s Democratic primary, a year on from the tightest mayoral prelim Sarno ever faced, he has shown himself no threat to his enemies.
SPRINGFIELD—After a race that veered into mendacity and nastiness at its climax, Democratic State Senator Adam Gomez bulldozed primary challenger Ward 4 Councilor Malo Brown to again secure his party’s nomination for the Hampden Senate District. Brown’s boss, State Representative Bud Williams, fared better.
Governor Maura Healey is weighing in on Hampden County’s competitive primaries, siding with incumbents in both cases. Senator Adam Gomez, who faces Springfield City Councilor Malo Brown in next Tuesday’s Democratic primary, released a statement from Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll Thursday afternoon.
In the final week of the Democratic primary for the Hampden Senate district, the race is moving onto the airwaves. Springfield City Councilor Malo Brown has purchased airtime on the Springfield-Holyoke media market’s broadcast networks. Senator Adam Gomez is not far behind.
From the moment the contest began the subtext of the Hampden Senate District’s Democratic primary would be who could represent it best. Therefore, it was probably fate that the battle between Senator Adam Gomez and Springfield City Councilor Malo Brown would take a nasty turn. That happened mid-August.
The two surprise legislative races anchored in Springfield may yet rock political foundations in the city. However, on the fundraising front, the races are proceeding more or less typically for incumbent challenges. Both State Senator Adam Gomez and State Rep Bud Williams maintain healthy fundraising leads.
SPRINGFIELD—Facing his first electoral challenge since defeating an incumbent himself, Senator Adam Gomez kicked off his bid for a third term a few doors down from where his opponent had launched weeks before. Filling the lower level of Dewey’s Lounge, a downtown jazz bar, the senator underscored community.
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SPRINGFIELD—Ward 4 City Councilor Malo Brown kicked off his bid for State Senate Thursday with a low-key gathering downtown with supporters. However, he said little about how he would differentiate himself from the incumbent he is challenging, Senator Adam Gomez.