Was the defining issue at the October 16 meeting of the Springfield City Council for naught? It certainly seems possible. The debate collapsed into confusion and hand-wringing until its lead sponsor, Council President Jesse Lederman untied all the knots.
As the Springfield mayoral race lumbered into October, the campaign cash dash was barely at a trot. Piles of money and late heat in the campaign propelled at-large Councilor Justin Hurst and Mayor Domenic Sarno past the September 12 preliminary. Yet, neither showed a surge of activity many had expected ahead of the final confrontation on November 7.
Four years ago, Baker and Polito’s orbits had telegraphed a preference for mayor. Not so much in 2023. Rather, the commonwealth’s onetime executive duo endorsed their former Western Mass aide and now-Council candidate, Jose Delgado.
The Springfield City Council returned from its preliminary hiatus last Monday to a smattering of financial whatnot typical after such absences. It was the first full meeting since Council members Justin Hurst, an at-large councilor, Jesse Lederman, the body’s president appeared on last week’s mayoral ballot, challenging incumbent Domenic Sarno.
It was not until four years into the Control Board that the legislature created the supra-departmental position of Chief Administrative & Financial Officer. Timothy “T.J.” Plante is not the first formal CAFO, but he held the position for over a decade after years in the city finance department.
Springfield City Councilor Justin Hurst has collected several high-profile endorsements since becoming the sole surviving challenger to Mayor Domenic Sarno. After comfortably emerging from last week’s preliminary in second place, Hurst earned the endorsement of two of his challengers and now Senator Adam Gomez.
This is a developing story. One of the few remaining Springfield financial officials who date to the Control Board era is leaving city service at the end of the week. Chief Administrative & Financial Officer Timothy “T.J.” Plante has worked for the city of Springfield
SPRINGFIELD—Mayor Domenic Sarno and City Councilor Justin Hurst’s advancement to the mayoral preliminary was the result the city’s chattering classes had been expecting for nearly a year. However, a reductionist understanding of what happened risks missing real lessons in the wake of the election.
Sitting on a massive pile of campaign cash, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno entered August with the most money and began this month with the most. Yet, August also saw Sarno dropping at least $130,000 to buy ads on television and radio.
It was just a line in The Republican’s election profile of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, but it was a reminder of one of his longest-running falsities. Sarno still “maintains the court order gave the commission power only over discipline, and not as an overall supervisory body.”