SPRINGFIELD—Last Monday the City Council dispatched two big issues that had been hovering over it for weeks and even months. A revised version of a public safety measure aimed at reassuring undocumented immigrants passed unanimously. Meanwhile, the Council approved the first public safety labor contract
UPDATED 8:35PM: The Republican reports that Sarno has vetoed the ordinance. Tells paper on his flip-flop from 2007, “Quite frankly you learn that campaigning is much different than governing.” SPRINGFIELD—Edging closer to its second major rebuke of Mayor Domenic Sarno this year, the City Council
UPDATED 4:19PM: To include details of another candidacy for council president reported by Masslive. While Tuesday’s election results rocked the composition of the City Council in Springfield a little bit, one change not in the offing is in the body’s leadership. In a prepared release,
UPDATED 9/22/15 6:06PM: To reflect a correction. A previous version of this post misspelled the police grants officer’s name. It is Sgt. Brian Elliot, not Eliot. SPRINGFIELD—Monday night saw the revival of the infamous Rule 20, the filibuster-esque parliamentary rule that halt debates in the
UPDATED 7/26/15 1:11AM: For grammar. SPRINGFIELD—What looked like a dull election season now seems primed to be a more spirited affair as additional challengers pile onto the race for mayor and City Council. As of 3pm Thursday, the second to last day to pick up nomination
SPRINGFIELD—Cameras and unfunded mandates were the order of the day at the City Council Monday night. These two items dominated much of the agenda with the remainder of the agenda dispensed somewhat expediently. Council President Michael Fenton informed the Council at-large Councilor Thomas Ashe and
SPRINGFIELD—Entering after a rousing introduction from his political mentor E. Henry Twiggs, longtime city activist Jesse Lederman, a McKnight neighborhood resident, formally kicked off his bid for City Council at-large Wednesday night. Promising to bring a smarter, more innovative direction to 36 Court Street, Lederman called
SPRINGFIELD—A cautious, but generally supportive City Council approved the first step of a casino ethics ordinance Monday evening signaling more debate, discussion and possible amendment in the weeks ahead. Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton, the body’s president, and Ward 7 Councilor Timothy Allen introduced the
SPRINGFIELD—As it capped off 2014, the City Council formally and narrowly approved the tax rates for residential and commercial property following the annual deliberation over which group of tax payers were more in greater need of relief. On a 7-6 vote, the Council approved rates that
SPRINGFIELD—Eliciting boos from the gallery for hesitating on one issue, the City Council moved a matter to committee, while finally making progress on another Monday night. Nevertheless, the issue set the stage for what may be many confrontations between the mayor and the Council in