SPRINGFIELD—Eight days after beginning his second term as Council President, Ward 8 Councilor Orlando Ramos made clear 2018 would be different. Some councilors were uprooted from longtime committee assignments and whole committees were dissolved and their duties reassigned. The list of assignments was released quietly
SPRINGFIELD—The skimpiness of the evening’s agenda was no impediment for a lengthy and at times Byzantine City Council meeting. Though subjects like tax rates, snow removal and parking bans are familiar matters, councilors managed to expend considerable time and summon from the well of procedural
UPDATE 11/21/17 1:21AM: The Springfield City Council approved the bond 12-0 on Monday November 20. SPRINGFIELD—Fresh from elections that returned all incumbents seeking another term, the City Council returned to a session full of finance and riven by accusations of inequity. Among the financial items
Springfield has a unique opportunity with so many open seats, all at-large, in this year’s election. It represents a paradigm shift away from the pre-ward representation Council. With nearly all of the (incorrect) institutional memory about the Council’s weakness fading, there is a real possibility
This post is the fourth of several profiles of Springfield at-large School Committee candidates. School Committee members run for four-year terms and in that time a lot can change. Since she was on the ballot in 2013, at-large School Committee member Denise Hurst has seen
UPDATED 9/21/17 11:28AM: To include a quote from Ryan. SPRINGFIELD—Amid anemic turnout, voters in the 413’s largest city narrowed its unusually large at-large fields for City Council and School Committee. Incumbents seeking reelection romped in their races, leaving most of the action among who those
Courting 36 Court Street is a series of quick interviews with Springfield’s at-large candidates. **All interviews are edited and condensed for length.** Justin Hurst says Springfield residents have been clamoring for somebody to speak out and argues he’s been doing just that. Residency remains a
This is the second of two-part series on the impact of retirements on the 2017 Springfield at-large Council race. SPRINGFIELD—Only hours before the deadline to pull papers, word hit the City of Homes that not one, but two open at-large City Council seats in this
UPDATED 10:02PM: To add quotes published in The Republican. This is the first of two-part series on the impact of retirements on the 2017 Springfield at-large Council race. Capping off the longest continuous Council tenure in Springfield and giving this year’s at-large race yet another
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