The Springfield City Council authorized the renaming of a McKnight neighborhood street after former Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs. It was poignant recognition of their late colleague, whose activism contributed to the revival of the ward representation. In a more ironic turn, the Council punted on a new labor contract for police supervisors.
With the Springfield mayoral race a hot mess and the at-large Council an huge large field of qualified hopefuls, the ward races offer a calm respite. The incumbents in both Ward 4 and 6 face challengers. In Ward 4 on Tuesday, incumbent Malo Brown will face off against Kareem Kibodya, a former policy and political staffer.
The SuperPAC homecare mogul Cesar Ruiz funded took a prominent role in municipal preliminaries. The Hispanic Latino Leaders Now Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee (HLLN) filed a new report with state campaign finance regulators that shows it is spending to support a clutch of City Council candidates.
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.
The Springfield City Council faced a light agenda this past Monday. Once more the Council held off on final passage of a historic district for the former Isolation Hospital. The body continues to meditate on the owner’s litigation threat. That limited the meeting to uncontentious items. Among them was a revote on the firefighters’ labor contract due to a drafting error.
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.
During an otherwise unremarkable meeting, the Springfield City Council paused final passage of a new historic district amid doubts and legal threats from the owner. At their April 10 meeting, councilors gave initial approval to historic protection for the former Isolation Hospital on State Street.
The Springfield City Council remains a sea of relative political calm even as the mayoral race begins to make waves. Fortuitously, Monday’s meeting included three challengers to Mayor Domenic Sarno—two incumbent councilors and a former councilor all of whom support a bill to make a local singer’s tune the state jazz song.
SPRINGFIELD—A new calendar year also means a new municipal year here. The only formal order of business in the new year was the installation of the Council President. At-large Councilor Jesse Lederman had already secured the votes for a full term as President in 2023. Yet, this is no ordinary municipal year.
SPRINGFIELD—Fitfully, the City Council continues to come back. On Monday, the municipal legislature held its first regular meeting in chambers since the COVID-19 pandemic virtualized Springfield government.