The Massachusetts Ethics Commission served former Holyoke City Councilor David Bartley with an order to show cause, leveling no fewer than five charges against him for violating state ethics laws. Four of the alleged violations stem from his legal practice. Bartley had represented clients with
As announced, the Springfield City Council held a special meeting Friday to purge its “tainted” vote to discontinue a stretch of Wallace Street. Essentially a street only on paper, the body had approved the discontinuance on February 2. That would return the land to abutting property owners. One of those owners was JETS Property Development, LLC. City Council President Tracye Whitfield owns part of JETS.
The trouble erupted after City Council Tracye President Whitfield failed to immediately recuse herself from consideration of a street discontinuance. She co-owns the entity that owns a property that would grow once the city discontinues the street. Plus, her son was presenting the item. While she did not vote on the item, her time briefly presiding during consideration means the Council must purge its vote to terminate the street.
In a late afternoon press release, the New North Citizens Council (NNCC) announced it had terminated its housing chief, Maria Perez. Perez has served as the Ward 1 City Councilor since 2022. The brusque, shocking release all but accuses Perez of misappropriating NNCC funds, including those it received from the federal government by way of City Hall.
UPDATED 2:00PM: To include details of Commission Calvi’s letter and other investigations. SPRINGFIELD—Before his online commenting past became public, Chris Pohner, a retired firefighter, was Domenic Sarno’s candidate for City Council at-large. On the afternoon of September 14, Sarno was rallying the troops at Pohner’s
SPRINGFIELD—It could be easy to overstate the stakes of the City Council’s impending decision on a new City Clerk. Aside from opening another front in the simmering battle over separation of power in city government, the decision’s consequences are hard to fully parse. But both