EAST LONGMEADOW—Given how she envisioned the arc of her life, Sydney Levin-Epstein doubts she would have sought public office if things went differently. Now she is locked in a heated race with Ludlow State Representative Jake Oliveira for one of region’s coveted State Senate seats.
EAST LONGMEADOW—When asked about being in the fight of his political life, Jake Oliveira projects anything but panic. In fact, he argues, it is not nothing new, pointing to the close races and chicanery he faced since first running for School Committee in his native Ludlow over a decade ago.
SPRINGFIELD—Amid a tight battle for his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor, Senator Eric Lesser received the endorsement of the region’s most senior elected official, US Representative Richard E. Neal, framed by Union Station.
Whether a gentle laying on of hands or a less voluntary conversion, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is now a believer.
At a press event at Union Station in Springfield and alongside US Representative Richard Neal, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker endorsed a plan to establish a rail authority to oversee the implementation of East-West rail service.
LUDLOW—The difference from eight years ago is stark. When the State Senate district hugging Springfield’s east, north and south sides was last open, five Democrats sought the nomination. It looks likely that in 2022, only two will run: Jake Oliveira & Sydney Levin-Epstein.
The Democratic primary for an open State Senate district that cuddles the lower Pioneer Valley’s urban core has become a race. Sydney Levin-Epstein, a political advisor, campaign staffer and congressional aide from Longmeadow leapt into the race Tuesday for what will be the Hampden, Hampshire & Worcester Senate district next year.
After months of speculation, Longmeadow Senator Eric Lesser has taken the plunge and will pursue statewide office. On Tuesday, he announced he was running for lieutenant governor becoming the fourth Democratic candidate in a race that could become yet more crowded.
In the end, for Springfield, 2021 may have come to define the city’s limits. Some of those limits were long overdue. Courts ruled twice on the limits of Mayor Domenic Sarno’s power and the coronavirus revealed the limits of his influence. But those limits also
Springfield bucked a local trend as its population grew a clip faster than much of the region. The Census Bureau released community-level data Thursday confirming the commonwealth’s growth principally happened in its east. Yet, the information still included some surprises. These both benefited and hurt Bay State localities reflecting both longer-term trends and how the coronavirus possibly warped results.
LONGMEADOW—Some months ago, a stone-faced Senator Eric Lesser appeared on a split screen with Governor Charlie Baker during a committee hearing on the early vaccine campaign. Lesser laid into Baker, for a botched website rollout among other errors. His Excellency expressed visible frustration.