For a moment in August, it seemed like the race for Springfield’s Ward 1 Council seat was over. The incumbent, Maria Perez, had just filed a suit against her now-former employer, the New North Citizens Council (NNCC), and her election opponent, Joesiah Gonzalez. Yet before the month was out, he was campaigning again and marched in Springfield’s Puerto Rican parade.
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.
Springfield City Councilor Justin Hurst has collected several high-profile endorsements since becoming the sole surviving challenger to Mayor Domenic Sarno. After comfortably emerging from last week’s preliminary in second place, Hurst earned the endorsement of two of his challengers and now Senator Adam Gomez.
While the legislature lumbers through its own district maps for the next ten years, the same process is playing out on the municipal level. Wards and precincts are changing only slightly as Springfield’s population was largely stable.
UPDATED 2/3/21 1:14PM: To include details of Gomez’s resignation letter. Springfield State Senator Adam Gomez, who also held the Ward 1 City Council seat, has announced his resignation from the municipal legislature. In a press release his senate office issued, Gomez said he was leaving
UPDATED 8:27PM: To include details from Sen. Welch’s end of year campaign finance report. The Democratic primary ballot in the Greater Springfield area is beginning to look a bit crowded. In addition to races for the Democratic nomination for the US House and Senate, a
Afterglow 2015 is a series analyzing the results of the 2015 municipal elections in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. SPRINGFIELD—For one of the last times as a city councilor, Zaida Luna rose and implored her colleagues to support a resolve urging Congress to allow Puerto
This is a fourth post analyzing the election results of the 2013 election. As much as the elections at-large and in Ward 8 last month in Springfield captured attention because of their upsets, in a lot of ways the lessons derived from them tell some
EDITED 10/6/13 10:30AM: For grammar. This post is the first in a series profiling the wards with contested races this year. SPRINGFIELD—Last weekend artists and makers of all manner of crafts plied their wares on a charming side street lined with well-maintained brownstones. At the
UPDATED 9:07PM: As originally published, this post failed to note WMassP&I Editor Matt Szafranski served as moderator/part of the media panel for the Holyoke candidate debate referenced below. Note: WMassP&I will not be making ANY endorsements for the preliminary this year. There is no election