EASTHAMPTON — For the first time since 1996, the Precinct 5 City Council seat may be contested.
At the same time, incumbent City Councilor Jennifer Hayes of Precinct 2 has announced she will not seek re-election.
Nicola Helems, scheduling director for the office of state Sen. Donald Humason Jr., R-Westfield, has pulled papers to run for the seat held by Daniel Rist for the past 21 years. The 24-year-old has lived in Easthampton his whole life and said he’s ready for a change in his precinct.
“There has been no opposition to my opponent for a long time,” Helems said.
Helems studied political science at Westfield State University, but did not earn a degree. He has worked in constituent services since 2011 where he has learned about the issues facing different people and worked on fixing problems, he said. He started working for the Massachusetts Senate in January 2015.
“I welcome a challenge,” Rist said. “It’s going to challenge me to define what I have done for the city.”
Rist has served since Easthampton adopted a city form of government. The race was contested in 1996, but since then, Rist said, no one has run against him.
With the news of Mayor Karen Cadieux’s retirement, Rist said he considered running for mayor. He is now endorsing his longtime friend and Precinct 3 City Councilor Joy E. Winnie with her campaign for mayor.
Out of the five precincts, two seats are open. Precinct 3 is open. For the past 21 years, the seat has been held by Winnie.
Hayes, the production manager for Take Magazine, released a statement Tuesday saying she would not seek re-election to her Precinct 2 seat, and encouraging residents to run for office.
“I want to concentrate my efforts outside of elected office to bringing more diversity to our municipal offices,” Hayes wrote in the statement.
“In the spirit of allyship, I pledge to help those interested in having a seat at the table — how to collect signatures, how to set up a campaign account, and what the work entails.”
Precinct 4 City Councilor Salem Derby has pulled papers and Precinct 1 City Councilor James “JP” Kwiecinski said he plans to run for re-election.
Nomination papers must be returned to the city clerk’s office for certification by Sept. 19. The city election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.